The creation of Rose O'Neill (1874-1944), Kewpie Dolls were one of many crazes that swept America, and the world, in the early years of the twentieth century. Baby like figures with a tuft of hair (or top knot) similar to very young infants, the figures were popular prizes at carnival and amusement parks and also sold through retailers. The figures are still popular among doll collectors and are still manufactured under license from the original molds by Lee Middleton Original Dolls.

The figures originally appeared in Ladies Home Journal around 1905 as heading and tail illustrations accompanying stories by O'Neill. At the prompting of her editor, O'Neill expanded the drawings into a series of illustrated verse for children and dubbed her creations kewpies after cupid. In 1910 she moved her characters to the Woman's Home Companion. According to O'Neill, hundreds of letters began to arrive from admirers seeking...