Quick Facts About Rag Dolls:
- As long as people have been making clothing, they’ve also made rag dolls as children’s playthings.
- The very first Raggedy Ann dolls made in 1915 had brown hair and shoe button eyes. An example found in very good condition can be worth more than $1,000 today.
- Other popular rag dolls sought by collectors are two-headed Topsy Turvy dolls, Babyland Rag dolls from the early 1900s, and faceless Amish examples.
- Some rag dolls made today, Amish examples for instance, look much like their older counterparts. Raggedy Ann dolls, along with her friends, have been made for decades with many manufacturers contributing examples. It’s wise to learn as much as you can about rag dolls before investing in an expensive example.
A Little Rag Doll History
Long before commercial doll manufacturers and artisan crafters made what we refer to now as “antique” dolls, folks were fashioning like playthings from simple cloth.
Scraps left over from a diligent sewing session would often lead to a new doll for a deserving child. In fact, it's pretty safe to say that as long as people have been wearing clothing, they've been making rag dolls.
While rag dolls are quite simple compared to the fancy antique dolls collectors find fascinating, rag dolls never lost favor with little girls. They were (and are) functional toys that could be carried around and played with endlessly, patched up, and played with again.
The Most Famous Rag Doll of All
It's no mystery why these cuddly playmates are called rag dolls, with their scrappy look and button eyes. But, what do you think of when that phrase comes up?
For many people, rag doll and Raggedy Ann are one in the same. After all, she's been delighting children for more than 90 years now.
Raggedy Ann first came about when cartoonist Johnny Gruelle refurbished a faceless rag doll his daughter, Marcella, found in her grandmother's attic. He also gave it a name, Raggedy Ann.
Marcella fell in love with Raggedy Ann and the two became inseparable. But it wasn't until after his daughter fell ill and died that Gruelle began writing children's books based on the doll's character.
The first mass-produced Raggedy Ann dolls were actually based on the books. They look much like modern examples, but they had brown yarn hair instead of red and shoe-button eyes sewn in place.
The Value of Raggedy Ann Dolls
If you happen to own a doll with dark brown hair produced by Volland with a mark reading “Patented Sept. 7, 1915,” you've got a treasure that could be worth more than $1,000. This is a very early Raggedy Ann example coveted by collectors.
Other early names to look for on Raggedy Ann dolls are Molly-'es Doll Outfitters and Georgene Novelties.
Molly-'es manufactured these dolls from 1935-1938 and Georgene took over from 1938-1963. These examples have red hair and printed features on the faces, but can still be worth more than $200 each in good to excellent condition.
Even Knickerbocker Toy Company's Raggedy Ann, produced from 1963 to 1982, can be worth more than $100 for a 36-inch doll. And we can't forget Raggedy Ann's friends.
Raggedy Ann’s Friends
Gruelle created a host of characters to keep Raggedy Ann company in his books. From Raggedy Andy and the Camel with Wrinkled Knees to Beloved Belindy and Uncle Clem, all the characters ended up immortalized in rag doll form.
The most costly of these dolls today is Beloved Belindy, a mammy type caricature complete with head rag. Because of Black Americana collectors' interest in this doll, prices usually start at several hundred dollars and go up from there.
Although Raggedy Ann and friends make up a good portion of the secondary rag doll market, they're not the only collectible cloth dolls around.
Other Popular Rag Dolls
Some people scavenge flea markets and auctions for Topsy Turvy dolls as well. These female dolls have cloth two heads, one of which was hidden under a long skirt. Some of the oldest Topsy Turvy dolls have one black head and one white head. Black children growing up on plantations weren't allowed to have white dolls, so when the overseer would come around they would only display the black side.
Another highly collectible name in cloth dolls is Babyland Rag, which produced a Topsy Turvy model along with many others. These dolls have hand painted faces and some are marked “Pat'd. July 8th 1901.”
Of course, if you run across a faceless rag doll, it might be an Amish example. This religious group allowed children to play with dolls, but did not allow them to have faces in order to avoid breaking the graven image commandment.
Children will be children, however. Some Amish youngsters would pencil in faces on their dolls and then erase them before an adult came around to find them out.
Even Steiff, a company better known for its wonderful bears and stuffed animals, made several cloth dolls. These were usually well made of felt, plush or velvet. They also have button eyes and painted features.
Mama Katzenjammer, Golliwog and even Mickey Mouse can be found with Steiff labels. These are all very collectible and priced at more than $1,000 apiece now days when found in very good condition.
Of course, some of the most beloved rag dolls weren't fashioned to resemble a recognizable character at all. Whether they were hand crafted or machine made, they once pleased children and now reside in the homes of some very appreciative collectors.
