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Issues of 2008
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History of jumeau company
The factory was founded in Paris in 1941 by Pierre-Francois Jumeau and his business partner Louis-Desire Belton. By 1845 Jumeau worked on his own: his factory produced dolls’ bodies and clothes. The factory soon became popular in France, high quality of Jumeau production was estimated at international exhibitions. The company flourished when it was headed by Emile-Louis Jumeau, the son of Pierre-Francois. In 1873 a factory specialised in production of dolls’ heads was built in Montreil sous Bois for the Jumeau company. After the opening of that factory the Jumeau company could produce all the necessary pieces for the dolls production. Moreover, doll heads by Jumeau were a success, they were bought by other French companies producing toys but the dolls completely created by Jumeau were considered to be the best. High quality of Jumeau porcelain beauties made their glory. Charming faces and smart dresses invented by Ernestine Jumeau, the wife of the director, were very popular. The rate of growth was impressing: in 1879 the company produced 10,000 dolls a year, by 1897 the number exceeded 3,000,000 dolls a year. The famous “Bebe Jumeau” depicting a little girl was created in 1877 and became a real hit with the public. In 1878 the firm got the first golden medal for it at the Paris exhibition. The honourable award was demonstrated with proud, the information about it could be found on the bodies of the dolls, boxes, shoes and even labels of the dresses. Since 1878 Jumeau dolls got golden and silver medals at numerous international exhibitions. The Jumeau firm was declared the best world toy producer in Sidney, Australia, in 1879 and in Melbourne in 1880. By 1882 “Bebe Jumeau” had 17 different models and got the status of the national doll. Long before the appearance of large companies Emile Jumeau used new marketing ideas, original advertising and production. He tried to leave behind the rival companies. His company possessed a few patents in inventions of doll construction. For example, Jumeau got the patent for joint fixing of dolls’ limbs. Earlier, the joints were used only for mannequins used by artists for learning of different human movements. Jumeau was the first to use them for doll production, and he was successful: by 1881 85,000 joint dolls were sold. In 1896 the company got the patent for the production of dolls with moving eyes that were the first dolls who could “sleep”. The production of sleeping dolls was also successful. The history of sounding dolls goes back to 1877 when Thomas Edison, the inventor of the first phonograph (the first mechanism of recording and reproducing the sound), offered to use the phonograph principles to make dolls speak, cry, and sing. It concerned not only dolls, but all the toys — dogs, beasts, and flowers. William White Jacques who worked with Emile Berliner in the early 1880s in the sphere of telephone development was the first to realise the idea. It was he who got the first patent for a doll with phonograph mechanism in 1887. The inventor sent a letter to Edison, as he felt the wish to give his due to the great inventor. White’s dolls weren’t produced, but his letter made Edison get interested in dolls production.Edison’s patent was registered in 1889, the same year the sample of his doll with phonograph record in French language was represented at the Universal exhibition in Paris. Edison interested the investors and the doll production was begun. The doll had wooden arms and legs, metal body, porcelain head by the German firm Simon&Halbig. More 10,000 samples were completed, but from the first consignment almost all the dolls were returned as the mechanism of the phonograph wasn’t perfect and quickly broke. 500 dolls were sold; and Edison’s factory was closed.
To create his own speaking doll, Emile Jumeau engaged the famous Parisian watchmaker Henri Lioret. The mechanism developed by Lioret for the Jumeau company was patented in 1893. Changing cylinder for the reproduction of sound was made of celluloid, the mechanism wasn’t expensive, but simple and reliable to use it for toy production. The doll appeared at the market in 1894 labelled “Lioretgraph Jumeau” or “Bebe Phonograph”. The doll could speak 35 words as well as sing and tell stories. To make interest of the future moms Jumeau announced a competition in his edition “My magazine” in 1893. The girls must send letters with wishes of what words they want their dolls tell. The winner would get one of the Jumeau speaking dolls in the end of the year. Despite the successful doll developing the production needed large bills. A few years later the production was finished and it was unable to find those dolls for sale after 1898. Nevertheless, “Bebe Phonograph” began the French phonograph industry. The Lioret’s mechanism called “Miracle” (“Le Merveilleux”) was used later in his phonograph and speaking watches. Following the market demands Jumeau company organised the production of the wooden dolls to be competitive with German companies. They called it “Undestructible bebe”. The experiment was short — those dolls were sold only in 1878–1879. The production was too complex, the time depends increased. Besides, they needed special workers and new raw processing technologies. However, the wooden dolls were much more beautiful than dolls with porcelain heads. The name was kept but the wooden dolls production was finished: under the label of “undestructible bebe” dolls with sponge heads were later sold. Unfortunately, the golden age of the company wasn’t long — from the 1870s till the end of the 1890s. The competition with German companies moved the firm to the edge of bankruptcy in the end of the 1890s. At that time, the German dolls were cheaper than the French while they were of the same quality. To coup with the situation, French companies had to consolidate.The Jumeau company became a part of the “French Dolls and Toys Producers Association” (Societe Francaise de Fabrication des Bebes et Jouets, shortly S.F.B.J.). In 1899–1958 the “Association” possessed its trademark and used it often to advance the production. In 1958 it was closed, and the Jumeau dolls became history.
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Strategic partner
Project of company 
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Headquarters, Edition, Advertising department, Sale department, Information agency
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