1910

Kewpie

This doll was produced in its creator's sleep in the form of a dream! Irish-American Rose O'Neill was educated strictly in the arts from early childhood due to an eccentric wish of her very unusual father. One day, upon the demise of her second marriage, she was sleeping. She dreamed of tiny Cupid-like baby angels playing about in her room. Upon waking, she drew what she had seen in her dream - and Kewpie was born!

The illustrations of these little imps took place in 1909; by 1910, they were in production as bisque dolls (originally - and later, celluloid, an early form a plastic made from the cellulose fibers of trees). In 1949, Effanbee produced the very first hard (or modern) plastic editions.

These little treasures have been popular in all the decades since; one may still find them in very recent editions. The bisque ones are naturally the most collectible; they come in a range of sizes, from tiny (about 1'') all the way to 3' in height. They take the form (most often) of the so-called "frozen Charlotte" - a figurine, essentially, with no moving parts, although occasionally they will have arms jointed at the shoulders (strung).