Volland Raggedy Ann Cloth Doll
The Raggedy Ann doll was born from the imagination of a little girl and her father. Marcella Gruelle was born to Johnny Gruelle
on Aug 18, 1902. Marcella was vaccinated in 1915 for influenza. Unfortunately, she developed an infection and was
bedridden. Johnny and the child's dolls stood watch over her, amusing her with tales of their exploits. Her pre-existing heart
condition, worsened by the infection, took its toll and Marcella Delight Gruelle died in November or 1915, at the age of 13.
According to Tabbat "...He comforted himself by seating her favorite rag doll in his studio, "where he could see her cheery smile
all day, for, as you must surely know, smiles and happiness are truly catching."
According to Tabbat, Johnny based his cartoon character Dolly upon his daughter Marcella who had a rag doll. Dolly in turn
often carried her rag doll, Rags, in the cartoons. Rags was modified into Raggedy Ann. On September 7, 1915, Johnny Gruelle
received a patent number 47789 for the Raggedy Ann doll.
In September of 1918, Volland published Raggedy Ann Stories. The book was an instant hit. Put in context, the homey little
doll was a comfort to the mass change in American society of the time. World War I and just ended and people were leaving
the country for the city life. Stress and major change was everywhere--except in the heart of a little rag doll reminiscent of a
simpler and earlier time. This role of the doll as an expression of the country's need for an outlet for the societal pressures
would be repeated in the 1930s when a doll was made in the likeness of a child movie star.
According to Tabbat:
Gruelle set out to create a funny-looking doll to embody his philosophy that "the homelies may be the most beautiful
within," then endowed his "loppy" heroine with special qualities. Her outlook on the world is defined by just 2 things: a
candy heart that says "I Love You," and a painted-on smile.. Raggedy Ann combines the outlook and appearance of a
child with the wisdom of one who has observed life for 59 years." (p22).
The actual origin of Raggedy Ann has multiple versions. One of the stories in the Raggedy Ann Stories book tells of Marcella
finding an old rag doll at her grandmother's house. So that the doll "can see the changes in the world", grandma replaces a
shoe button eye. Other "historians" repeat the story of Marcella finding a fade cloth doll in the attic and requested her artist
father to "fix it". According to Myrtle Gruelle, early in their marriage, she and Johnny visited his parents in Indianapolis. He
remembered a doll his mother had given his sister Prudence. Upon retrieving it from the attic, he suggested that it might "make
a good story". Since many of his stories from the beginning of his career involved toys coming to life, this version of the origin
of Raggedy Ann has credibility.
To obtain a patent, there must be drawings and models of the item. Since the patent was obtained and 1915 but Volland did
not produce dolls until 1918, there are a few dolls that were made, possibly by the Gruelle family, to be part of the patent and as
salesman's samples. Unfortunately, no dolls exist that look like the patent drawing. If there were dolls like the patent drawing,
the drawing, and the dolls, quickly modified to the more familiar Raggedy Ann. The dolls by Volland with their printed faces are
clearly identified as manufactured for the market. But what of the hand drawn faces with the painted on shoes? What about
the hand drawn faces with the sewn on shoes? Were these home made variations made as problems in the manufacture for
the mass market were worked out? Were they salesman's samples? Who made them? We may never know.
Samples of early Raggedy Ann Dolls
Clothing:
Raggedy Ann always wore bloomers, dress and apron. Her flower print dress and, usually, the white bloomers were fastened
with mother of pearl buttons. Sleeves were gathered at the hem to form a ruffled cuff. The bloomers also had a ruffled cuff at
the hem. A modified ruffle attached to the top of the dress as a collar. The length of the dress and bloomers varied based upon
the length of the doll's legs such that some costumes reached below the knees while others reached the ankles. Her apron
was gathered at the high waist and had a five sided pocket.
Unlike Ann's removable clothing, Andy's clothes were sewn on. While the shirts and pants were made separately, they were
sewn together by the attachment of the buttons on the front and back of the pants. In fact, some dolls' front buttons were sewn
through the doll to the back buttons! There are two non-functional decorative buttons at the bottom of the trouser legs. His
shirt was patterned in plaid while his pants were solid blue. His hat, cocked boyishly to the side, was blue with a white turned
up brim.
Shoes of both dolls were black, brown or for Ann occasionally grey. Except for the few dolls with painted shoes, the shoes
actually form the feet of the dolls. These shoes do not have the straps seen on the painted shoes, the patent application or the
cover of the Raggedy Ann Stories.
