Mr. Twee Deedle: A 1912 Cartoon by the Creator of "Raggedy Ann"

“Mr. Twee Deedle” was a cartoon created by Johnny Gruelle (1880-1938), an American artist, cartoonist, and children’s book author. Gruelle is best known for creating Raggedy Ann, a red-haired rag doll who has become a well-known character in children’s literature.Gruelle was born John Barton Gruelle in the town of Arcola, Illinois. He later moved to Indianapolis, Indiana. His father, Richard Gruelle (1851-1914), was an impressionist painter whose friends included poet and author James Whitcomb Riley (1849-1916).Johnny Gruelle published his first cartoons in the Indianapolis Star in 1905. Over the next few years Gruelle’s cartoons were published in many different newspapers. In 1911, he won a cartoon contest for the New York Herald, and created the “Mr. Twee Deedle” cartoon, which was printed in the Herald from 1911 to 1914.Gruelle later created the Raggedy Ann character, named after a doll he gave to his daughter Marcella. Marcella would die from diptheria at the age of 13.