Kewpies were created by Rose O'Neill

Bok and Johnson sent O'Neill a number of clippings which included a several of O'Neill's own illustrations. The illustrations were from romance stories which had contained Cupid-like beings, like this one from 1904:

Along with the clipped illustrations, the men had a request: Could the artist make a series of such little creatures? If so, they would have another writer make accompanying verses for them. Could she create the little creatures Bok and Johnson wanted?! Boy oh boy, she could!

In fact, according to O'Neill, such little cupid creatures had already been dancing in her head -- and on her bed -- for years!

O'Neill replied to Johnson that not only could she create such whimsical creatures -- but she would do one better and write the verses herself as well. She sent him an illustrated letter containing the first Kewpie along with their story. This is the first page of that illustrated letter

From the start, Kewpies had that look we all know so well. The impish smiling faces with large eyes that glanced sideways beneath barely-there eyebrows. The heads crowned in that tuft of pointy hair. Those happy round faces were perched above the innocently-naked, gender-neutral, plump little childlike bodies with rounded, protruding, tummies. Their hands were in the shape of starfish. Some, but not all, had tiny wings too.

In character, Kewpies were like Cupid; but while Cupid got himself into trouble, the Kewpies also got themselves out of trouble. The Kewpies were like elves, or "a sort of little round fairy whose one idea is to teach people to be merry and kind at the same time." The Kewpies were always searching for ways to make the world better and funnier. The element of humor was quite important, so O'Neill dubbed the little creatures "Kewpies" using a "K" because she thought the "K" was funnier.

While the Kewpies were based on Cupid, they also were inspired by O'Neill's baby brother. In more than one interview O'Neill said, "I made drawings of him while I played with him. All his little looks and gestures came out later in the Kewpie."

The Kewpies
were first published in the December 1909 issue of the Ladies Home Journal -- and were an instant hit. Quickly, Kewpies and the entire illustrated pages of Kewpie stories called "Kewpie Pages" became regular features in the most popular publications of the day. Children not only eagerly awaited the arrival of the "Kewpie Pages", but sent in their ideas for stories and activities too. Kewpie mania was so widespread that in less than a year the Kewpies had their first book, The Kewpies and Dottie Darling (1910). But wait, there's more!

Other books would follow: The Kewpies, Their Book (1912) and The Kewpie Primer (1912). But that wasn't enough for the eager kids who wanted to get their hands on the Kewpies and enter the Kewpieville world. Their wishes were granted in October of 1912, when Kewpie paper dolls, called "Kewpie Kutouts," were first published in the Woman's Home Companion. It should be noted that Kewpie Kutouts were the first two-sided paper dolls -- another O'Neill invention!

However, kids, and even adults, would want more than paper dolls... So, still in 1912, O'Neill set about creating real Kewpie dolls.

O'Neill began working with George Borgfeldt & Company, a New York City doll distributer, but the dolls themselves were to be made in Germany. At this time, O'Neill was not yet a sculptor, so she and Geo. Borgfeldt & Co. placed and ad for a sculptor to take her flat paper Kewpies and turn them into dimensional dolls. Seventeen year old Joseph L. Kallus

The first dolls did not turn out very well. The story goes that when the first samples were sent to O'Neill, she found them to be too much like traditional dolls and not enough like the Kewpies. And there were also concerns about the quality. So she traveled to Germany, made the manufacturer destroy the molds of those inferior dolls, had the workers start over, and stayed to oversee the production of the dolls which would become the Kewpie dolls we all know today.

O'Neill was especially concerned with the smallest, least expensive dolls. Knowing that these would be the dolls going to the poorest children, she's been quoted as having told the painters, "I want you to take the most care with the tiniest of the Kewpies because those will be the Kewpies that poor children can afford to buy." This is just one of the many ways in which O'Neill ensured that the Kewpies maintained they magic. This was important to O'Neill because the Kewpies reflected her personality, values, and social conscience.

In 1913, the patent for Kewpie dolls and the Kewpie trademark were registered. These first Kewpie dolls were made of bisque, in nine different sizes. They stood in a straight, standing posture, their legs together and their arms at their sides.

There were Kewpish notes on the doll boxes too:

"You ask why we are hurrying so

We're going to be Dolls, you know

Rose O'Neill has showed us how;

Look inside and see one now --

For children Dear, we've always known

Need Kewpies of their very own;

So, really, the best way with them

Is just to come and play with them,

Turn into Dolls and stay with them.

From Kewpie you'll not wish to part,

But, when you've learned his Smile by heart,

Just give that little smile away

To everybody, everyday

(And with each smile, I hope you'll feel

The Kewpish love of Rose O'Neill.)

Kewpies became as popular as Mickey Mouse. The Kewps, as O'Neill called them, appeared not only in children's books and advertisements, but on everything from doorknockers to toilet paper. According to David O'Neill

But it sure was hard to keep up with the demand for dolls.

The demand was so great, that there were several makers (including by J.D. Kestner, Gebr. Voight, and Herman Voigt) and twenty-one factories producing them. Not surprisingly, most of the dolls do not have makers' marks. While some of these early bisque dolls are marked on the foot or the back, most dolls were simply sold with paper labels; either heart-shaped ones on the belly, or round one on the backs. And we all know most of those 100 year old labels have long-since departed.

Along the way, Kewpies have changed a bit... Their stance widened, their arms moved, and "action Kewpies" (which show Kewpies doing things) were also made. Additional sizes were made as well. And some Kewpies were clothed. Sometimes the clothing was molded to the doll; other times, it was fabric clothing that could be changed like most other dolls. Thanks to the enlightened O'Neill, there were black Kewpie dolls too. The "action Kewpies", those with clothing, those with unusual features such as glass eyes or jointed legs, and "black Kewpies" are the most sought after.

Kewpies have also been made in other materials over the years. Karl Standfuss made official Kewpies in celluloid; Margaret Steiff had the license to make cloth Kewpies. Cameo made composition Kewpies, and, later, hard plastic and vinyl Kewpie dolls. Effanbee and Irwin also made plastic Kewpies. There were masked Kewpies, with rubber or plastic faces on soft plush bodies,, china Kewpies, and more. Companies, such as R. John Wright, continue to make Kewpie dolls under license from Jesco even today. The newer dolls will be marked, but many of the older ones are not, making them difficult to differentiate from the knock-off Kewpie-type dolls.

The lack of marks isn't the only reason it is difficult to identify original, antique and vintage Kewpie dolls. As mentioned, official Kewpie dolls have been made for years -- as have knock-offs. One of the biggest myths in collecting Kewpie dolls is that "all Kewpie dolls have wings." This is not true. In Rose O'Neill's original drawings, Kewpies can be seen with and without wings. There are even Kewpies with mermaid tails called MerKewps! So variations in Kewpie dolls are to be expected.

I'd like to think that Rose O'Neill would be happy that we'd collect "all things Kewpie" -- old and new. After all, Kewpies are her gift to all of us.

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There were other characters in Kewpieville, such Doodle Dog

Scootles was a real baby and, as such, she was much larger than the Kewpies. Known as the Baby Tourist, she was always scooting off somewhere. So it made sense that she would come and visit the Kewpies in Kewpieville. And not only in the book The Kewpies and the Runaway Baby (1928), but for other adventures too.

This is what O'Neill said about Scootles:

The Kewps were proud to

have a Tourist,

(The richest or the poorest)

For they felt a Real live Tourist

Puts a town on the Map.

So they had the Kewpie

band out

And gave the dear a

splendid handout

And the citizens took turns

Sitting in the Tourist's

lap.

Scootles dolls