Sunday, July 1, 2012

Dusky Pedigree

In 2009, I began buying dolls from international eBay sellers with a focus on vintage black dolls made by Pedigree (the 1931-registered name of the doll-making subsidiary of Lines Bros, a British toy maker).  Years earlier I had acquired a pair of 1950s Pedigree-type dolls from a New Zealand seller.  That pair satisfied my Pedigree-doll thirst until my interest in these very dark-skinned dolls resurfaced in 2009.

Like my original NZ Pedigree-type dolls, my other dolls from other global areas have very dark brown to black complexions.  Made during the 1930s through 1950s, these deep hues were the norm for black dolls made in such places as New Zealand, Australia, and the United Kingdom.  They are made of composition (1930s-40s) and/or hard plastic (a new material used in doll making beginning in the late 1940s).  See a group picture of some of these dollies below.

Black dolls, most marked "Made in England," circa 1930s through 1950s; the tallest two are my first Pedigree-type dolls made in New Zealand from Pedigree (Lines Bros.) doll molds.  The seated baby, 2nd row on far left arrived from Ireland. 
Absent from my collection was a rarer, blue-eyed brown skinned doll made by Pedigree, whose complexion is often described by British and Australian sellers as "dusky."  More often the doll is described as Asian and less often as "Indian," but never black.  The doll's physical attributes do not look Asian or "Indian."  Why is this one with the lighter  brown complexion not referred to as black, like the others?  Are the blue eyes or combination blue eyes and lighter brown skin tone the reason?  Dusky... that term puzzled me.

Even so, my search for Pedigree and other dolls made in England included one of these blue-eyed, brown-skinned dolls.  Unfortunately, the price of acquiring one on eBay was usually cost prohibitive, particularly after the asking price in pounds was converted to dollars.  The Australian dollar conversion is more comparable to the US dollar, but sellers' asking prices are usually well over 100 Australian dollars.  With shipping factored into the final cost, the doll seemed impossible to find at a price I was willing to pay.  Over $100 after conversion was not my willing price. 

Finally, I located one at a reasonable price and did not use out of pocket funds to pay for it.  Instead, I used some of the proceeds from the sale of over 50 doll magazines sold on eBay in June.  Interestingly, several of the magazine buyers live in the United Kingdom.


My little, 10-inch British girl arrived during the week of June 24, 2012, from Sheffield, South Yorkshire. Her feet were bare. Her dress was tattered and her hair needed combing, as illustrated in the seller's image below.


I was well aware of the doll's super preloved condition before completing the purchase but could see her potential.

I have since redressed this circa 1950s/60s, 10-inch, hard plastic doll, marked "Made in England," in Helen Kish's Bitty Belle Magnifique's original fashion and shoes.  She's an inch shorter than Bitty Belle with a wider torso, but I was able to get both the white underdress and sueded blue overdress to snap closed in back.

Circa 1950s/60s, blue-eyed brown doll by Pedigree, redressed with combed hair
She looks (and feels) so much better now. 

~~~~~~~~~~~

The sun is setting as a shadow of darkness begins to appear.  That is what dusk means to me.

According to Onelook.com's multi-dictionary search, the adjective, dusky, means:
not very bright
dark, because of shadows or because night is coming
with dark skin. This word is now considered offensive.


The third definition, with dark skin, is why this archaic term continues to be used by some to describe this doll's complexion.  Old habits are often hard to break, even when considered offensive.

I see her as brown. 

I see her as cute.

I see her as still loveable.



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14 comments:

  1. Congratulations on your resourcefulness in tracking down this desired doll at an affordable price!

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  2. Big Congratulations on obtaining your doll! That is great that you were able to get her for a good price.. She is lovely in her outfit.

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  3. Great post! Congrats on the acquisiton. She is beautiful! Happy 4th!

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  4. Limbe Dolls, GG, and Lee - thanks!

    eBay allows sellers 50 free listings per month, with up to 12 free photos per listing, and free buy it now. I am sure they have increased their final auction fee, but I don't really care as long as I am getting a little something-something for items that would either be donated or discarded.

    I exhausted my 50 free listings in June and made a little over $200. Now that it is July, I am going to relist the remainder of my doll magazines. Will I find and buy another longed-for doll or a new one that strikes my fancy with the proceeds, or will I just bank the money and run? Only time will tell.

    What I do know for sure is that while I have items listed on eBay, I am more focused on their sales than I am on browsing eBay for additional dolls to buy. This is probably related to my addictive-personality nature, but maybe I should focus more on my selling/eliminating addiction than the buying/consuming one.


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    1. Correction: 12 free pictures was an eBay promotion last month. The first picture-only is free now.

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  5. Congrats. I'm thinking it's the hairstyle that leads one to think Indian. That's what I saw when I first laid eyes on her. Didn't see Asian at all. She's cute in her new outfit. I liked her tattered look and puffy hair, too. Reminded me of pictures I saw of my mom and her sisters back in the day.

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    1. Hi Vanessa,

      I agree, the hairstyle and perhaps some native garb could transform my little girl's ethnicity, but the blue eyes, not so much.

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    2. My older sister had a hard plastic black Pedigree doll just like the one in the middle row of your top photo, second from the right. How I envied her that doll! This would have been in the mid-1950's and I think the doll was sent to Tasmania by my English grandparents. Alas, the doll is long gone after being passed down to younger siblings.

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  6. Hi Susan,

    I hope the Pedigree group picture brought back pleasant memories for you.

    My doll like your sister's is a toddler (straight-legged version). There were also bent-legged babies. They had been on my wish list (at least one) but I've decided one Pedigree Delite using this face mold is enough.

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  7. Congratulations on you acquiring the doll. She is beautiful.

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  8. I am in New Zealand and have a black blue eyed hard plastic doll that use to walk and talk. She has pedigree made in nz stamped on the back of her neck. I have a photo but don't know how to add to this message.

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    1. Are you looking to sell or attempting to determine the doll's ID?

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  9. Hi I have one of these dolls if anyone is interested in buying 😊

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