Doll-A-Day 2023 #13: Vintage 'Miss America' Doll... and She's Free!

   I am still at Emma's, and will be indefinitely. For those of you following the story of the fire, I actually learned from Ken today that he found me laying on the floor of the landing, and dragged me to the top of the stairs. I was getting impossible to drag and he couldn't breathe and had little strength left. He had to go down to the first landing to breathe himself. The neighbour was banging on the door and he managed to go the rest of the way down and let her in, and she then helped him get me on my feet and down the stairs. I had no idea I had actually fallen. I just remember thinking I was pretty close to it. I can't imagine how scared Ken was, with me nearly passed out, and him getting closer to it himself, and not able to get me out of there.

  I feel stupid and pointless even writing the blog. But there isn't much I can do from here. Today I scrub a couple of things, but I am waiting on some laundry soap and white vinegar to hand wash the Christmas stockings, which were still laying in the bedroom, waiting to be put away. They got pretty blackened from the smoke. Most of them will be easy to clean, but I am afraid to wash my stocking. I've had it since childhood, and my mom wrote my name on it with marker. I'm afraid her handwriting will wash out.

  Today's doll has had an unusual path to the blog. Just before the fire I received an email from a lady who had come across the blog, and wanted to know if I took donations of dolls! She offered to send me pictures if I was interested, and if I wanted them, mail them to me...at her expense! Quite a generous offer! But they are her childhood dolls, and she just wanted to find them a good home. That's very sweet. 

  So, I obviously can't take the dolls myself at this point. I couldn't put them in my house, as we are trying to clear up such a stinky, smoky, wet mess. So I told her, if she sent me more pictures, I would feature the dolls on the blog, and let you all know that they are available for adoption. All her dolls come with some clothing, which I will also show you pictures of. Some of it may be homemade, but some of the clothes are obviously factory made. I was able to at least partially identify most of the dolls, as she went back and took pictures of the markings for me, once I told her where to look. If anybody can identify  any of the dolls or clothing I couldn't identify, please leave a comment, even if you aren't interested in adopting. I'll update the blog. That will help others to find them. 

  She was willing to send the dolls at her cost, but if she is sending them out individually, not only is that a lot of trouble for her, but also pretty expensive. So if any of you are interested in adopting one of her lovies, please offer to pay shipping for her. 

  The owner says all the dolls are basically from the 1950's. The first doll is dressed as Miss America. I'm not sure if that's a homemade outfit, or her original. It does have a crown.

She has no markings, so I wasn't able to figure out who she is.

Or is that something near the joint in her neck, on the left?

  She's 18 inches tall. I would say she was a competitor for Miss Revlon.

She comes with some clothes. 

The green dress with plaid trim looks familiar.

  So there's the first free doll. I hope someone would love to give this lady a home. If you can add any information, for the benefit of the post, or to help a future owner find her, please leave a comment. If you are interested in the doll, please leave a comment with contact information, (which won't be published.), and I will put you in contact with the owner.