Vintage Kewpie Doll History

Rose O’Neill, the creator of the antique Kewpie doll, was an early 19th-century author, illustrator, artist, sculptor, and businesswoman.

He was born in Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania and grew up in Nebraska. He won his first drawing contest at the age of fourteen. Rose moved to New York where she became a well known illustrator and she spent her time between her homes in New York, Connecticut and the Isle of Capri.

“Do good deeds in a fun way. The world needs to laugh or at least smile more than it does.”

This philosophy of hers is shown in her Kewpie dolls, which were based on drawings she had made of a little brother as a child who played with him. All the little looks and gestures of his were incorporated into the Kewpie figures of him. The first Kewpie figures were seen as illustrations of love stories in Ladies Home Journal around 1909 and continued in Woman’s Home Companion and Woman’s Home Journal, many of the illustrations had accompanying verses.

In 1912, paper clippings of them were printed in the Women’s Home Journal. The Kewpie doll’s journey began there.

The popularity of paper dolls led to the registration of the KEWPIE trademark and in 1913 the JD Kestner doll company produced the first dolls in Germany. These old fashioned Kewpies were made from bisque. Others in composition and celluloid, soap and Wedgewood followed. The popularity skyrocketed around the world and it wasn’t until around 1930 that it began to wane.

However… Kewpie dolls have always been in production and are to this day. The modern ones are mass-produced in vinyl. One company, the German Doll Company, produces them from the original Kewpie bisque moulds. The Charisma Company, owned by Marie Osmond, is the latest company to produce the Kewpie doll, which has been produced in every size from 1 inch to over 3 feet.

Nowadays, if you are hoping to own an antique Kewpie doll, you should be prepared to pay a lot of money for it as they are in high demand and therefore high in price.