Raggedy Ann and Andy Day – June 12, 2024

History of Raggedy Ann and Andy Day

Raggedy Ann and Andy are characters that are now an essential part of American culture. And the entire success of the franchise goes solely to the creator Johnny Gruelle. Gruelle, who was the son of a painter, worked as a newspaper cartoonist. In 1910, he won the first prize in a comic drawing contest by the “New York Herald.” From thereon, he continued to illustrate children’s stories and seemed to possess a love for creating content for kids. While there are many stories behind the origins of the raggedy doll, it is believed it all started when Gruelle’s daughter brought a faceless cloth doll from her grandmother’s attic. Gruelle decided to give the doll a face and drew some features on it. He also sewed a shoe button in place of a missing eye. From thereon, started the creation of the Raggedy Ann dolls that gained great popularity in the U.S. The features of the doll include red hair and a triangle nose.

Once the doll gained fandom, Gruelle started to use the character in a series of books he was writing and illustrating for children. The books included several other characters such as Ann’s brother Andy. Popularly known as Raggedy Andy, the character was introduced in 1920. The duo gained such popularity that over 1000 stories were written about them. The success of the books also led to the launch of the Raggedy Ann and Andy cartoons. The characters were then used on children’s clothes furnishing and other daily use objects.