Rag Annie

Ragged Annie ( English Raggedy Ann ) is a character in a series of children's books written and illustrated by writer Johnny Groull (1880-1938).

Ragged Annie and Andy

Rag Annie - the doll ; it was first created in that capacity in 1915, and in 1918 the book Raggedy Ann Stories was published. The book was a great success, and in 1920 a sequel came out - " Raggedy Andy stories " ( Eng. Raggedy Andy stories ), telling about a friend and fellow games rag Annie - Ragged Andy .

At the same time, due to the illness and death of the writer’s daughter, which, in his opinion, was related to the vaccine she received at school without his permission and which led to his persistent prejudice against vaccination, the doll became one of the symbols of the anti-vaccination movement ^[1] .

Later on, based on the characters of Rag Annie and Rag Andy, a lot of books and several cartoons were published. In 2002, Rag Annie was included in the National Toy Hall of Fame , and in 2007, Rag Andy ^[2] .

In the 1950s, collecting dolls by Ann and Andy began, various items with their logos appeared . In subsequent years, Rag Annie conquered Europe. In mid-May 1998, a festival in honor of Johnny and his famous doll was held for the first time in Arkola, Illinois, the hometown of the toy parent. A year later, in the same city, the Museum of Ragged Ann and Andy opened, the owner and director of which was the granddaughter of Johnny Gruel - Joni Wannamaker ( born Joni Wannamaker ). The museum lasted ten years, but was closed for financial reasons ^[3] .