One afternoon in the 1910s, a young girl was rummaging in her grandma’s attic. In a trunk there little Marcella found a toy that her father must not have wanted when he was a little boy: an old rag doll with no face.

Her Dad was an artist and writer of children’s books, so he drew a face on the doll for her. Marcella was a sickly child, so her Dad told her stories about the doll as she lay in bed. He made up a name, friends and adventures for the doll. But the stories, love and care were not enough, and the little girl passed away at the age of 13. Devastated by the loss, her Dad found solace in writing down the stories he’d told her. His family remembered her as they made copies of the doll for themselves and friends, including his publisher’s daughter. Everyone asked about the charming little doll with black eyes and a red triangle nose, and the publisher found out about the stories. He asked the bereaved father to write and draw a new book with them, they would sell it and the rag dolls the family had been making.

That book, Raggedy Ann Stories by Johnny Gruelle, was published in 1918 by the Volland Company, who also marketed the Raggedy Ann doll with it. It was an immediate success, and followed by dozens of sequels. For nearly a hundred years the story and the look of The Rustic Rag Doll that Marcella cherished has inspired many other people.