Socks actually formed the legs. Usually of red and white horizontal stripes, variations did occur with the infrequent blue stripe
appearing. The classic sock has a thicker red and white stripe though thin stripes on the socks can be found.
Expanding upon the popularity of Raggedy Ann and Andy, Volland produced other Gruelle characters including eight additional
characters: Beloved Belindy, Percy Policeman, Eddie Elf, Uncle Clem, Pirate Chieftain, Little Brown Bear, Sunny Bunny, Eddie
Elephant. Unfortunately, this expansion occurred at the height of the depression when stores were not expanding supplies and
families were not buying multiple dolls. By 1934, Volland declared bankruptcy.
As with any popular image, Raggedy Ann and Andy represented their time in many ways. There were of course the popular
children's books but there were also the advertising endorsements the Raggedys gave products from Cream of Wheat to
ScotTissue. Raggedys were pictured being carried by the principles in other books published by Volland. Shirley Temple is
even seen feeding a Raggedy Ann on the back cover of The Story of Shirley Temple 91934, Saalfield Publishing Co.) Raggey
Ann and Andy costumes were made for adult costume parties as well as children's paper dolls such as Dolly Dingle. Raggedy
had sequences in movies such as The Exquisite Thief (1919, Universal Pictures), to places on Broadway. According to
Tabbat, the song Someone to Watch Over Me, sung to a rag doll in Oh, Kay!, was inspired by Raggedy Ann when composer
George Gershwin saw her in a store window.
Also common for popular items, Raggedy was extensively imitated. Some were so close to the original, Johnny spent time in
court protecting his copyright. However, Johnny could not even protect his copyright until Volland released it back to him in
December of 1934.
PS-the dolls never had candy hearts as in the stories. They were made of cardboard.
Tabbat, Andrew. The Collector's World of Raggedy Ann and Andy Vol One. Gold Horse Publishing. Annapolis Md. 1996.
Tabbat, Andrew. The Collector's World of Raggedy Ann and Andy Vol Two. Gold Horse Publishing. Annapolis Md. 1996.
on Aug 18, 1902. Marcella was vaccinated in 1915 for influenza. Unfortunately, she developed an infection and was
bedridden. Johnny and the child's dolls stood watch over her, amusing her with tales of their exploits. Her pre-existing heart
condition, worsened by the infection, took its toll and Marcella Delight Gruelle died in November or 1915, at the age of 13.
According to Tabbat "...He comforted himself by seating her favorite rag doll in his studio, "where he could see her cheery smile
all day, for, as you must surely know, smiles and happiness are truly catching."
According to Tabbat, Johnny based his cartoon character Dolly upon his daughter Marcella who had a rag doll. Dolly in turn
often carried her rag doll, Rags, in the cartoons. Rags was modified into Raggedy Ann. On September 7, 1915, Johnny Gruelle
received a patent number 47789 for the Raggedy Ann doll.
In September of 1918, Volland published Raggedy Ann Stories. The book was an instant hit. Put in context, the homey little
doll was a comfort to the mass change in American society of the time. World War I and just ended and people were leaving
the country for the city life. Stress and major change was everywhere--except in the heart of a little rag doll reminiscent of a
simpler and earlier time. This role of the doll as an expression of the country's need for an outlet for the societal pressures
would be repeated in the 1930s when a doll was made in the likeness of a child movie star.
According to Tabbat:
Gruelle set out to create a funny-looking doll to embody his philosophy that "the homelies may be the most beautiful
within," then endowed his "loppy" heroine with special qualities. Her outlook on the world is defined by just 2 things: a
candy heart that says "I Love You," and a painted-on smile.. Raggedy Ann combines the outlook and appearance of a
child with the wisdom of one who has observed life for 59 years." (p22).
The actual origin of Raggedy Ann has multiple versions. One of the stories in the Raggedy Ann Stories book tells of Marcella
finding an old rag doll at her grandmother's house. So that the doll "can see the changes in the world", grandma replaces a
shoe button eye. Other "historians" repeat the story of Marcella finding a fade cloth doll in the attic and requested her artist
father to "fix it". According to Myrtle Gruelle, early in their marriage, she and Johnny visited his parents in Indianapolis. He
remembered a doll his mother had given his sister Prudence. Upon retrieving it from the attic, he suggested that it might "make
a good story". Since many of his stories from the beginning of his career involved toys coming to life, this version of the origin
of Raggedy Ann has credibility.
