In 1974 Hallmark Cards, Inc. marketed party goods and other paper products with the Raggedy Ann theme. Among the most collectible of these items is the series of 5 1/2″ soft stuffed dolls. The series consisted of Raggedy Ann, Raggedy Andy, Beloved Belindy, Uncle Clem and Henny. It was the first time since the early Volland days that there was an Uncle Clem manufactured and it was the first time ever that there was a Henny. Beloved Belindy was no longer Raggedy’s Mammy character, but was now a little girl with a calico green dress. All of these characters were derived from the numerous Raggedy Ann story books by Johnny Gruelle. Hallmark obtained the license for Raggedy Ann and Andy from the Knickerbocker Toy Co. while the other members of the series were licensed right from the Bobbs Merrill Co. I have pictured a 1974 Hallmark & Bobbs Merrill kaleidoscope with the very same series pictured. These items are considered hard to find and quite desirable among Raggedy Ann collectors.

Another highly sought after Raggedy Ann and Raggedy Andy collectible is the Camel With The Wrinkled Knees. Georgene Novelties had a version that resembled the actual character in the early story books. The camel was brown with a colored blanket. Knickerbocker’s version (1960-1970′s) was light blue polyester fabric with a red felt harness. In the story, the camel was originally straight legged. His legs became wrinkled when the sticks were removed to make him more lovable and cuddly! A Raggedy Ann enthusiast would want to add one of these lovable creatures to their collection. Another hard to find stuffed Raggedy collectible of the 1970′s is the dog named Raggedy Arthur. Both of these items are getting much harder to find which is definitely increasing their values.

For a very limited time in the early 1970′s, Knickerbocker dressed a pair of Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls in very unusual outfits. Ann wore a “two tone” dress (tiny pastel flowers on the bodice and an aqua skirt) and a white apron with a red flower on the pocket. Andy’s suit had turquoise pants and matching bow with the usual red checked shirt. I do not have one in my collection…still looking for a nice example. It is possible that these outfits were influenced by the “flower power” generation. These dolls are very hard to find for the production lasted for only a short time. The “Hollywood” or “Movie” dolls were manufactured in 1977 following a full length feature film called Raggedy Ann and Andy, A Musical Adventure. Their oufits were changed to resemble the ones worn in the movie. Ann’s dress was blue with red polkadots and Andy’s shirt was red, white and blue plaid. Their faces were also a bit different from the usual Knickerbockers. Facial features had finer lines. Production of these dolls lasted from 1977 to 1979. Because of their limited productions, these dolls are highly sought after by collectors.