German bisque: 1912–1915 Museum newspaper ad from 1915 As demand for the Kewpie characters increased, Geo. Borgfeldt & Co. in New York contacted O'Neill in 1912 about developing a line of dolls and figurines. O'Neill agreed, and J.D. Kestner, a German toy company located in
Waltershausen, set forth to manufacture small
bisque dolls of the Kewpies. After the company manufactured the first run of dolls, they sent samples to O'Neill, who disapproved of the design because she felt they "did not look like her characters." Many of these original German Kewpies were signed by O'Neill herself, and some were featured in various poses. The small dolls became an international hit, and by 1914, O'Neill had become the highest-paid female illustrator in the country, The Kewpie brand soon became a household name, and was used widely in product advertising, including promotion for
Jell-O,
Colgate,
Kellogg's Corn Flakes, and
Sears. O'Neill also famously used the characters to promote the
women's suffrage movement, using the illustrations in slogans and cartoons.
Composition and celluloid: 1916–1930s After
World War I began in Europe, production of the bisque Kewpie dolls moved from Germany to France and Belgium, due to rising tensions after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. Around this time, the dolls also began to be produced in the United States, made of
composition material rather than bisque, due to bisque's fragility. The manufacturers also began to increase the sizes of the dolls, producing versions in addition to the versions. The American composition dolls also had the distinctive heart-shaped decal on the chest, reading "Kewpies, des. & copyright by Rose O'Neill." Like the original bisque models, some of the composition Kewpies were also hand-signed by O'Neill, and they all included jointed arms. In the mid-1920s, small-sized
celluloid versions of Kewpies appeared, and were often given out as prizes at
carnivals. Many of the celluloid versions were mainly manufactured in Japan, unlicensed, and were of a lower quality than other Kewpies. During this time, many Kewpies were sold with clothing, as well.
Later models: 1944–present As photographs became more commonplace in advertising, the prominence of Kewpies in the marketing circuit began to wane. O'Neill returned to Missouri, where she died purportedly impoverished of complications from a series of
strokes in 1944. These reproduction Kewpies lack the heart-shaped decal that distinguishes the original, older versions. ==Collectibility==