To obtain a patent, there must be drawings and models of the item. Since the patent was obtained and 1915 but Volland did
not produce dolls until 1918, there are a few dolls that were made, possibly by the Gruelle family, to be part of the patent and as
salesman's samples. Unfortunately, no dolls exist that look like the patent drawing. If there were dolls like the patent drawing,
the drawing, and the dolls, quickly modified to the more familiar Raggedy Ann. The dolls by Volland with their printed faces are
clearly identified as manufactured for the market. But what of the hand drawn faces with the painted on shoes? What about
the hand drawn faces with the sewn on shoes? Were these home made variations made as problems in the manufacture for
the mass market were worked out? Were they salesman's samples? Who made them? We may never know.
Samples of early Raggedy Ann Dolls
Clothing:
Raggedy Ann always wore bloomers, dress and apron. Her flower print dress and, usually, the white bloomers were fastened
with mother of pearl buttons. Sleeves were gathered at the hem to form a ruffled cuff. The bloomers also had a ruffled cuff at
the hem. A modified ruffle attached to the top of the dress as a collar. The length of the dress and bloomers varied based upon
the length of the doll's legs such that some costumes reached below the knees while others reached the ankles. Her apron
was gathered at the high waist and had a five sided pocket.
Unlike Ann's removable clothing, Andy's clothes were sewn on. While the shirts and pants were made separately, they were
sewn together by the attachment of the buttons on the front and back of the pants. In fact, some dolls' front buttons were sewn
through the doll to the back buttons! There are two non-functional decorative buttons at the bottom of the trouser legs. His
shirt was patterned in plaid while his pants were solid blue. His hat, cocked boyishly to the side, was blue with a white turned
up brim.
Shoes of both dolls were black, brown or for Ann occasionally grey. Except for the few dolls with painted shoes, the shoes
actually form the feet of the dolls. These shoes do not have the straps seen on the painted shoes, the patent application or the
cover of the Raggedy Ann Stories.
Socks actually formed the legs. Usually of red and white horizontal stripes, variations did occur with the infrequent blue stripe
appearing. The classic sock has a thicker red and white stripe though thin stripes on the socks can be found.
Expanding upon the popularity of Raggedy Ann and Andy, Volland produced other Gruelle characters including eight additional
characters: Beloved Belindy, Percy Policeman, Eddie Elf, Uncle Clem, Pirate Chieftain, Little Brown Bear, Sunny Bunny, Eddie
Elephant. Unfortunately, this expansion occurred at the height of the depression when stores were not expanding supplies and
families were not buying multiple dolls. By 1934, Volland declared bankruptcy.
As with any popular image, Raggedy Ann and Andy represented their time in many ways. There were of course the popular
children's books but there were also the advertising endorsements the Raggedys gave products from Cream of Wheat to
ScotTissue. Raggedys were pictured being carried by the principles in other books published by Volland. Shirley Temple is
even seen feeding a Raggedy Ann on the back cover of The Story of Shirley Temple 91934, Saalfield Publishing Co.) Raggey
Ann and Andy costumes were made for adult costume parties as well as children's paper dolls such as Dolly Dingle. Raggedy
had sequences in movies such as The Exquisite Thief (1919, Universal Pictures), to places on Broadway. According to
Tabbat, the song Someone to Watch Over Me, sung to a rag doll in Oh, Kay!, was inspired by Raggedy Ann when composer
George Gershwin saw her in a store window.
Also common for popular items, Raggedy was extensively imitated. Some were so close to the original, Johnny spent time in
court protecting his copyright. However, Johnny could not even protect his copyright until Volland released it back to him in
December of 1934.
PS-the dolls never had candy hearts as in the stories. They were made of cardboard.
Tabbat, Andrew. The Collector's World of Raggedy Ann and Andy Vol One. Gold Horse Publishing. Annapolis Md. 1996.
Tabbat, Andrew. The Collector's World of Raggedy Ann and Andy Vol Two. Gold Horse Publishing. Annapolis Md. 1996.
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To the left is a copy
of the original
Raggedy Ann patent
dated September 7,
1915.
To the left is an
edition of the original
Raggedy Ann Stories
by Gruelle.
Note in both the
patent and the cover
art, the doll wears
shoes with a strap.
This is only seen on
early hand painted
dolls.
of the original
Raggedy Ann patent
dated September 7,
1915.
To the left is an
edition of the original
Raggedy Ann Stories
by Gruelle.
Note in both the
patent and the cover
art, the doll wears
shoes with a strap.
This is only seen on
early hand painted
dolls.