kewpie

Celluloid Kewpie doll. They were made from 1913 on.

Rose O'Neill and her patented dolls, mid 1910s. They were the first case ever of merchandising based on a comic character.

The Kewpie characters as they appeared in magazines from 1909 on.

Kewpie dolls and figurines are based on comical strip-like illustrations by Rose O'Neill that appeared in Ladies' Home Journal in 1909. The small dolls were extremely popular in the early 1900s. They were first produced in Ohrdruf, a small town in Germany, then famous for its toy-manufacturers. They were made out of bisque and then celluloid. In 1949, Effanbee created the first hard plastic versions.

Their name, often shortened to "Kewpies", is derived from "cupid"^[1], the Roman god of beauty and non-platonic love. The early dolls, especially signed or bisque, are highly collectible and worth thousands of dollars. The time capsule at the 1939 New York World's Fair contained a Kewpie doll. The term "Kewpie doll" is sometimes mistakenly applied to the troll doll.

Many other articles were made using their images, for example, coloring and poem books, cups, plates, curios, etc. The incredible success of these characters made their creator rich and famous. It's a rare example of a woman becoming successful in the media business at such an early date. Kewpies should not be confused with the baby-like Billiken figures that debuted in 1908.

The Kewpie doll was mentioned in Anne Frank's diary. She received one on her first St Nicholas Day in the Annex from Miep and Bep. Another famous book in which the Kewpie Doll was mentioned was in Of Mice and Men, a book written by John Steinbeck in the 1930's. In this book the doll is said to be in a "Cat House" otherwise known as a Parlour.

Mascots

The Kewpie doll is the mascot of Kewpee Hamburgers, a chain of fast-food restaurants originally founded in 1923 in Flint, Michigan by Samuel V. Blair under the name "Kewpee Hotel Hamburgs". It has also been the mascot of Hickman High School in Columbia, Missouri for the last 97 years.

Q.P. Corporation is a Japanese food manufacturer, famous for its popular brand of Japanese mayonnaise sold in plastic squeeze bottles with a Kewpie doll logo.

External links

• Kewpie Dolls Resource Center Kewpie Resource Center: 2004 - 2009 Cameo Kewpies now manufactured by Charisma Brands
• kewpie.net "Gathering Place" for all Hickman High School Kewpie Classmates
• [1] Official website of Bonniebrook Historical Society, which owns and maintains Bonniebrook, the family homestead of Rose O'Neill where she created the Kewpies.

References

Further reading

• Kewpies Dolls & Art With Value Guide: Dolls & Art, With Value Guide September 2001, ISBN 0-87588-589-6
• Bum Rap In Branson Kewpie dolls and Rose O'Neill play a prominent part in this mystery novel by J.R. Ripley (Glenn Meganck), Beachfront Publishing, 2004, ISBN 1-892339-89-7
• Kewpies And Beyond Shelley Armitage, University Press of Mississippi, ISBN 0-87805-711-0

Manufactured by Charisma Brands in Irvine California www.charismabrands.com