Raggedy Ann

A couple of weeks ago, I was looking through old photos albums to find some pictures to scan & share. When I spotted the one in the top left position, I had to smile: I got Raggedy Ann for my third birthday; she is one of the few toys I still have. I knew then that I'd have to get a current pic of her and put them together. Then, I started going through my old sketchbooks, and found the sketch in the middle. (If memory serves, I received the other doll (in the last picture) for my first birthday. That was what I remember being told, anyway. Isn't it ugly?)

Poor Ann. She had a very rough life, but only because I loved her so. She was my constant companion for many adventures. She's been "bandaged" twice: once was after a dog mauled her. The bald patch on the back of her head is from when I tried to give her a bath. Her clothes are long gone; for a while, she wore a doll-size hospital gown, but at some point I came across this dress. It's a little big, but she doesn't seem to mind.

These two dolls are pretty much the extent of my childhood toy collection. As mentioned previously, my mom tossed most of my toys. (At least she waited until I was done playing with them.) I remember getting a talking doll (the kind with the string that you pull) for Christmas when I was five. My mom pulled the string to show me how it worked... and pulled the string right out the back! The nice folks at the company replaced it.