During the period 1905 to 1960, a small articulated French doll named Bleuette was produced. She was originally only available to readers of the girls’ magazine La Semaine de Suzette (or the English version, Suzette’s Week). The magazine was published weekly and included patterns for the doll. More than 1,060 patterns were published over the 55 years Bleuette was available.
The doll had a fully jointed composition body. She was 10 5/8″ tall until 1933, and grew to 11 3/8″ until production ended in 1960. She had a bisque head until World War II, then a composition head until 1958, when a hard plastic body and head were used for the last two years of production.
The first Bleuette dolls are known as Première Bleuette, and were given free to those who had placed an order for a year’s subscription to La Semaine de Suzette before its first publication in February 1905. They were available only until one month after the first issue. An order for 20,000 Jumeau dolls was placed with the Société Française de Fabrication de Bébés et Jouets (SFBJ) for the initial run, but 60,000 subscriptions were received, and this first supply of dolls were gone before the first issue was even released.
Bleuette is popular with modern doll collectors both for her size, and for the vast assortment of patterns available – spanning 55 years of fashion trends. During the first world war, for example, outfits included Red Cross nurse, aviator, automotive racer, skater, and skier.
Over the years, many designers contributed to the design of Bleuette’s wardrobe, most notably Jeanne Lanvin. Well-known artists drew the illustrations for the catalogues, which are collected today. La Semaine de Suzette additionally included patterns for an assortment of furniture that could be made from cardboard. Ready-made furniture for the doll was available through the publisher. A repair shop for broken dolls, as well as new heads and wigs were also offered. Bleuette remains a perennial doll collectors’ favorite.
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