The Kewpie Doll was created by Rose O’Neill, who was born on this day in 1874. Rose was raised in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania and had a rather successful career as an illustrator and author. In fact, her paintings, drawings, and sculptures of, what Rose called her “Sweet Monsters” (mythical creatures such as centaurs, fauns, satyrs) (Sweet Monsters...sound familiar Lady Gaga fans?), were exhibited in New York and Paris. But then, she began to design dolls, specifically, the Kewpie Doll.
A 1909 issue of Ladies Home Journal printed a full page of Ms. O’Neill’s doll designs catapulting the Kewpie Doll into a marketing success in the toy industry for over three decades. The dolls have been in almost continuous production since that time by a whole host of companies.
They used to give them away as prizes at carnivals...Matter of fact, Perry Como once sang a song about a "real, live Kewpie Doll"! Now if, before reading this, you knew about the dolls and better yet, also knew who Perry Como is/was...then you're either a "mature" adult or have been a student of history...either way, I just thought this would be a fun bit to post for a Saturday!
No comments:
Post a Comment