GRUELLE, JOHN BARTON: 1880-1938.
John Barton Gruelle , son of Richard B. and Alice Benton Gruelle, was reared in a talented family. Following his birth in Arcola, Ill., in 1880, his parents moved to Indianapolis , where his father gained wide reputation as an artist and became a close friend of James Whitcomb Riley, from whose work John (or "Johnny" as he usually signed himself) drew many of his characters.
According to the notice of his death in the INDIANAPOLIS STAR:
"Adventuresome as a youth, Mr. Gruelle went to Cleveland on a 'bumming' trip when a boy and there met the McGinty who later was to play a prominent part in his books.
"He and a chum arrived in the city, broke and hungry, and Mr. Gruelle obtained a job as a piano player in a Cleveland saloon to earn money for food. McGinty–a Cleveland policeman–strolled in, and Mr. Gruelle, impressed by the character, drew the policeman's picture on the window of a back bar.
"McGinty called him to one side. 'Listen, bud,' he said, 'you've got the makings of a good cartoonist in you. Come to my house and you've got a home as long as you want it. I'll stake you until you can get a job on a newspaper.'
" 'I can't do that, McGinty,' Mr. Gruelle told the policeman. 'I've got some folks back in Indianapolis who are expecting me.' "
After working as a cartoonist on the stall of the INDIANAPOLIS STAR, he was employed by the CLEVELAND PRESS and later by a news association in Cleveland . There he looked up his friend, McGinty, and the two became close friends.
Staff artists reported at the office at seven o'clock in the morning and left when they had completed their work for the day. A rapid worker, Mr. Gruelle usually finished his cartoons early in the morning, but, seeing that his associates looked askance at his short hours, he decided to stay in the office. To pass the time he wrote the first draft, in verse, of Raggedy Ann, his first great children's book. Later, after he had removed to New York, as a cartoonist on the NEW YORK HERALD, he changed the text of Ragyedy Ann from poetry to prose, and a publisher accepted it. The book had, by 1938, sold over 3,000,000 copies–said to exceed any children's book since Alice in Wonderland.
In New York , at a home he purchased in Silvermine, Conn., and, in his later years, in Florida , Gruelle turned out an enormous volume of writing and drawing. He produced Sunday supplement cartoons, cartoons for page: 126[View Page 126] periodicals and text and illustrations for a large number of books–most successful of which continued to feature Raggedy Ann in various adventures and backgrounds.
Although a bit younger, John Barton Gruelle may well be classified with the crop of Indiana "greats" developed by various Indianapolis newspapers in the early decades of the Twentieth century. He died at his home in Miami Springs, Fla., on Jan. 9, 1938, survived by his wife, the former Myrtle Swann, and his two sons.
Information from the INDIANAPOLIS STAR for Jan. 10, 1938.
- Mr. Twee Deedle. New York, 1913.
- Mr. Twee Deedle's Further Adventures.
New York, 1914.
- My Very Own Fairy Stories.
Chicago, 1917.
- Funny Little Book. Chicago,
1918.
- Raggedy Ann Stories. Chicago,
1918.
- Friendly Fairies. Chicago, 1919.
- Little Sunny Stories; the Singing Thead; the Way to
Fairyland; Mrs. Goodluck Cricket. Chicago,
1919.
- Raggedy Andy Stories; Introducing the Little Rag Brother of
Raggedy Ann. Chicago, 1920.
- Orphant Annie Story Book,
Indianapolis, 1921.
- Eddie Elephant. Chicago, 1921.
- Magical Land of Noom; with Sundry and Mondry.
Chicago, 1922.
- Johnny Mouse and the Wishing Stick.
Indianapolis, 1922.
- Beloved Belindy. (2nd
cal.–Chicago, 1926.)
- Paper Dragon; a Raggedy Ann Adventure. (2nd
ed.– Chicago, 1926.)
- Little Brown Bear. Chicago.
- Raggedy Andy's Number Book.
Chicago.
- Raggedy Ann and Andy and the Camel with the Wrinkled
Knees. Chicago, (Later dramatized as the
Camel with the Wrinkled Knees.)
- Raggedy Ann's Alphabet Book.
Chicago.
- Raggedy Ann's Wishing Pebble.
Chicago.
- Wooden Willie. Chicago, 1927.
- Raggedy Ann's Magical Wishes.
Chicago, 1928.
- Cheery Scarecrow. Chicago, 1929.
- Marcella Stories. Chicago, 1929.
- All About Story Book (with others).
Chicago, 1929.
- Raggedy Ann in the Deep Woods.
Chicago, 1930.
- Raggedy Ann's Sunny Songs, Music by Will Woodin
[William H. Woodin, Roosevelt's first secretary of the
treasury]. Chicago, 1930.
- Raggedy Ann in Cookie Land.
Chicago, 1931.
- Raggedy Ann's Lucky Pennies.
Chicago, 1932.
- Raggedy Ann and the Left Handed Safety Pin.
Racine, Wis., 1935.
- Raggedy Ann in the Golden Meadow. Racine,
Wis., 1936.
- Golden Book. Chicago.
- Raggedy Ann's Joyful Songs (withCharles Miller). New York, 1937.
- Raggedy Ann in the Magic Book. New
York, 1939.
- Raggedy Ann and the Golden Butterfly. New
York, 1940.
- Raggedy Ann and the Happy Toad.
Springfield, Mass., 1940.
- Raggedy Ann and the Laughing Brook.
Springfield, Mass., 1940.
- Raggedy Ann Helps Grandpa Hoppergrass.
Springfield, Mass., 1940.
- Raggedy Ann in the Garden. Springfield,
Mass., 1940.
- Raggedy Ann and Andy and the Nice Fat Policeman.
New York, 1942.
- Raggedy Ann and Betsy Bonnet String. New
York, 1943.
- The Plaint of the Stick-at-Home Hoosier.
