I have been shopping for Bye Lo all bisque baby dolls made by Grace Story Putnam in the 1920s. I wanted to know more about her and her babies. I am not an expert, but it seemed like a lot of people were making up things about these dolls. I researched them to present the facts. I just love dolls and have for a long time.

DESIGN

Grace Storey Putnam wanted to make a baby doll you could snuggle. There were dolls before that, but not babies. She went to the Salvation Army Hospital near where she lived in California to look at the babies in the nursery. She saw a very pretty little three day old girl who was not swaddled and her legs were spread -- frog style. Grace either sketched her and/or made a wax model of her. She wanted to make a quality doll, so she applied for a patent or copyright and submitted the plans to GERMAN doll makers. She sent the wax model to be used for making the mold.

Ms. Putnam wanted a softer look, so she chose unglazed bisque clay. She designed the arms, torso, and legs of fabric with the legs in the now-famous frog position. The hands and head were bisque. She was seeking perfection and changed doll manufacturing companies in Germany many times! These included Kling & Company; Alt, Beck, & Gottschalck; J.D. Kestner; Hertel & Schwab, as well as others!

VARIATIONS:

Grace also changed the details of the dolls and about 1925 decided to make an all bisque doll in many sizes.

SIZE

Sizes include: 3, 4, 4.5, 5, 5.5, 6 and 8 inches in length made by the several companies.

HEAD

Some heads are the 'Dome head' with the head and neck attached to the torso. Some are 'socket heads' with the head and neck molded in one piece and set into a hole on the torso. Some of the heads had a hole in the center of the top where babies have a soft spot. It had a pate (wig) that reminds me of a 3 Stooges character.

COLORING

Some of the earliest dolls were parian, which is really white or creamy untinted pale bisque clay. Then Grace decided to add a flesh-colored tint to the clay to make pinker babies. After that some blush was added to make rosy cheeks, knees, and sometimes the back of the hands. Details were all hand painted on by artisans.

EYES

There are at least three different types of eyes, depending on which company was making the babies. 1) The fanciest were hand-blown glass sleep eyes that open and shut whether she is sitting or lying down. 2) The next is 'intaglio' eyes. Those eyes were either cut into the camp clay or molded as recessed before firing. Then they were filled with paint to give them more depth. 3) These eyes were artfully painted on. Most of the eyes were blue, but some of them were brown.

LEGS

The arms and legs are bent. The feet are sometimes bare and sometimes have molded and painted shoes and socks. I have seen them in both pink and blue. The amount of detail in the legs varies and may include dimples in the knees.

STRINGING

One way of attaching the arms, legs, and head is 'Continuous loop' where only one piece of string or elastic is strung through the arm-leg-leg-arm-head. Another way of string is arm-head-arm with the legs strung together with a second string. Of course with the dome head just the arms are strung together. With the variety of companies Ms. Putnam used, some dolls have holes in the arms and legs and knots outside, while most have the holes for string on knobs inside where they aren't seen. One company even inserted metal hooks inside for stringing.

MARKS

The earliest Bye Lo babies simply have ''G.S. Putnam Germany' on the back. They may or may not have a number. This information was either carved in the soft clay before firing or engraved on the mold and imprinted on the doll parts. Some babies have an original circular green paper label on the chest. Only one company did this, so most of them don't have it. Later dolls say 'Copr by Grace S. Putnam Germany' on the back in the bisque. One company numbered the body, legs, and arms to match, but most babies don't have limb marks.

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Unfortunately these babies were so loved and successful that they were copied and reproduced a lot, so be careful. Copies and reproductions shouldn't legally have the engraved marks on the back. If you have additional information I could add, please contact me. This is not all-inclusive. It was the most I could find.