Black Doll Collecting

Thursday, August 6, 2020

Darling Debbie by Deluxe Reading

Circa 1958 Darling Debbie by Deluxe Reading

This is one of the many pandemic doll purchases I made during the end of May and throughout the month of June, which led to a month-long doll-buying hiatus during July. I was still on said hiatus at the time this post was drafted. Darling Debbie, as seen in the seller's auction photo above, is a 30-inch circa 1958 stuffed vinyl doll by Deluxe Reading. She arrived with a couple of issues. Her leg vinyl has several wrinkles (that I planned to conceal with clothing) and her neck was unstable (which I was able to stabilize).

During the late 1950s through 1960s, this type of doll was sold under different names in grocery stores wearing elaborate cotillion gowns or dressed as brides or bridesmaids. As a child, I remember shopping with my parents and seeing the dolls that appeared larger than life on overhead shelves in grocery stores, but I never saw a black one.

As an adult collector, for years I searched for a black one and was outbid on eBay a time or two. Giving up the search, during the late 1990s/early 2000s I dyed a white one brown. I still longed for an authentically black Darling Debbie because the body of the dyed doll, which was once a rich brown color, eventually faded with time.

Darling Debbie's first close-up shot illustrates her faded lip color

"101" is this doll's only mark.

Darling Debbie's back is marked 101. I am not certain that this is actually Darling Debbie or one of the other 30-inch dolls Deluxe Reading manufactured, but in my collection, she is Darling Debbie. Incidentally, the doll I dyed brown is marked 251/A-E on her neck and 13 on her back.

Prior to taking the initial photos, I removed the white infant-size dress Darling Debbie arrived wearing and washed her face, body, and limbs with a mild soap. She remained nude for several weeks until I was able to find the perfect dress for her.

Darling Debbie models her new dress and poses with the dyed doll. In this photo, her unstable neck is apparent. In the next photo, the subtle differences of their head sculpts are noticeable.

The dyed doll on the left appears to have a more mature face. The new doll's upper lip is fuller, and she has a child-like face.

Because I wanted to dress my doll in period-appropriate attire, I searched eBay and found a lovely sapphire blue and black full-length halter dress with a sequined bodice. It was made for Deluxe Reading's 30-inch high-heel fashion dolls. According to the seller, the dress was part of a curated collection of 1950s fashion dolls, clothing, and accessories.

I added this handmade black slip.

The skirt of the dress is sheer, so I hand-sewed a half-slip using black taffeta.

After searching through my large-fashion-doll shoe stash (shoes made for large fashion dolls), I found the perfect pair of black high-heel shoes that were purchased after the dyed doll arrived nearly 20 years ago.

Polyfill stuffing was added to the neck area to create stability.

Before replacing the disk that separates the head and neck, trimming the excess stuffing and reattaching the head to the neck, I also added stuffing to the head.

To add stability to the newest girl's neck, I removed the head and added polyfill stuffing to the neck area and also in the head opening. I packed it in as tightly as possible. While doing this, I wore a disposable face mask because I am not sure if inhaling fibers of the original gray-colored stuffing used in this doll is safe.

The extra polyfill stabilized the neck, allows her to hold her head upright, and removed the wrinkle that was present around the lower neck area.

Painted toenails

Next, I added lip, mouth, fingernail, and toenail color with acrylic paint which gives her a more mature look.

New earrings, choker, and painted lips

Another view of the earrings, choker, and added lip color

I visited a local beauty supply store and purchased faux sapphire and diamond drop earrings and another pair of oversized faux diamond hoop earrings. The oversized hoop earrings were fashioned into a choker and a bracelet.

The faux diamond bracelet was made using an oversized hoop earring.

I removed the ear posts and clamps from the oversized hoops and squeezed these into the desired size and shape for the doll's neck and wrist.

The finished look

I think she looks stunning. The overall cost of the doll, dress, and accessories is far less than the final auction prices of other dolls I was outbid on in the past. As additional savings, the seller, who lives locally, delivered this doll to me along with two others that I purchased from her. This shaved over $30 off the final cost to ship all three dolls. As I have often said or written, it "saves" to exercise patience.

Darling Debbie's purchase motivated me to repaint the dyed doll's lips and fingernails and to restyle the hair of a 24-inch 1950s fashion doll by Adanta that had been wearing an oversized wig to hide her choppy and brittle hair. Because the 24-inch doll's hair is brittle, I smoothed it down with my hands and applied Eco Style Gel to give it a permanent hold and to prevent further shedding as seen in the final photo.

The dresses worn by the dyed doll and the 24-inch doll by Adanta Novelties Corporation are actually sequined majorette gauntlets that I purchased from a thrift store several years ago to repurpose as doll dresses.

All three dolls took the above final photograph before they were returned to their display area. I enjoyed several hours of doll therapy while refurbishing the older two and dressing and accessorizing my long-sought-after Darling Debbie.

Monday, August 3, 2020

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.

**********

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.