A rag doll is a children's toy. It is a cloth figure, a doll traditionally home-made from (and stuffed with) spare scraps of material. They are one of the most ancient children's toys in existence; the British Museum has a Roman rag doll, found in a child's grave dating from 300 BC. Amish dolls are a type of traditional American rag dolls which originated as children's toys among the Old Order Amish people. The best-known type have no facial features. Today, many rag dolls are commercially produced to simulate the features of the original home-made dolls, such as simple features, soft cloth bodies, and patchwork clothing.
Rag dolls have featured in a number of children's stories, like the 19th century character Golliwogg, Raggedy Ann in the 1918 book by John Barton Gruelle and the British children's television series Bagpuss Ragdolly Anna and the popular "Raggybaggy" The character of Sally from the hit movie Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas is also a rag doll.
Famous quotes containing the words rag and/or doll:
“He seems like an average type of man. He’s not, like smart. I’m not trying to rag on him or anything. But he has the same mentality I have—and I’m in the eighth grade.”
—Vanessa Martinez (b. c. 1978)
“I never felt I could give up my life of freedom to become a man’s housekeeper. When I was young, if a girl married poverty, she became a drudge; if she married wealth, she became a doll. Had I married at twenty-one, I would have been either a drudge or a doll for fifty-five years. Think of it!”
—Susan B. Anthony (1820–1906)