Jumeau Bébé Doll, ca. 1880
Watch
GUEST:
About five years ago, we were getting ready to turn the remains of my family's ranch into a museum. So my dad and I went down to this barn, and we're up in the hayloft, and we hauled out this small little suitcase that was kind of falling apart, and in it was this doll and all of her accessories.
APPRAISER:
So this was a family doll.
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
It is marked on the body "Jumeau." Now, Jumeau started making Bébés in the mid-1870s. Before that, they were making fashion dolls, lady dolls. Their very first series of children dolls we call the portrait Jumeaus, and they look very much like this doll, but it is not a portrait Jumeau. This is more of a transition to a new period in Jumeau making. This is their Bébé. You can't see the entire mark. But you see right there, you see a one. Underneath the one is an E and a J. What the E.J. stands for is Emile Jumeau. What the one means is the size number. And later on, they made another E.J. that says E, and then the number, and then J. Now, this is a lot more difficult to find than that E.J. E1J is about 9.5 inches, where this earlier E.J. model is 11 inches. This leather cap here is the original goatskin wig, where all the goat hair has fallen off. It has hand-cut eye sockets, it has these early threaded enameled glass blue eyes, and it has this great pale complexion. Later on, Jumeaus get a little bit more skin tone. It has finely painted brows. All their Bébés had pierced ears. I do want to note that these lower arms are repainted. It does have the original Medaille d’Or stamp on the torso. They won a medal in the Paris Exposition, and that's why they stamped it Medaille d’Or. And so that dates this doll pretty accurately: 1879-1880. Does that rhyme with...
GUEST:
Yes, it does. Uh, it belonged to my great-aunt, and she was born in 1882.
APPRAISER:
Now let's talk about the value. We're evaluating it without the original dress, without the original wig, without the original shoes. It's just basically bare-bones doll. So, in this state, it would be an auction estimate of $10,000 to $12,000.
GUEST:
(mouthing) I said I wasn't gonna say, "You're kidding me," and I'm not going...
APPRAISER:
(laughs)
GUEST:
I, I'm, I'm just flabbergasted. I was thinking maybe $1,000.
Appraisal Details
Executive producer Marsha Bemko shares her tips for getting the most out of ANTIQUES ROADSHOW.
Value can change: The value of an item is dependent upon many things, including the condition of the object itself, trends in the market for that kind of object, and the location where the item will be sold. These are just some of the reasons why the answer to the question "What's it worth?" is so often "It depends."
Note the date: Take note of the date the appraisal was recorded. This information appears in the upper left corner of the page, with the label "Appraised On." Values change over time according to market forces, so the current value of the item could be higher, lower, or the same as when our expert first appraised it.
Context is key: Listen carefully. Most of our experts will give appraisal values in context. For example, you'll often hear them say what an item is worth "at auction," or "retail," or "for insurance purposes" (replacement value). Retail prices are different from wholesale prices. Often an auctioneer will talk about what she knows best: the auction market. A shop owner will usually talk about what he knows best: the retail price he'd place on the object in his shop. And though there are no hard and fast rules, an object's auction price can often be half its retail value; yet for other objects, an auction price could be higher than retail. As a rule, however, retail and insurance/replacement values are about the same.
Verbal approximations: The values given by the experts on ANTIQUES ROADSHOW are considered "verbal approximations of value." Technically, an "appraisal" is a legal document, generally for insurance purposes, written by a qualified expert and paid for by the owner of the item. An appraisal usually involves an extensive amount of research to establish authenticity, provenance, composition, method of construction, and other important attributes of a particular object.
Opinion of value: As with all appraisals, the verbal approximations of value given at ROADSHOW events are our experts' opinions formed from their knowledge of antiques and collectibles, market trends, and other factors. Although our valuations are based on research and experience, opinions can, and sometimes do, vary among experts.
Appraiser affiliations: Finally, the affiliation of the appraiser may have changed since the appraisal was recorded. To see current contact information for an appraiser in the ROADSHOW Archive, click on the link below the appraiser's picture. Our Appraiser Index also contains a complete list of active ROADSHOW appraisers and their contact details and biographies.
