About Raggedy Ann and Andy

History

• Raggedy Ann and Andy are brother and sister rag doll characters. They are famous and beloved the world over. They began in the creative mind of a storyteller, cartoonist, illustrator and author named Johnny Gruelle. There are several legends about the origins of the dolls. Some state that Gruelle's beloved daughter Marcella found an old rag doll in the attic, and she brought it down to her father. He tended to it, made a face and suggested calling the new charge "Raggedy Ann." His wife, Myrtle, said it was Gruelle himself who found the old rag doll in the attic, but the former legend is far more popular.
  Amid oncoming success, tragedy struck. Gruelle used Marcella in much of his art. She was his muse, and he doted on her. She passed away at the age of 13 as a result of an infected vaccination. Her father was devastated, and he received his final patent for his Raggedy Ann doll during that same year. He had to keep working for his family, and he worked on stories that featured Marcella as a recurring character alongside Raggedy Ann and Raggedy Andy.
  You can visit the Raggedy Ann and Andy Museum in Arcola, Ill., to find out more about the dolls' rich history and legacy. Refer to the museum's web site in our Resources section for more information.

Features

• Raggedy Ann and Andy are both rag dolls. They have red yarn hair, pale skin and rosy cheeks. Their eyes are "button" dark, and their lips and nose appear to be painted on. Raggedy Ann typically wear a blue dress with a white pinafore. She has red- and white-striped stockings and simple dark shoes. Raggedy Andy wears a red and white shirt with blue pants or overalls. He, too, wears white- and red-striped stockings and simple dark shoes.
  In fiction, Raggedy Ann and Andy came to life when people weren't in the room, and they had adventures together.

Types

• Entire stores are dedicated to Raggedy Ann and Andy merchandise. A child's room can have Raggedy Ann and Andy furniture, wall art, wallpaper, dolls, figurines, coloring books and almost anything you can imagine. Dozens of Christmas ornaments are in circulation featuring their likeness. There are fan clubs and collector groups. There are even porcelain dolls in their likeness. You can find party supplies and party favors from the store link in our Resources section.
  Gruelle lived to see his characters achieve worldwide fame, and he even gave Marcella her own volume of stories in the series.

Time Frame

• Gruelle got his final patent on Raggedy Ann in 1915, the same year that Marcella passed away. Gruelle's first volume of stories was published in 1918. The volume, called "Raggedy Ann Stories," was published by the P.F. Volland Co. Gruelle continued to publish an average of one book of Raggedy Ann stories a year for the next two decades. Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls themselves have pretty much continually been in production since their inception, when they were released at the same time as the books, through the current day.

Misconceptions

• A great deal is said about Raggedy Ann's "candy heart." While this is often seen as a symbol of the origins of the sweetness of the characters, the candy heart is sometimes described in legend as having literally come with the first dolls made. While this may have been true for some personal ones made by Gruelle, there has not been any evidence that suggests a commercial company produced the dolls with actual candy hearts inside.