Raggedy Ann & Andy Dolls

Raggedy Ann began as a storybook character created by illustrator and author Johnny Gruelle. Gruelle, who produced the New York Herald comic strip "Mr. Twee-Deedle," found an old rag doll in the attic of his mother's house and based the Raggedy Ann character on the doll. He patented the Raggedy Ann character in 1915. Gruelle's story lines for "Raggedy Ann and Andy" were inspired by his daughter Marcella and her pretend adventures with her own toys.

After Marcella passed away at the age of 13 from an infection resulting from a small pox vaccination, Gruelle turned his grief into hard work to finish the first series of "Raggedy Ann" stories. The stories were first published in 1918 by the P.F. Volland Company. About the same time Gruelle put his family to work creating the prototypes for the first Raggedy Ann dolls to be sold with the books, Gruelle published the sequel books to the "Raggedy Ann" stories about Raggedy Andy, Raggedy Ann's brother.

The original Raggedy Ann dolls were handmade and were produced by the Non-Breakable Toy Company of Muskegon, Michigan. Later on, the P.F. Volland Company took over manufacture of the dolls and produced them until 1934. Several other toy companies have produced the dolls since that time.

Quick Facts

• The Exposition Doll and Toy Company took over production of Raggedy Ann and Andy after P.F. Volland closed. This company produced the dolls for less than a year, so these vintage Raggedy Ann dolls are very rare
• Molly E's Doll Outfitters produced the dolls from 1935 to 1938 without Gruelle's permission, resulting in a lawsuit. Other toy companies who have produced Raggedy Ann include Georgene Novelties, Knickerbocker, and Russ Berrie. Hasbro holds the current license to produce Raggedy Ann
• Since 1918, Raggedy Ann and Andy have appeared in numerous books, comics, and animated movies. McCall's also produces sewing patterns for the dolls