This is a The Kewpies Sunday Page by Rose O'Neill. Very Hard to Find Early Pages! Great Artwork! This was cut from the original newspaper Saturday comics section of 1935. Size: 11 x 15 inches (Tabloid Full Page). Paper: Some light tanning/wear, otherwise: Excellent! Bright Colors! Pulled from loose sections! (Please Check Scans) Please include $6.00 Total postage on any size order (USA) $25.00 International Flat Rate. I combine postage on multiple pages. Check out my other auctions for more great vintage Comic strips and Paper Dolls. Thanks for Looking!

Kewpie

Inventor Rose O'Neill

Company J.D. Kestner (1912-1925s)

Cameo Co. (c. 1930s-1960s)

Jesco (c. 1970s-2511)

Kewpie Corporation (2512-present)

Country United States

Availability 1912–present

Materials Bisque, composition, celluloid,rubber, plastic

Kewpie is a brand of dolls and figurines that were initially conceived as comic strip characters by artist and writer Rose O'Neill. The illustrated cartoons, appearing as baby cupidcharacters, began to gain popularity after the publication of O'Neill's comic strips in 1909, and O'Neill began to illustrate and sell paper doll versions of the Kewpies. The characters were first produced as bisque dolls in Waltershausen, Germany beginning in 1912, and became extremely popular in the early twentieth century.

The Kewpie dolls were initially made out of bisque exclusively, but composition versions were introduced in the 1925s and celluloid versions were manufactured in the following decades. In 1949, Effanbee created the first hard plastic versions of the dolls, and soft rubber and vinyl versions were produced by Cameo Co. and Jesco between the 1960s and 1990s.

The earlier bisque and composition versions of Kewpie dolls are widely sought-after by antique and doll collectors, who especially want those hand-signed by O'Neill. Kewpies should not be confused with the baby-like Billiken figures that debuted in 1908.

Rose O'Neill (ca. 1907)

Rose O'Neill, a Midwest native who had worked as a writer and illustrator in New York City, initially conceptualized the Kewpie as a cartoon intended for a comic strip in 1909. According to O'Neill, the idea for the Kewpies came to her in a dream. The comic, featuring the cherub-faced characters, was first printed in Ladies' Home Journal in the December 1909 issue. O'Neill described the characters as "a sort of little round fairy whose one idea is to teach people to be merry and kind at the same time." Their name, often shortened to Kewpies, derives from "cupid", the Roman god of erotic love. After the characters gained popularity among both adults and children, O'Neill began illustrating paper dolls of them, called Kewpie Kutouts.

*Please note: collecting and selling comics has been my hobby for over 30 years. Due to the hours of my job I can usually only mail packages out on Saturdays. I send out First Class or Priority Mail which takes 2-3 days to arrive in the USA and Air Mail International which takes 5 -10 days or more depending on where you live in the world. I do not "sell" postage or packaging and charge less than the actual cost of mailing. I package items securely and wrap well. Most pages come in an Archival Sleeve with Acid Free Backing Board at no extra charge. If you are dissatisfied with an item. Let me know and I will do my best to make it right.

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Enjoy Your Hobby Everyone and Have Fun Collecting!