To fling my arms wide
In some place of the sun,
To whirl and to dance
Till the white day is done.
Then rest at cool evening
Beneath a tall tree
While night comes on gently,
Dark like me--
That is my dream!
("Dream Variations" by Langston Hughes, first stanza)
Jennifer by White Balloon (dyed)
Before entering my collection,
Jennifer, by White Balloon (a Helen Kish sculpt), was originally a
white doll. Found deeply discounted, the doll was purchased-to-dye-brown. This was accomplished several years ago when I was very eager to test the technique of using Rit dye to deepen the color of vinyl dolls in the absence of a desired black counterpart. After reading "How Can I Make One?" by Julie Neises in the September/October 1996 issue of
Barbie Bazaar," I tested the waters and dyed several dolls.
Jennifer's doll line did not include a dark-skinned doll. I wanted one and chose
Jen because of her other dark features: brown eyes and brunette hair. My use of dye to deepen her complexion completed the look I desired for her.
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| 1960s Thumbelina and Chatty Cathy (dyed/painted) |
During the years of my dyeing enthusiasm, certain white dolls from the past that were available in black, but are now too costly to acquire, were prime specimens. Because of their rarity, elusiveness, and secondary market value that exceeded what I desired to pay, I opted to make black ones. Examples of these are Ideal's 1960s
Thumbelina and Mattel's
Chatty Cathy. During the time I desired the original black versions, these dolls could easily sell for $1200 up. White ones, dyed black, served my purpose. A few years after dyeing this pair, I was able to find an original black
Chatty Cathy for a price I was willing to pay. An original black
Thumbelina has yet to surface.
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| 1950s Darling Debbie (dyed) |
Darling Debbie by Deluxe, a 1950s 30-inch, stuffed vinyl fashion doll, shown above, is now black. These dolls, plentiful in white, were usually found in grocery stores wearing lacy pastel-colored cotillion gowns. Black versions were made, but not necessarily named
Darling Debbie (at least I have not been able to document this.) African American
Cinderella, Betty the Bride, and
Sweet Rosemary, use the same mold as the dyed doll that I named
Darling Debbie.
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| 1960s Penny Brite (dyed/painted) |
A
Penny Brite doll by Deluxe Reading Corporation was one of my favorite childhood companions. I loved posing her bendy arms and legs. A black version was never made. As an adult collector, I made one.
To fling my arms wide
In the face of the sun,
Dance! Whirl! Whirl!
Till the quick day is done.
Rest at pale evening...
A tall, slim tree...
Night coming tenderly
Black like me.
(Second stanza of Hughes' poem, "Dream Variations")
For me, the practice of dyeing or otherwise colorizing a doll black... or
brown like me, ended several years ago. I will probably never dye another doll brown. Doing so extends the message to doll makers, who do not incorporate dark-skinned dolls into their doll lines, that black dolls are not needed or desired. This is about as true as the overused excuse (for not making them) that black dolls don't sell.
They are needed. When properly made with aesthetic appeal, they do sell.
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