Keepsake - Raggedy Ann

1952

I wonder if Susan and I got these Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls for Christmas? I liked the dolls because they had red hair, just like many people in our family. My memory is that there was only one other boy in London (Ohio) with red hair. 

In the second picture I'm holding a Raggedy Ann book from my childhood. I signed "Julie H." inside the front cover. Inside the back cover "1.25" is written, probably the price for the book. Joe gave me the new Raggedy Ann doll for Christmas many years ago. 

From the National Toy Hall of Fame website – “One day in 1915, as the story goes, Johnny Gruelle’s daughter Marcella brought him an old rag doll. He drew a face on the worn fabric and called the doll Raggedy Ann. Gruelle, a cartoonist and illustrator, wrote a children’s book about Raggedy Ann in 1918. Publisher P. F. Volland arranged to sell Raggedy Ann dolls along with the books, and the tie-in between Gruelle’s Raggedy Ann Stories and the dolls proved a marketing hit. In 1920, Gruelle introduced the Raggedy Andy Stories. In them, when humans weren’t looking, Raggedy Ann and Andy came to life and embarked on many adventures. Gruelle averaged one new book each year for twenty years. The books and dolls have remained popular for the past century.” 

source

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-Raggedy Ann Stories by Johnny Gruelle; 1945; The Johnny Gruelle Company, New York 

-signed "Julie H." inside front cover; "1.25" written inside back cover. This was probably the price of the book. 

-also have a 1993 printing of the book

-Raggedy Ann doll - has "certificate of Authenticity" Holiday Keepsake Raggedy Ann Dolls (Applause) #2401