Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Celebrating 100 Years Of Kewpie Cuteness
In this age of technology, do little girls still play with dolls? What’s the latest doll craze these days? What kind of tricks do they do now? Once a doll-loving little girl myself, I owned (and coveted) dolls that cried, wet, talked, walked, crawled, slept, sang, grew hair, grew taller, and I can’t even remember what else. For the most part, they were just passing trends and didn’t really have much staying power. But there is at least one very notable exception.
One doll has never been out of production since she was first created back in 1913. I’m talking about Kewpie, of course! Created by Rose O’Neill, Kewpie started life as an illustration that appeared in the pages of Ladies’ Home Journal in 1909. The charming drawings of the smiling winged cherub were introduced as paper dolls in 1912 and were so popular, it was decided that Kewpie should become a real doll. A year later, the first Kewpie doll was produced. Over the years, Kewpies have been crafted in bisque, soap, celluloid, Wedgewood, porcelain, plaster composition, cloth, and vinyl. They have been produced in sizes ranging from 1” tall to over 3 feet tall. But through all the incarnations, Kewpie has remained popular without having to do any “tricks” – no wetting, no crying, no walking. So what is the appeal? The pointy little topknot of sculpted hair? The chubby baby-like features? The impish grin and side-glancing eyes? I say, all of the above! Amazingly, Kewpie has captured the hearts of collectors all over the world for a century, just by being cute! Now I ask you, what other doll can lay claim to that feat?
posted by Betty at
10:05 AM
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