As a girl I LOVED all the Raggedy Ann and Andy books.
I read every one that was available in our elementary
school library.
Johnny Gruelle, author and illustrator of the Raggedy Ann
stories, is one of my favorite illustrators.
I have several of his books in my personal collection.
One of my favorites is this marvelous pop-up
book with Johnny Gruelle's illustrations
and paper engineered by Kees Moerbeek.
Each page has a side page that also opens with
two more pop-up images!
How brilliant and wonderful!
The story is about how Raggedy Ann and Andy
help a girl named Jenny
to rescue her brother Jan from the Loonies.
Here are a few of my books and my oldest
Raggedy Ann doll a 1940s Georgene Raggedy Ann.
After Johnny Gruelle's death his widow, Myrtle Gruelle
allowed Georgene Novelties, Inc. to manufacture
these dolls beginning in 1938.
Another Johhny Gruelle favorite of mine is Marcella.
It is rather sad as it is a memorial of the
Gruelle's young daughter Marcella.
I was looking at the cover of this book across
the room when I realized how much
it looked like my Honey doll!
Here she is dressed as Marcella.
Here are all my Raggedys together.
This group of Raggedys have ALL come from thrift stores!
Most of my favorite dolls were rescued from thrift stores.
I am fascinated by these handmade dolls,
especially when they vary in hair color and style.
This 21" black and white Andy was all alone when I found him.
I searched the entire thrift store hoping to find his Ann!
Happily he made fast friends with this black Ann
and soon after this little pig-tailed Ann joined them!
Another absolute favorite of mine is Beloved Belindy.
The Beloved Belindy dolls are quite rare now and
highly sought after by collectors.
These two I sewed for myself.
The larger is 18"
the smaller is 8"
Here are my three 8" Raggedys
and my two tiny 3" Raggedys.
In front are three tiny books
replicated in every detail!
And now here are some more
photos of Honey as Marcella.
Click below to see Honey's restoration.
Soft and cuddly hugs from all the Savage Raggedy dolls
15 comments:
Lovely post Brenda. I love children's books, though I don't own a single Raggedy Ann/Andy. I do have quite a few Rupert Bear books though (or I should say hubby does) and the whole Beatrix Potter set, amongst others. You don't see many pop-up books these days, which is such a pity, the one you have shown is delightful!
I do have a few rag dolls which I have made myself over the years, and I like your Beloved Belindy's, I also agree your Honey does make a wonderful Marcella.
Big hugs,
X
Thank you Xanadu! I love children's books! I have a full set of Beatrix Potter, full size and miniature. I love Beatrix Potter too. Her illustrations are second to none. I had not heard of Rupert Bear before, but I looked him up and his books look adorable.
Even though I loved the Raggedy Ann books so much as a child, I never owned a Raggedy Ann Doll until a few years ago when I found my first Ann in a thrift store. Now I have to stop picking them up because I am running out of space in my doll room! I do make exceptions, as I did with my latest find Miss Revlon.
Thanks for stopping in,
hugs
Brenda
Thank you Sandra! I do love pop-up books. The engineering that goes into them is amazing. I never thought much about it as a child - of course, but now I adore them. That quilt was handmade by my Great-Aunt Lethea. It has a lovely leaf pattern on each of the white squares.
I might need to do a quilt post to share some of my full-size and doll-size quilts?
The Beloved Belindy doll was all trial and error!! I re-drew a pattern from another rag doll pattern I had. I looked at photos of the original dolls that had lost their dresses :( and found out that her body is triangle in shape. WHEW! I also sewed her legs twice! My first attempt were too skinny. In the end I am very pleased with my Belindy and her tiny twin.
Thank you Linda! I have pieced together that you and Xanadu are located in Australia? or New Zealand? Yes, Raggedy Ann was very big in the 1920s and 1930s when Johnny Gruelle first started writing their stories. The original Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls were found in someone's attic. He was so taken with the dolls he took Ann to work and started creating a world based upon his own daughter's play with her toys.
I do love this pop-up book. It is such a feat of creative engineering. The amazing images that are made to stand out and then fold easily back into place. Honey is another one of my make-over dolls. You should have seen her when she arrived! So sad, but now she is lovely and adorable.
Brenda you did an excellent job on Beloved Belinda. I love the books (of course I am a book lover ever since I could read). Thank You for sharing your wonderful doll and book collections.
Joan
Just love this post. I have two new edition books on Raggedy Ann and Raggedy Andy. The Honey doll is a great look of Marcella. You did a first rate on her. Thank You for always including your readers with your wonderful collections.
Marion
You have a lovely collection of Raggedy Ann and Raggedy Andy dolls. We have a special Holiday Raggedy Ann with a miniature wagon trinket. She holds it on her hand. Another special we have is a Winter Raggedy Ann and Raggedy Andy wearing outfits in a ice blue color. They have soft fake skates on their feet. We even have a twin size Raggedy Ann and Raggedy Andy sheet set for the bed.Thank you Brenda for sharing your collection.
Marilyn
This was fascinating!! My daughter had the Raggedy dolls and also Raggedy Ann paper dolls. I framed the paper doll with two of her dresses. I wonder, could a person learn to make pop-up books? It seems I remember seeing instructions for making them.
Belgium! Wow that is awesome! I am so glad that you found my blog. It's so fun meeting doll lovers from other countries.
Hugs
Brenda
Thank you Joan, I too love books! I have been an avid reader my whole life. I'm glad you enjoyed my collection. You know how I like to share.
Hugs
Brenda
Thank you Marion! I enjoy sharing my collections with my friends here. I had fun dressing Honey up as Marcella with her own little Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls. Some of my books are old, some are new reproductions. I just enjoy the stories so much and the illustrations are so lovely. I'm glad you enjoyed my post.
Hugs
Brenda
Thanks Marilyn! WOW! You have quite a Raggedy Ann and Andy collection yourself. I think I have seen the Raggedy Ann and Andy in the blue holiday suits. They are so cute. There are so many adorable versions of Ann and Andy out there. SO many dolls, so little time! ;)
Hugs
Brenda
Hi Charlotte! You know I am sure a person could make a pop-up book, it would just be a matter of figuring out how to make the images fold back down with the page. Such an interesting idea! Let me know if you find out more.
Hugs
Brenda
Brenda, there are a lot of tutorials for making pop-up cards. I think using old greeting cards to cut pictures from to make the pop-ups would be an interesting way to decorate the insides. If you try this let us know. I may just get out the glue, scissors and paper!
Sounds interesting! I may give it a try...hmmm?
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