Circa 1960s Doll Made in England

This 1960s black doll made in England arrived with most of the paint missing from her eyelids as illustrated in this photo.

The eBay seller described her as a 14-inch 1950s black doll.  The seller's measurement was off by an inch as the doll is actually 13 inches tall.  She appears to be more of a 1960s rather than 1950s doll to me.

She has separate fingers and dimpled elbows and knees.  Her toes are fused together.

She was fully dressed upon arrival, but because I had to repaint her eyelids, I removed her clothing.

She has black rooted hair, which is still silky and uncut, styled in a bubble cut.  For her eyelid color, I used a mixture of burnt umber and a few drops of black acrylic paint by FolkArt to match the color of the doll's vinyl complexion.  The eyelids have been repainted in this photo.

With eyelids successfully repainted, her clothes, socks, and shoes were put back on.

This little girl arrived wearing what appears to be her original clothing of a pale blue dress that has a pointed white organdy, lace-trimmed collar.  The point of the collar is embellished with three flowers.  She wears white pantaloons, white knee socks, and white vinyl baby booties with mock laces.

With two snaps, her dress closes in the back.

Except for her eyelids, she is in almost perfect condition (the almost is because she was obviously preloved by someone prior to arriving here).

I am pleased with the transaction except the doll's seller took a chance on shipping her in two bubblewrap envelopes!  I am thankful that she arrived safely in spite of this carelessness.

Other than being marked on her neck, "Made in England," I do not know anything else about her circa 1960s origin.  If anyone recognizes her (manufacturer, name, exact year made, etc.), please let me know.  In the meantime, I have named her Petra.

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If my 1960s assumption of her origin is true, Petra might have entered the market around the time Toni Morrison began writing her first novel, The Bluest Eye*.  (According to Morrison, the story originated in 1962; it began as a book in 1965 and was published in 1970.) After the recent death of this Pulitzer and Nobel-Prize-winning author, I reread The Bluest Eye and almost named Petra after the protagonist in the book.  Pecola, who was described as an 11-year-old, very dark-skinned, ugly, very much unloved girl, assumed if she had blue eyes she would become beautiful and loved.  Because of Pecola's lifelong abuses from just about everyone with whom she came in contact, the worst of which occurred at age 12, I decided against naming the doll after her.  So Petra remains Petra.

*I "borrowed" The Bluest Eye from my husband after the following conversation ensued.
Me:  Do you have The Bluest Eye?
Him:  Yes.  He retrieves it from a bookshelf, hands it to me, pretends to swipe it on his desk and says, You have 10 days.  Late fees will be assessed.
Me:  I don't need 10 days.  Oh, and by the way, did you know the library no longer charges late fees?  I read The Bluest Eye in two days.  I could have read it in one, but my mind needed rest between the distressful lives of every character, Pecola's more tragically distressful than all.

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There are countless items to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.
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