Raggedy Ann & Andy

I wish I had my original Raggedy Ann & Andy dolls. I remember them vividly, even down to the boxes they came in with the see-thru windows. For whatever reason, I loved those dolls when I was younger. Like so many of my childhood toys, they were either lost, given away, destroyed, or something. The dolls pictured here are miniature versions of the ones I had. My mother-in-law bought these for me a few years back at the Navy Exchange she shops at. If you look closely, you can see that infamous yellow rickrack and that blue and white purple outfit of Mrs. Beasley. Raggedy Ann & Andy sit happily on her lap, along with some other of my childhood toys. Only a few are originals; the others are all replicas. My MIL has a great pair of dolls that one of her relatives hand-made for her. I should have taken pictures of them when I was in CA recently. They're awesome dolls.

Raggedy Ann was born on September 7, 1915 by creator, Johnny Gruelle. Three years later, she was marketed along with a series of stories. Her brother, Andy came long in 1920, dressed in a sailor suit and hat. Raggedy Ann was designed for Gruelle's daughter, Marcella. She brought him an old, hand-made ragdoll, and he drew a face on it for her. The story says he pulled down a book of poems — The Raggedy Man and Little Orphan Annie — and decided to call the doll, Raggedy Ann. Marcella died at the age of thirteen after receiving a vaccine for smallpox. Johnny Gruelle blamed it on the vaccine, although doctors said she had a heart condition. Regardless, Gruelle became an opponent for the vaccinations and used Raggedy Ann as a symbol for the anti-vaccination movement. 

Did you have a Raggedy Ann & Andy doll when you were a kid?