Pedigree Delite Toddler Gets Enhancements

1950s Pedigree Delite Toddler Boy

First seen on this blog in a post written on March 10, 2010, I recently took the above-updated photo of this 1950s Pedigree Delite toddler to share in one of my Facebook groups that focuses on dolls made in England. He measures 13 inches tall and is marked on his head, Pedigree/England. This version was probably marketed by Pedigree as their 14-inch doll. He has a nonworking crier.

His back is marked Pedigree/Made in ENGLAND

In British Hard Plastic Dolls of the 1940s & 1950s, Frances Baird writes:

Delite Dolls of 10" and 14" tall, came with straight or bent legs, wigged or moulded hair, dressed as boys/girls/babies, and a negro girl and baby in 14" size*. They had sleeping eyes and jointed limbs. 

Baird's book documents larger versions, e.g. 16 inches, that use this head sculpt as well.

Before taking updated photos of my 13- (14) inch boy, I knew my doll's astrakhan wig was deteriorating in spots as illustrated by the scattered white areas that almost expose the wig lining. For cosmetic purposes, I decided to fill in the areas with black yarn clippings.

What Was Done

Thin clippings of yarn were used to fill in the thinning areas of his wig.

Aleene's Tacky Glue was applied to the thin areas before yarn shavings were applied and then rolled into place using a toothpick. This was repeated in all the needed areas.

In the above photo, the white areas of thinning can be better seen.

He is seen in a close-up photo after the yarn was applied to all thinning areas.

His enhancements were done at the kitchen table over a two- to three-day period, where the doll remained until completed. During a conversation with my husband, while we watched the memorial service of Congressman John Lewis, my husband said, "Oh, you did a good job on the doll's hair." I had to do a double-take before thanking him because he rarely provides unsolicited compliments. 

This handsome guy poses here and in the photograph below for full-view photos after the hair treatment.

He is feeling even more confident now.

While working on him, I remembered that his right eyelashes were missing and decided to remedy that issue, too.

Missing eyelashes (his) right eye

Eyelash Repair

I cut the bristles from a paintbrush, spread these on a paper towel to the approximate width of the other eyelashes, and applied a dab of Aleene's Tacky Glue to the cut ends. 

The glued-together paintbrush bristles were held together with a metal clip as illustrated above to allow the glue to dry completely.

After the bristles dried, these were placed in the slot in the doll's eyelid. I brushed a dab of glue on the edge of the eyelid slot and the inserted lashes. A toenail clipper was used to trim off excess length.

Replaced eyelashes

Before this guy was returned to his place of display, we went into the backyard where his final photograph was taken and to get about five minutes of direct sunlight.

With the exception of going on quick errands for necessities, I think going outside on days like the day this photograph was taken to take doll photos will be my new "safe" outing during this COVID-19 pandemic that we continue to face. 

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Photos of this lovely, approximately 15-inch Pedigree Delite baby girl are what inspired me to give my doll his much-needed attention. Thank you, May McNeal, for the inspiration and for allowing me to share your photos here. 

*After the London, England surgery in 1953 to separate Nigerian-born conjoined twins, Wariboko (Boko) and Tamunotonye (Tomo) Davies, 10-inch bent legged Pedigree Delite dolls with this dedicated "negro" head sculpt were frequently referred to as Boko and Tomo. There is no evidence, that Pedigree actually manufactured dolls with those names.

Related Links

Dolls From Around the World: England

The Story of Baby Boko

Siamese Twin, The Survivor

Wariboko at age 62

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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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