THE FACES OF RAGGEDY ANN and her brother, Andy, are far more familiar than the face of their creator--Johnny Gruelle. He was an artist, illustrator, writer, and toy designer whose gift to children all over the world is more than just the smiling faces of the red-haired rag dolls. He left behind a legacy of characters; some, unlike Raggedy Ann, have faded into history.
John Barton Gruelle was born December 24, 1880 in Arcola, Illinois to Alice and R.B. Gruelle. Johnny grew up surrounded by the arts, literature and music. From around 1900-1907, he established himself as a newspaper cartoonist in Indianapolis, Indiana where he provided his readers with a variety of political, sports, and headline cartoons.
He later moved to Cleveland, Ohio; then on to Norwalk, Connecticut where he became well known for his "Mr. Twee Deedle" comic, and illustrated children's stories. Johnny Gruelle created and patented his Raggedy Ann doll in 1915, and published "Raggedy Ann Stories" in 1918. "Raggedy Andy Stories" came two years later.
Until his untimely death in Miami Beach in 1938, he wrote and illustrated, on the average of one Raggedy Ann and Andy book per year. Throughout his lifetime, many little whimsical characters other than the well-known Raggedy Ann and Andy were created for children of all ages.
In 1901, Johnny married Myrtle Swann of Morning Sun, Ohio. After Johnny's death, she carried on the Gruelle tradition until passing the reins to her two sons, Worth and Richard and their families.
Tom and I feel the Gruelle family has come full circle-back to the beautiful little town of Arcola, where the tradition began. We are truly fortunate and blessed to have the opportunity to continue Johnny's legacy.
Patricia Hall is a Sand Diego, California-based folklorist and writer. She is a lifelong collector of Gruelle's books, dolls, and other works and has acted as curator of a major Indiana State Museum exhibition on Gruelle and Raggedy Ann. When Hall first started collecting Gruelle books and then Raggedy Ann material, she discovered that very little documented information was available on Raggedy Ann and even less on the doll's creator. Her breadth of knowledge on Gruelle has made her an expert on this American craftsman and artist and has earned her publishing credits in Connecticut and Toybox magazines, and The Encyclopedia of Indianapolis.
Marcella's Corner Gift Shop carries all of Patricia Hall's wonderful historical and children's books published by Pelican and Simon and Schuster.
