AMERICAN GIRL DOLL, BUT FRENCH

 

 

The 1905 Doll That Took France By Storm

 

By Mary Davis

 

Long before American Girl Dolls stepped out of history and into little girls’ hearts, or Barbie sashayed out of her Dreamhouse, there was Bleuette. Every little French girl’s dream doll.

 

Author's Friend's Doll & Photo

 

Toward the end of the French doll era, when France was shifting toward separation of church and state, publisher Henri Gautier created a weekly magazine for girls. La Semaine de Suzette (Suzette’s Week) would teach sewing, cooking, manners, etiquette, and other womanly skills for running a household. The first issue came out on February 2, 1905, and the magazine lasted until August 25, 1960, with a break during WWII.

 

To help young girls learn and develop these skills, as well as promote the magazine, Henri Gautier devised a mascot for the magazine, a doll called Bleuette. Girls who bought a year’s subscription before the release of the first issue received the doll for FREE. What a deal! Those who bought the first issue without a subscription before it was released could buy the doll for 2.50 French francs.

 

All 20,000 of the first batch of dolls commissioned were sold before the first issue was released. In fact, the publishing house had to scramble to get 40,000 more dolls made for the initial preorder of subscriptions.

 

Though Bleuette arrived in only a chemise made out of a thin fabric, similar to cheese cloth, clothing patterns for her were featured in the magazine to help teach girls to sew. Girls were encouraged to begin making clothes for their doll right away. They also learned mommy skills in taking care of their doll.

 

Clothing patterns were in a lot of the issues, over 1,060 patterns in Bleuette’s fifty-five-year reign from 1905-1960. When a new season came, Bleuette needed new dresses, a new coat, and accessories like hats, shoes, and purses. Always fashionably dressed, she had clothes for every season, occasion, sport, and event, including a Red Cross uniform, aviator outfit, motoring coat with goggle hat, as well as skating and skiing outfits. There were even patterns to make furniture out of cardboard.

 

Bleuette stood 27 cm (10 5/8”) tall with a fully jointed composition body and a porcelain head. Bleuette had at least four different heads throughout her lifetime. The first were known as "Premiere Bleuette". After WWII, her head was made of composition. Her body also went through several variations and grew from 27 cm to 29 cm (11 3/8”) in 1933. Still all the bodies had basically the same measurements so the patterns would work for all the dolls.

 

Author's Friend's Doll & Photo

 

In 1926, Bleuette’s baby sister, Benjamine, arrived but was discontinued soon after her début. Baby brother, Bambino, was introduced in 1928 with moderate success. And her big sister, Rosette, didn’t come along until 1955. Bleuette’s siblings never had the same popularity as Bleuette nor did they have her extensive wardrobe.

 

Years ago, I was in a porcelain doll group, and I made a couple of Bleuette dolls. I painted the faces and put the heads on composite bodies. I loved making her because of her rich history. I decided she needed her own stories like the American Girl Dolls, so I wrote a couple for her, Meet Bleuette, and Bleuette’s Birthday Surprise.

 

Author Photo

I would call Bleuette “France’s little sweetheart.”

 

Meet Bleuette & Bleuette's Birthday Surprise 

In Meet Bleuette, book 1, Bleuette's family is of moderate means, but her classmates think she's from a well-off family because she always has new dresses. When she's invited to a fancy birthday party, she can't wait to go. But will the birthday girl learn Bleuette is just the daughter of a seamstress and withdraw the invitation? 

In Bleuette's Birthday Surprise, book 2, Bleuette turns ten and thinks her family has forgotten her birthday. Will she even get cake or a present? Or will the day pass right by without anyone noticing?

 

 

MARY DAVIS, bestselling, award-winning novelist, has over thirty titles in both historical and contemporary themes. Her latest release is THE LADY’S MISSION. Her other novels include THE DÉBUTANTE'S SECRET (Quilting Circle Book 4) THE DAMSEL’S INTENT (The Quilting Circle Book 3) is a SELAH Award Winner. Some of her other recent titles include; THE WIDOW'S PLIGHT, THE DAUGHTER'S PREDICAMENT, “Zola’s Cross-Country Adventure” in The MISSAdventure Brides Collection, Prodigal Daughters Amish series, "Holly and Ivy" in A Bouquet of Brides Collection, and "Bygones" in Thimbles and Threads. She is a member of ACFW and active in critique groups.

Mary lives in the Rocky Mountains with her Carolina dog, Shelby. She has three adult children and three incredibly adorable grandchildren. Find her online at: Books2Read Newsletter Blog FB FB Readers Group Amazon GoodReads BookBub