Wednesday, September 16, 2020

Circa 1950s-1960s 14R Miss Revlon-Type by Adanta

A 14R 17-inch circa 1950s-1960s high-heel fashion doll by Adanta Novelties Corporation is shown as she was found in an eBay auction (seller's photos).

This doll was found on eBay in August 2020 as shown in the above-combined photos and in the next single photo of the head markings. These photos were used in the auction listing.

The jointed head is marked 14RA

She is 17-inches tall, marked 14RA on the head as seen above, and with a raised A on the lower torso illustrated next.

The lower back of her one-piece, stuffed-vinyl body is marked with a raised A.
The back of the torso, shot from a different angle, illustrates the raised A and the loss of original sheen.

In some areas that the original bridal gown covers, the stuffed-vinyl body has lost the original vinyl sealant or sheen as shown in my photos above and below.

In addition to having her original bridal gown and veil, she still has her original earrings, stockings, and high-heel shoes.

According to doll-collector Roselyn Gadia-Smitley (see the first link under Related Links), dolls like this one are often referred to as "grocery store dolls." Gadia-Smitley described that her white counterpart of this doll is similar to a boxed doll she owns named Jasmine that was made by Adanta. In a series of three YouTube videos that are included at the end of this post, it is further documented by another collector of these dolls that Adanta Novelties Corporation marked their 17-inch high-heel fashion dolls with the same marks as my doll.

As illustrated in the seller's photographs, the doll's dress was very dingy/dirty. I removed the dress and soaked it in a sink filled with hot water and laundry detergent. I allowed the dress to lie flat overnight to soak. I hand washed the panties. I did not wash the veil or the pinned-on netting that serves as a half slip.

She has a beautiful face with maintained blushing and lip color.

One- to two inches shorter in stature than most Miss Revlon-type dolls made by higher-end companies during the 1950s and 1960s, this doll's black rooted hair remains in good condition. Her sleep eyes function well. All of her eyelashes are intact and her facial blushing and lip color are perfect. Her original pearl earrings can be better seen in the above headshot.

I was disappointed that a previous owner pinned her veil to an area of her forehead, which left a visible pinhole underneath her bangs. When I repinned the veil to the sides and to the front of her head, I made certain that the pins were in the hair areas of her head and not on her face.

After washing her dress, I allowed it to air dry flat. I used a warm iron to iron a few wrinkles from the back of the skirt and the sleeves and redressed her as illustrated next.

Her undies are now sparkling clean. 

The elastic is stretched at the waist. As a remedy, I gathered the waist in the back and applied a piece of Scotch tape over the folded material for a better fit. 


A full-length view with undies on.

There is a small run in one stocking, but that does not bother me and it certainly does not bother her. What is important is that the stockings are original!


Half-slip netting

Next, the netting that serves as her half slip was repinned to her waist as it was safety-pinned originally by the manufacturer.

A close-up of the half slip is shown here.

She looks ready for her wedding day in her crisp white satin and lace gown.
Her veil has been repinned to her head as illustrated in this photograph and in the next.

She looks as perfect from the back as she does from the front.
She still has most of her fingernail paint. Some sheen loss is also noted on the dorsal surface of her hands.
This 17-inch doll by Adanta Novelties Corporation models for a profile photo.

She strikes one final pose.

After winning the auction, I received the following message from the eBay seller:

I am glad this doll is going to the right place. I found your Black Doll Collecting blog when trying to identify this doll's maker and appreciated the detail, photos, and extensive knowledge. I got this doll from a guy who does property clean-outs; in other words, she was abandoned in a house, along with other items and family photos that were all destined for the landfill. I have figured out her likely original owner, who died in April, if you want any of that information. I will drop the package off tomorrow at FedEx.
I did ask the seller to share the likely original owner's name with me and she did along with the woman's childhood home address. SDW lived in Denver, Colorado. In addition to learning about the previous owner, with additional research, I learned a lot more about the company that made these "grocery store dolls" in the following three videos. I hope you will find the videos informative, too.










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