Author, illustrator, and cartoonist Johnny Gruelle was born in Arcola, Illinois on December 24, 1880. Throughout his life, he worked as an illustrator and cartoonist for numerous newspapers and magazines including The New York Herald and McCall's. In 1914, he received his first book commission which was a set of illustrations for a volume of Grimms' fairy tales.
He is best known for creating the Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls and stories. It all started when he gave his daughter Marcella a dusty, faceless doll that was found in his mother's attic. He drew a face on it, named her Raggedy Ann, and created stories about her for Marcella. Eventually, he decided to recreate the doll and stories for other children and in 1915, he patented and trademarked the design of the doll. He published the first book and matching doll in 1918 with the P. F. Volland Company. Many more stories and the Raggedy Andy doll soon followed. He died on January 9, 1939.
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