Gruelle came up with the idea for Raggedy Ann when
his daughter Marcella found an old faceless doll in the attic which had belonged to her Aunt
. Gruelle painted a face on the doll and named her Raggedy Ann. In 1917, aged only 14, Marcella died from diphtheria following exposure to a contaminated vaccination needle.
Where did the Raggedy Ann doll originate?
Although the female members of Gruelle's family may have originally handmade a few of the versions of the Raggedy Ann doll in
Norwalk, Connecticut
, to help market the related books, Gruelle soon established a merchandising agreement with P. F.
Who invented Raggedy Ann?
One day in 1915, as the story goes,
Johnny Gruelle's
daughter Marcella brought him an old rag doll. He drew a face on the worn fabric and called the doll Raggedy Ann. Gruelle, a cartoonist and illustrator, wrote a children's book about Raggedy Ann in 1918.
What does Raggedy Ann stand for?
Raggedy Ann is
a rag doll
with red yarn for hair and a triangle nose. Gruelle received US Patent D47789 for his Raggedy Ann doll on September 7, 1915. The character was created in 1915 as a doll, and was introduced to the public in the 1918 book Raggedy Ann Stories.
When was Raggedy Ann born?
Raggedy Ann was born in
1915
in Illinois by Johnny Gruelle for his daughter, Marcella. When Marcella found a rag doll with no face, her dad, who made a living as a cartoonist, drew a face and heart on it, added button eyes and Raggedy Ann was born.
What happened to Raggedy Ann?
Gruelle came up with the idea for Raggedy Ann when his daughter Marcella found an old faceless doll in the attic which had belonged to her Aunt. Gruelle painted a face on the doll and named her Raggedy Ann. In 1917, aged only 14,
Marcella died from diphtheria following exposure to a contaminated vaccination needle
.
Are Raggedy Ann dolls worth anything?
The Raggedy Ann character was copyrighted in 1915 by Johnny Gruelle, a commercial artist. Gruelle knew he had a money maker and quickly licensed P.F. Volland to make dolls of Ann and her brother Andy. Today
Volland dolls are worth up to $3,000
and can be recognized by a cardboard heart inside you can actually feel.
Why does Raggedy Ann have a heart?
People began complaining that the hearts made the doll sticky, however, so
the family stopped giving her a heart
. But the thought of Raggedy Ann not having a heart was more than the public could bear, so they demanded she get her heart back. “For a while, Raggedy Ann had a cardboard heart,” said Gruelle.
How can you tell if a Raggedy Ann doll is real?
Volland dolls have long narrow red noses that are outlined in black.
Ann has tiny eyebrows and a narrow mouth
. Made of cotton, the dolls appear a bit grayish in color.
What do you know about Raggedy Ann and Andy?
Raggedy Ann, and
her equally spirited rag brother, Andy are the world's best-known and most adored rag dolls
. At the hand of their creator, cartoonist-illustrator-author Johnny Gruelle, the Raggedys weren't ever simply dolls.
Whats the story behind the Annabelle doll?
According to the Warrens, a student nurse was given the doll in 1970. They said that the doll behaved strangely, and
that a psychic medium told the student that the doll was inhabited by the spirit of a deceased girl named “Annabelle”
.
Is there a Raggedy Ann Museum?
The
Johnny Gruelle Raggedy Ann & Andy Museum
opened to the public in May of 1999, in Arcola, Illinois. We are the only officially licensed Raggedy Ann & Andy museum in the world!
Raggedy Andy and Ann dolls with high values
Dolls without packaging may or
may not have their original tags attached
.
How do you clean a Raggedy Ann doll?
If you've determined that the cloth doll can withstand the power of a washing machine, toss her in on the gentle cycle and wash in hot water with laundry detergent. If the doll is discolored or extremely dirty,
add 2 to 3 cups of distilled vinegar and sprinkle with baking soda
.
