Kewpie | doll: Kewpie

In 1874, Rose Cecil O����_��Neill was born in ����_�Emerald Cottage,����_�_ the elaborately decorated home of her parents. O����_��Neill grew-up in a non-traditional, rather-progressive home of that period. Her father, who had a passion for rolling forth Shakespearean lines and greeting bill collectors with a passionate recitation of Byron, was only occasionally employed. He stayed home with the children while his wife went to work. He encouraged his children to participate in theater and to draw. He also determined that his daughters would have careers. By age 19, O����_��Neill moved to New York City to gain an education and launch a career in illustration.

O����_��Neill����_��s illustrated Kewpies first appeared in a 1909 issue of ����_�Ladies����_�� Home Journal.����_�_ The Kewpies were characterized by their big eyes, single topknot, and exaggerated belly. O����_��Neill����_��s Kewpies were politically conscious and critical of wealth and convention. Kewpies carried suffrage placards, debated opposition, and watched over the working-class. As social housekeepers, Kewpies mothered the neglected. They were an instant hit and in 1912, George Borgfeldt and Company approached O����_��Neill about developing a line of Kewpie dolls. The first Kewpie dolls were mass-produced in high-fired bisque. Other companies to produce Kewpie dolls included Steiff and Cameo Doll Company. Knock-offs also soon appeared on the market.

For the rest of her life, O����_��Neill attempted to keep her initial vision of Kewpies intact. Kewpies were heavily influenced by her upbringing, feminist lifestyle (she preferred bobbed hair to chignons), and the loss of her baby brother.