Close to a century ago, Raggedy Ann was born from the mind of Johnny Gruelle. Gruelle was a newspaper cartoonist, known for his award-winning cartoons for newspapers such as the New York Herald. He was also a doting father to his little girl, Marcella. The story goes that Gruelle discovered in the attic an old rag doll of his grandmother’s. On Marcella’s fifth birthday, her father presented her with the doll. The child loved the doll so much that it became a favorite playmate for years to come.
Eventually, Gruelle started spinning bedtime yarns and sketching images of the doll. Then in 1915, he decided to patent the doll that his child loved so much. Unfortunately, Marcella passed away two weeks before the patent was granted at the tender age of thirteen due to a vaccination gone badly.
With the death of his beloved child, Gruelle continued to throw his heart into the making of this floppy doll. He wrote and illustrated scores of children’s books about Raggedy Ann and her friends. Raggedy Andy, Uncle Clem and the Camel with the Wrinkled Knee became characters in his homage to his little girl’s beloved doll.
With her flowered dress, white apron, striped-stockinged legs and of course the red hair, Raggedy Ann tends to make us wax nostalgic for a simpler time. And she is not just a forgotten toy of a bygone era. These days she has her own museum in Arcola, Illinois (Gruelle’s birthplace). The John Gruelle Raggedy Ann and Andy Museum, http://www.ragedyann-museum.org, was founded just a few years ago by Gruelle’s family and continues to be a hot attraction.
For more information on the lovable doll check out the “Rags” website, http://www.ragsmag.com. It’s the official magazine for Raggedy Ann and Andy collectors and enthusiasts.
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