The Next Generation of the Kewpie Doll
Kewpie Dolls for the Next Generation
Great article by Sherry Cox on the Kewpie Doll!
Rose O’Neil – Creator of the Kewpies
The creation of the Kewpie Doll actually had very humble beginnings. Their creator was Rose O’Neil. Rose grew up in an environment where creativity and artistic talents were encouraged by her parents. At the age of 14, she entered a drawing in a contest and won first place. Rose later moved to New York and was hired by the popular magazine, Puck. Before Rose has even reached her 20th birthday, she had become Americas highest paid female illustrator.
The legend of how the Kewpie came to be is that while Rose was taking an afternoon nap, she dreamed that tiny cupids visited her, and were, in fact, bouncing around all over her blankets. She awoke and dashed to her drawing board and the illustrations that resulted were the very first Kewpies, short for Cupid. “Cupid gets you into trouble and the Kewpies get you out,” explained O’Neill. The purpose of these creatures is to perform good deeds in a funny way. They were often seen battling injustice or promoting women’s suffrage, and they always made the reader laugh.
Early Kewpies
Kewpie® first appeared as illustrations in the December issue of Woman’s Home Companion, and was an immediate success. “Kewpie Pages,” which consisted of entire pages of the drawings accompanied by a short story, became a regular feature in popular women’s magazines. These cheerful cherubs were soon easily recognized and well-loved by many Americans, and their antics and adventures brought smiles to the faces of many.
The tremendous popularity of the first Kewpie illustrations led to a series of paper dolls called Kewpie Kut Outs, which were double-sided and were accompanied by little stories about Kewpie. Comic strip-style Kewpie tales followed on the heels of the paper dolls. Shortly thereafter, Rose began receiving letters from children asking for a Kewpie® they could hold.
After numerous prototypes, the Kewpie® doll was born in 1913. These first dolls had straight posture with their arms at their sides. They were made from bisque or china and celluloid. As the Kewpies grew in popularity, so did the different kinds, sizes and materials of the dolls. .Kewpie collectors know that these dolls can either be winged or wingless, and the variety of poses, outfits, accessories and materials that emerged as the decades passed is one of the things that make Kewpie collecting such a pleasure.
Public response to the first Kewpie Dolls was overwhelming, and, almost overnight, Rose O’Neill had become a millionaire and a world-famous figure. Today, Kewpies continue to capture the hearts of both young and young-at-heart collectors. Now a new generation gets to enjoy the magic of Kewpies.
