Raggedy Ann

Raggedy Ann meets Raggedy Andy for the first time; illustrated by Johnny Gruelle

Raggedy Ann is a fictional character created by American writer Johnny Gruelle (1880–1938) in a series of books he wrote and illustrated for young children. Raggedy Ann is a rag doll with red yarn for hair and has a triangle nose. The character was created in 1915 as a doll, and was introduced to the public in the 1918 book Raggedy Ann Stories. A doll was also marketed along with the book to great success. A sequel, Raggedy Andy Stories (1920) introduced the character of her brother, Raggedy Andy, dressed in sailor suit and hat.

History

Origins

Gruelle created Raggedy Ann for his daughter, Marcella, when she brought him an old hand-made rag doll and he drew a face on it. From his bookshelf, he pulled a book of poems by James Whitcomb Riley, and combined the names of two poems, "The Raggedy Man" and "Little Orphant Annie." He said, "Why don’t we call her Raggedy Ann?"

Marcella died at age 13, shortly after being vaccinated at school for smallpox without her parents' consent. Authorities blamed a heart defect, but her parents blamed the vaccination. Gruelle became an opponent of vaccination, and the Raggedy Ann doll was used as a symbol by the anti-vaccination movement.

Raggedy Ann dolls were originally handmade. Later, PF Volland, a Gruelle book publisher, made the dolls. In 1935 Volland ceased operation and Ann and Andy were made under Gruelle's permission by Exposition Dolls, and without permission (during legal limbo) by MollyE's Dolls, resulting in Gruelle v (Mollye) Goldman.

Toys and adaptations into other media

Raggedy Ann & Andy dolls

• • P.F. Volland Co. 1920-1934
  • Exposition doll and Toy Co. 1934-mid 1935 (less than 1 yr. production RARE)
  • MollyE's Doll Outfitters (without permission) 1935-1938
  • Georgene Novelties 1938-1962
  • Knickerbocker Toy Co. 1963-1982
  • Applause Toy Co./Russ Berrie 1983-2011
  • Hasbro/Playskool 1983–Present (Master License)
  • Aurora World Inc. 2012 - present (exclusive plush doll license)
  • Simon and Schuster(books and other media) - Present

Although it is said Raggedy Ann and Andy are now considered in the public domain, scores of handmade Raggedy Ann/Andy dolls have been created since the 1940s to present.

• • 1940 McCall's Pattern #820 first appeared for a 19-in. dolls, Ann doll comes with cape pattern
  • 1945? McCall's Pattern #914 for Awake/Asleep dolls plus camel with the wrinkled knees
  • 1958 McCall's Pattern #820 appeared with a slightly modified pattern for both dolls
  • 1963 McCall's Pattern #6941 Ann pattern has lost her cape, dolls now come in 3 sizes
  • 1970 McCall's Pattern #2531 Dolls come in 3 sizes but simplified pattern and different hair and face embroidery pattern, loss of button eyes
  • 1980? new McCall's Pattern # 7131 for 36in dolls plus apron child can wear
  • 1977 McCall's Pattern #5713 HEIGHT of Raggedy mania, identical as previous #2531 pattern, different cover
  • 1982 McCall's Pattern #8077 re-issue of previous patterns with NEW cover with dolls with different hair color

McCall's has produced identical #2531 patterns to present date with only a change in cover design. Simplicity Patterns released a licensed doll pattern for a different design doll that included all 4 sizes in the late 90's, though the well-known McCall's Raggedy Ann/Andy pattern was still available. Both patterns are still available today.

Many subsequent books were published and the characters made their way into other media, including:

• A series of animated Fleischer Studios/Famous Studios shorts:
  • Raggedy Ann and Raggedy Andy (1941 film) (1941)
  • Suddenly It's Spring (1944)
  • The Enchanted Square (1947)
• A comic book published by Dell Comics.
• A 1977 animated feature, Raggedy Ann & Andy: A Musical Adventure, directed by Richard Williams. Raggedy Ann was drawn by Tissa David, who became one of the first women to animate a leading character in an animated feature film.
• Raggedy Ann and Andy in The Great Santa Claus Caper (1978) a Christmas television special directed by Chuck Jones
• Raggedy Ann and Andy in The Pumpkin Who Couldn’t Smile (1979) a Halloween television special also directed by Chuck Jones
• A 1988–1992 animated television series, The Adventures of Raggedy Ann and Andy

While Simon & Schuster and Hasbro claim to own trademarks to the Raggedy Ann and/or Raggedy Ann and Andy names, the original 1915 doll design and 1918 and 1920 books are in the public domain, their copyright having expired. Books and films published after 1950 are protected by copyright.^{[citation needed]}

In 2012 Hasbro has signed Aurora World for a new line of Raggedy Ann and Raggedy Andy plush dolls.

Raggedy Ann was inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame in 2002. Raggedy Andy joined her in 2007.

Books

It appears that many books were released and credited to Johnny Gruelle after his death, regardless of who actually wrote and illustrated them. Noted artist Ethel Hays illustrated most of the stories that were published beginning in 1944 by the Saalfield Publishing Company.

