ANTIQUE DOLL: Generally considered to be at least 100 years old.

APPLIED EARS: Ears prepared in a mold separately from the rest of the antique doll head and applied during a separate stage. Thought to be a characteristic of an earlier antique doll, although many doll experts feel that it was used for larger sized antique dolls, whether earlier or later. For most antique dolls, the ears are part of the head mold.

BEBE: A term of French derivation to denote a french antique doll that has a child-like appearance. The original french meaning was newborn child. Around 1879-1880, when Emile Jumeau starting manufacturing "French Bebes", the term began to refer to a slightly older doll child between the ages of 2 and 8. Jumeau Triste production was focused on this older bebe definition.

BISQUE: A ceramic material that has a matte or unglazed surface. In finer antique dolls, it appears almost translucent. It is used for antique doll heads or for all-bisque dolls and is often flesh colored. Earlier antique dolls tend to have paler bisque but there are exceptions. Before 1880, most antique bisque heads were of the shoulder head type, with or without a swivel head. An excellent antique bisque doll head is one without hairlines, cracks, repairs, wig pulls or rubs.

COMPOSITION BODY: Composition is a type of material used for antique dolls' heads and bodies. Every company had it's own unique formula for the mixuture but it consisted of items such as wood pulp, glue, sawdust, flour, rags. Minor damage or repair does not affect value. Carefully repaired, recovered, or even repainted bodies are preferable to new ones. Some bodies are worth more than others. A good quality ball-jointed composition body is more valuable than a crude 5 piece or stick type doll body.

FRENCH DOLLS: Antique French dolls were manufactured by several firms with the most famous being Gaultier, Jumeau, Steiner and Bru.