French Bru Doll, ca. 1880
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GUEST:
My grandmother gave her to me as part of a doll collection. She got her in 1947. She used to take in ironing and she paid $15 a week to get this doll and she paid $75 for it when she got it. I now she's a Bru, which is a French doll. I know she's probably the best doll in my doll collection. When I was a child, it was a doll I was not allowed to play with.
APPRAISER:
We know it's a Bru-- it's a very, very beautiful Bru, made in France in the late 1880s. She has a closed mouth, as you see, nice brown paperweight eyes. Her original wig, which you were sort of worried about that a little bit?
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
Don't change the wig. Even though it's a little bit worn, leave her wig alone. Completely original clothes, which are wonderful-- her hat, her dress, her shoes. Shoes are not marked Bru; they're unmarked, but they're period shoes from the same time. She has a leather body with wooden lower legs. Bisque head. Bisque shoulder plate, which swivels, pierced ears, solid glass eyes, and just a lovely... The face people want to see. Little hint of a tongue there, which the collectors love. The quality of the bisque is very good. And did you have any idea maybe of the value of the doll at all?
GUEST:
Well, I thought maybe around $5,000.
APPRAISER:
That's quite a lot of money. Do you want to hear the good part or the bad part?
GUEST:
Let's hear the bad part first.
APPRAISER:
Okay. Well, the bad part is, she's got something replaced on her. Do you know what that is?
GUEST:
No.
APPRAISER:
It's her arms.
GUEST:
Oh, all right.
APPRAISER:
Her arms are actually German bisque arms.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
Her hands must have broken years and years ago. She probably went to a doll hospital and they put the German hands on. They could have been broken in the 19th century, early 20th century. That hurts her value. But she's still worth a little more than $5,000. So, with the replaced arms, her value on today's market at a doll show or a good auction would be around $15,000.
GUEST:
Wow.
APPRAISER:
If you could find the original arms-- which are very hard to find, but-ch they are out there somewhere-- expect to pay as much as $2,000 for a pair of those arms. But it increases her value to $20,000 to $25,000. So it's worth looking for.
GUEST:
Okay.
Appraisal Details
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