• Raggedy Ann Stories (1918) written and illustrated by Johnny Gruelle
• Raggedy Andy Stories (1920) written and illustrated by Johnny Gruelle
• Raggedy Ann and Andy and the Camel with the Wrinkled Knees (1924) by Johnny Gruelle
• Raggedy Andy's Number Book (1924) written and illustrated by Johnny Gruelle
• Raggedy Ann's Wishing Pebble (1925) by Johnny Gruelle
• Raggedy Ann's Alphabet Book (1925) by Johnny Gruelle
• Beloved Belindy (1926) written and illustrated by Johnny Gruelle
• The Paper Dragon: A Raggedy Ann Adventure (1926) by Johnny Gruelle
• Wooden Willie (1927) written and illustrated by Johnny Gruelle
• Raggedy Ann's Fairy Stories (1928) written and illustrated by Johnny Gruelle
• Raggedy Ann's Magical Wishes (1928) written and illustrated by Johnny Gruelle
• Marcella: A Raggedy Ann Story (1929) by Johnny Gruelle
• Raggedy Ann in the Deep Deep Woods (1930) written and illustrated by Johnny Gruelle
• Raggedy Ann's Sunny Songs (1930) words and illustrations by Johnny Gruelle, music by Will Woodin
• Raggedy Ann in Cookie Land (1931) by Johnny Gruelle
• Raggedy Ann's Lucky Pennies (1932) by Johnny Gruelle
• Raggedy Ann in the Golden Meadow (1935) by Johnny Gruelle
• Raggedy Ann and the Left-Handed Safety Pin (1935)
• Raggedy Ann's Joyful Songs (1937) words and illustrations by Johnny Gruelle, music by Chas. Miller
• Raggedy Ann in the Magic Book (1939) written by Johnny Gruelle, illustrated by Worth Gruelle
• Raggedy Ann and the Laughing Brook (1940) by Johnny Gruelle
• Raggedy Ann and the Golden Butterfly (1940) by Johnny Gruelle
• Raggedy Ann and the Hoppy Toad (1940)
• Raggedy Ann Helps Grandpa Hoppergrass (1940) by Johnny Gruelle
• Raggedy Ann Goes Sailing (1941)
• Raggedy Ann and Andy and the Nice Fat Policeman (1942) by Johnny Gruelle
• Raggedy Ann and Betsy Bonnet String (1943) by Johnny Gruelle
• Raggedy Ann and Andy (1944)
• Raggedy Ann in the Snow White Castle (1946)
• Raggedy Ann's Adventures (1947)
• Raggedy Ann and the Slippery Slide (1947)
• Raggedy Ann's Mystery (1947)
• Raggedy Ann and Marcella's First Day At School (1952)
• Raggedy Ann's Merriest Christmas (1952) by Johnny Gruelle
• Raggedy Andy's Surprise (1953)
• Raggedy Ann's Tea Party (1954)
• Raggedy Ann's Secret (1959)
• Raggedy Ann and the Golden Ring (1961)
• Raggedy Ann and the Hobby Horse (1961) by Johnny Gruelle
• Raggedy Ann and the Happy Meadow (1961)
• Raggedy Ann and the Wonderful Witch (1961)
• Raggedy Ann and the Tagalong Present (1971)
• Raggedy Andy's Treasure Hunt (1973)
• Raggedy Ann's Cooking School (1974)
• Raggedy Granny Stories (1977) by Doris Thorner Salzberg

In popular culture

Gruelle's home town, Arcola, Illinois, is the former home of the annual Raggedy Ann & Andy Festival and the Raggedy Ann and Andy Museum. The museum was closed and the festival discontinued in 2009. Some of the museum's contents were donated to the Strong National Museum of Play; other parts of the collection are still in Arcola at Rockome Gardens theme park.

In the television show, Dark Shadows, the children of Collinwood are frequently seen with a Raggedy Ann doll, even in the time-travel sequences in 1840 and 1897.

The Japanese video game company Hudson Entertainment created a character based on Raggedy Ann in its Xbox Live Bomberman game called Raggedy Bomb.

Raggedy Ann was presented as an original musical at New York State Theatre Institute in the 1980s.^{[citation needed]}

On March 27, 2002, Raggedy Ann was inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame.

In October 1986, Raggedy Ann, The Musical Adventure, starring Ivy Austin, opened on Broadway at The Nederlander Theater.

In a South Park Halloween episode, Stan dresses up as Raggedy Andy expecting his crush to dress up as Raggedy Ann, but when she comes as Chewbacca he is ridiculed at school.

In the Big Bang Theory's "The Holographic Excitation"(Season 6, Episode 5 aired October 25, 2012), Amy and Sheldon find it hard to agree on couple costumes for the party. She wants something romantic, while Sheldon prefers Star Wars characters or Hewlett and Packard, founders of the HP company. They come dressed as Raggedy Ann and "Raggedy" C3PO, a compromise.

In Parks and Recreation, the character of Ann, played by Rashida Jones, dresses up as Raggedy Ann for Halloween.

In the pilot episode of The West Wing, President Bartlet's granddaughter is sent a Raggedy Ann doll with a knife stuck through its throat in response to her expressing pro-choice views in a pre-teen magazine interview

In the nu-metal song "All in the Family, by Korn featuring Fred Durst, Durst asks why Jonathan Davis, frontman of Korn, is trying so hard to be like Raggedy Ann.

External links

• The Official Raggedy Ann Website (Simon and Schuster books)
• Raggedy Ann Stories from Project Gutenberg
• Raggedy Ann and Andy: History and Legend by Patricia Hall
• The Johnny Gruelle Raggedy Ann & Andy Museum in Arcola, Illinois

IMDb

• Raggedy Ann and Raggedy Andy at the Internet Movie Database (1941)
• Suddenly It's Spring at the Internet Movie Database (1944)
• The Enchanted Square at the Internet Movie Database (1947)
• Raggedy Ann & Andy: A Musical Adventure at the Internet Movie Database (1977)
• Raggedy Ann and Andy in The Great Santa Claus Caper at the Internet Movie Database (1978)
• Raggedy Ann & Andy: The Pumpkin Who Couldn't Smile at the Internet Movie Database (1979)
• The Adventures of Raggedy Ann and Andy at the Internet Movie Database (1988)