Exceedingly Rare Simon Halbig Art Character Baby With Highly-Sought 1488 Face

  
Offering an exceptionally rare example of Simon & Halbig's highly-sought & desirable 1488 bisque head baby from their Art Character Series of 1909. This is one of the most beautiful & expressive character faces ever created in bisque. Seldom found & eagerly sought, this face was originally made for a composition child body, a jointed toddler body, and a bent-limb baby body. The bisque head is perfect with no flaws, damage, or repairs & retains the original bent-limb baby body with the original attachment in the neck socket. What makes this doll even rarer than the 1488 model is that the head is incised Simon & Halbig, below which is a cutout in shape of an eye socket, which is found on other known 1488 models, and 10 1/2 on the neck socket. The baby has the exact same face as the other known 1488's but has no incised number, and has also been made with a barely open mouth and tongue& no teeth. This version may be one of a kind. She came to me as a girl baby but can be either a girl or a boy baby doll. The bisque quality, decoration, and modeling are first rate.

She retains her original light brown mohair wig and cardboard pate as shown in the photos. At some time she has had repair to a finger on one hand and the body has been repainted, albeit nicely done. Her costume is not antique so I have taken this into consideration in pricing her.

I have included a photo at the end of my photo reel of a doll with a fully-marked 1488 head so you can compare the faces. I do not own the doll in this last photo. Additionally, the Simon & Halbig book, "The Artful Aspect" by Jan Foulke, first published in 1984, has information and photos of the 1488 doll on pages 110 & 111.

I promise to pack your doll with utmost care to ensure that she arrives safe and sound--exactly the way I would want someone to pack for me. Thank you for taking the time to visit my listing and I hope you will consider adding me to your favorite sellers.