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Monday, August 19, 2019

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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20 comments:

  1. what was the first doll you had?

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    1. As a child, the first doll I remember is a 1950s squeeze toy. I was about two. The doll was white as were all my childhood dolls. As an adult in my mid 30s, I purchased my first black doll, a mass-produced "cookie cutter" so-called collectible porcelain doll, seen here.

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  2. Did you ever find out the manufacturer or any extra information about this doll? My mom has this doll and I’m now curious too!

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    Replies
    1. No, I never found out the manufacturer of this doll.

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    2. Possibly Pedigree Palitoy a UK manufacturer.

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  3. I have this doll. I was born in 1953. The doll must be around 1955/56 not the sixties

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    Replies
    1. Thank you for the information about this doll's possible age. Do you know the doll's name?

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  4. My grandfather bought me a beautiful black, baby doll and a lovely wooden high chair for her. The highchair was probably about 3 or 4 feet tall. The baby dolls’ name was Mandy. She was one of my favorite dolls. (The other pair of bride doll that could glide forward.) I wish I still had Mandy, but I do have my bride doll!

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    Replies
    1. Such a sweet memory of your grandfather. I'm sorry that you no longer have Mandy, but happy to hear that you do have your bride doll.

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  5. Hi, I have one of these dolls, given to me back in the early sixties. I have seen one on eBay UK describing the manufacturer as Pedigree Palitoy. Sadly, after 60 years, my doll isn’t in great condition and her eyes need fixing. I hope this information is useful to you.

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  6. Thank you so much for the ID information. I recently saw a similar doll in a Facebook group where it was also identified as a Pedigree doll. I will update my inventory spreadsheet entry for this doll.

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  7. I was given this doll for Christmas at the end of 1959. Named her Susie and she still sits in my bedroom

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    Replies
    1. It's so wonderful that you still have Susie! :-)

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    2. I have a similar doll. My 1st Christmas gift 1960. She’s called Cindy Lou. I think her original clothes were pink

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  8. I was born in January 1959, I still have my Dinah doll, it was given to me for my 1st birthday by my grandma
    I am in the UK, there is a small stamp on her back, but it has worn down over the 64 years that I have owned her.

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    Replies
    1. This doll seems to have been quite popular in the UK. Did you name your doll Dinah?

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  9. My daughter still has my one I called her coco definitely early 50’s as I was born 1950 and had her quite young would say pedigree as most of my dolls were possibly introduce to us in uk after the war when we had the people from windrush arriving

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    1. This little girl seems to have been quite popular. You are among several people who say they owned a doll like her.

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