Q: Someone told me that this little smil­ing all-bisque doll was an Orsini, but I’m not sure what that means. She is marked on the back “JIO © 1920 47.” Could you give me some additional information?

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A: Jeanne I. Orsini was a New York doll designer. She designed some cute smiling baby dolls made by the Alt, Beck & Gottschalck porcelain factory in Germany in the 1920s. She also designed an infant doll for Armand Marseilles’ Kiddiejoy line. However, she’s best known for her small all-bisque character dolls, popular with collec­tors. These were copyrighted in 1919 and 1920.

There were four different faces: Didi, Mimi, Vivi, or Zizi. Each doll originally had an identifying sticker on its chest. With her smil­ing open/closed mouth, your doll appears to be Vivi. The dolls came in 5- and 7-inch sizes; the 5-inch dolls are easier to find. They all had the same body design, with long over-the-knee white stockings and brown one-strap shoes. Most examples have sleeping glass eyes, but sometimes a painted-eye version is found. The dolls had mohair wigs.

A distinctive feature is the pointing index finger on the right hand. It was easily broken off, so if purchasing an Orsini character, be sure to check the finger. Now that you have Vivi, you should be on the hunt for her sisters!