Doll-A-Day 321: Ivy Cottage Cecily Thistle and Rag Bag Annie

  Today's doll is two again, and part 2 of yesterday's post on Ivy Cottage dolls. ("Ivy Cottage"  being the series of children's books written by doll artist E. J. Taylor, and featuring a pair of live rag dolls named Violet Pickles and Ruby Buttons, and their creator and 'mom' Miss Biscuit.) Today's dolls are Cecily Thistle and Rag Bag Annie, also made by Horsman.

These dolls are much smaller than yesterday's 12" rag dolls. These dolls are about 6" tall.

They don't exactly qualify as 'rag dolls', since they have cloth bodies, with vinyl heads, and  vinyl arms and legs.

The Rag Bag Annie character is from "Christmas at Ivy Cottage", and doesn't appear in any of the other Ivy Cottage books.

She looks a lot more innocent and sweet in the book illustrations. That scarf is supposed t be a shawl.

Are there 6" rag dolls of Ruby and Violet too? I want to see them! By the way, if that paragraph on the box doesn't make sense, it's because two of the sentences are transposed.

UPDATE: Yes, there are 6" dolls of Ruby and Violet! I found these pictures on an old auction, and I am borrowing them because there are no others available. I will gladly remove them if asked.

I have no idea where Cecily Thistle comes from, as she doesn't appear in any of the books, and I think we have them all now.

We had all the books,(Ivy Cottage, Goose Eggs, Rag Doll Press, and The Thorn Witch.), except "Christmas at Ivy Cottage", so I had never heard of Rag Bag Annie until I happened to see the auction for these two online. Ken bought them for me for Christmas last year.

Rag Bag Annie was supposed to be poor. I'm guessing Cecily Thistle is a rich girl.

In that case you'd think she could afford an orthodontist.

Christmas at Ivy Cottage only seemed to be available in Britain, since I hadn't found it here, or in any American online auction. It was a bit more expensive and rarely showed up for sale, so I only managed to get it last year. We're all a little too old for it around here, but I wanted to complete the set: because I'm obsessive, and in case I ever have grandchildren who want to read them all.

There may end up being some fighting, since most of the books belong to Emma, except for The Thorn Witch, which is Ivy's, and Christmas at Ivy Cottage, which belongs to...me?
  The books aren't the easiest in the world to find, and "Christmas at Ivy Cottage", at least, can be a bit expensive for a paper back book. The writing isn't the best in the world.(E.J. Taylor wasn't a writer, after all.) But the books are a world of their own. The idea is charming. The stories are sweet, and simple, and full of good hearted acts. The illustrations are beautiful, and the characters are loveable.Even grouchy, persnickety Violet shows her warm side quite often. "Christmas at Ivy Cottage" is the last book written, and the story seems rushed. But to children, the simple story of a friend in need and her friends' acts of kindness will seem just right. With all the unsettling things children are subjected to these days, these quiet little stories of love and friendship are just what we need.
**UPDATE** The Ivy Cottage Pop Up Playhouse found! See it HERE!