Johnny Gruelle History

THE HISTORY OF RAGGEDY ANN

She began as a family rag doll; an old toy, faded and worn, tossed into an attic. And there, the legend goes, a little girl named Marcella found her one wet and rainy day.

Her father Johnny Gruelle, saw infinite possibilities in that old plaything, so he repaired her and gave her a name. With her shoe-button eyes and winsome smile, Raggedy Ann soon became the beloved playmate of Gruelle's young daughter, Marcella.

When Marcella Gruelle fell ill and died in her early teens, Johnny was devastated. But knowing how much his daughter had adored Raggedy Ann, he began writing the stories that were eventually published.

Gruelle soon gave Raggedy Ann a brother named Raggedy Andy, and through the years the two floppy rag dolls acquired many other wonderful story book friends - all inhabitants of a very special world, where dolls come alive and enjoy magical adventures when no mortals are present.

JOHNNY GRUELLE

Johnny Gruelle is best known for creating the world famous rag doll characters, Raggedy Ann and Andy. While the Raggedys were the indisputable centerpiece of Gruelle's career, in his heart of hearts, Johnny was a dyed-in-the-wool freelance artist, who felt most at home at his drawing board, crafting illustrations and features for newspapers and magazines.

It was his illustrating work that led him to create a distinctive, whimsical design for a doll named "Raggedy Ann," which he patented and trademarked in 1915. Gruelle was soon pitching book ideas, and ultimately, he connected with the P.F. Volland Company, a juvenile publisher in Chicago. In 1918 Volland published Gruelle's Raggedy Ann Stories and also introduced a matching character doll, and the rest is history. More Raggedy books and dolls followed, and Gruelle eventually became known as "The Raggedy Ann Man."

John B. Gruelle Patent: Raggedy Ann; Sept. 7, 1915
John B. Gruelle Patent: Raggedy Ann; Sept. 7, 1915
John B. Gruelle Patent: Raggedy Andy; Aug. 24, 1920
John B. Gruelle Patent: Raggedy Andy; Aug. 24, 1920

DOLL MANUFACTURERS

P.F. Volland Company: 1920-1934
Characteristics: Brown or auburn hair, Shoe button eyes, Feet turned outward, Candy or cardboard heart.

Exposition Doll and Toy Company: 1934-1935
Characteristics: Looked more like Johnny Gruelle's drawings, Magenta colored hair with large top knots. Painted face and shorter wider nose. Did not make an Andy.

Mollye Goldman: Unauthorized 1935-1938
Characteristics: Painted features on oil cloth faces, Side glancing eyes (they did make a few with shoe button eyes).

Georgene Novelties Company, Inc.: 1936-1962
Characteristics: Different shades of hair, Many different facial expressions, Tin eyes with much later dolls having protruding plastic eyes.

Knickerbocker Toy Company: 1962-1982
Characteristics: Real red heads, Several different shapes sizes and looks, These are the dolls we all remember.

Applause Toy Company and Hasbro Company: Manufactured Applause 1981, Hasbro 1983 and Dakin 2000-Present.