| Kewpie | |
|---|---|
 | |
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Real Name |
Kewpie |
|
First Appearance |
Ladies' Home Journal comic strip (December 1909) |
|
Original Publisher |
Ladies' Home Journal |
|
Created by |
Rose O'Neill |
Origin[]
Kewpies are dolls and figurines that were conceived as comic strip characters by American cartoonist Rose O'Neill. The illustrated cartoons, appearing as baby cupid characters, began to gain popularity after the publication of O'Neill's comic strips in 1909, and O'Neill began to illustrate and sell paper doll versions of the Kewpies. The characters were first produced as bisque dolls in Waltershausen, Germany, beginning in 1912, and became extremely popular in the early 20th century.
Rose O'Neill, a Nebraska native who had worked as a writer and illustrator in New York City, initially conceptualized the Kewpie as a cartoon intended for a comic strip in 1909. According to O'Neill, the idea for the Kewpies came to her in a dream. The comic, featuring the cherub-faced characters, was first printed in Ladies' Home Journal in the December 1909 issue. O'Neill described the characters as "a sort of little round fairy whose one idea is to teach people to be merry and kind at the same time." The name Kewpies is derived from Cupid, the Roman god of erotic love. After the characters gained popularity among both adults and children, O'Neill began illustrating paper dolls of them, called Kewpie Kutouts.
O'Neill produced a Sunday comic strip for newspapers starting December 2, 1917, syndicated by the McClure Syndicate. The strip ended nine months later, on July 28, 1918 The Kewpie dolls were initially made out of bisque exclusively, but composition versions were introduced in the 1920s, and celluloid versions were manufactured in the following decades.
The earlier bisque and composition versions of Kewpie dolls are widely sought-after by antique and doll collectors, who especially want those hand-signed by O'Neill. Kewpies should not be confused with the baby-like Billiken figures that debuted in 1908.
Public Domain Appearances[]
All published appearances of Kewpies from before January 1, 1931 are public domain in the US.
Comic Strips[]
- Ladies' Home Journal comic strip (December 1909)
- Kewpie Sunday comic strip (December 2, 1917-July 28, 1918)