Charlotte County Florida Weekly

Is it a Kewpie or is it a knockoff? It’s cute regardless

COLLECTOR’S CORNER



This Kewpie-like doll measures just over 12 inches and dates from the 1920s or ’30s. SCOTT SIMMONS / FLORIDA WEEKLY

This Kewpie-like doll measures just over 12 inches and dates from the 1920s or ’30s. SCOTT SIMMONS / FLORIDA WEEKLY

I hadn’t bought any dolls or toys in quite some time — as with any collectible, the spirit needs to move me to inspire a purchase — one has only so much room, after all.

And you can’t just pack things in for the sake of accumulating — if everything is important, then nothing is important.

Then inspiration hit twice in a week.

First, it happened at the West Palm Beach Antiques Festival.

A dealer who has been selling items from his late mother’s antiques business had a selection of dolls. Among them: a 12-inch composition doll reminiscent of Rose O’Neill’s Kewpies.

At first glance, I thought the doll was one of the cherub-like Kewpies designed by O’Neill and made by Cameo. But they always have tiny blue wings on their backs and frequently have heart-shaped decals on their chests denoting their status as Kewpies. The doll has a movable head, arms and legs — Kewpies this size generally had a one-piece body and head with movable arms.

 

 

O’Neill also designed a character called Scootles, which looked very much like this character, but the side-glancing eyes on those dolls typically look left — this doll’s flirty eyes look to the right. But it does have the star-shaped hands of both Kewpie and Scootles. The little gingham suit is appropriate to the doll, but probably is not original to the doll. And the composition — a mix of molded sawdust and glue — has begun to shift, causing the paint to lift from the back of the head.

Still, it remains adorable.

In the end, the doll may have been inspired by Kewpie — after all, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

And flattery is something O’Neill deserved. Born in 1874, she was the highest paid female commercial illustrator of her day. She wrote novels and books of poetry and actively campaigned for women’s suffrage. She lived in Paris throughout the 1920s and studied with the greats — Auguste Rodin taught her sculpture. Her illustrations were beautiful and detailed. Kewpie was the most popular cartoon character of the day, until Mickey Mouse came to fame in the 1930s. By the late 1930s, O’Neill had lost much of her fortune. But she remained active in the local arts community in Branson, Missouri, where she died in 1944 at age 69.

These 8-inch cloth dolls by Norah Wellings were made in England between the 1930s and the 1950s. SCOTT SIMMONS / FLORIDA WEEKLY

These 8-inch cloth dolls by Norah Wellings were made in England between the 1930s and the 1950s. SCOTT SIMMONS / FLORIDA WEEKLY

I also scouted around BKG Antique Mall in downtown Lake Worth Beach, where I found two little Norah Wellings characters, a sailor and a London policeman.

Wellings, who lived 1893-1975, was famous for her work at the Chad Valley Co. Ltd. and later in her own factory, Victoria Toy Works, near Shropshire, England. Her cloth dolls usually were made of felt, velvet and velveteen, and the faces were formed over a layer of plastic wood and overlaid with steamed felt, then painted and sealed.

The dolls are charming, often with side-glancing eyes. Her ethnic dolls never slide into the cruel caricature that figures of the period often had, with bulbous eyes and exaggerated lips. They all have the same sweet, innocent expressions as these two dolls.

I especially love the felt hat of the bobby and the row of pearl buttons on the front of his jacket. It’s nice that he has his original tag.

The sailor’s hat bears the name of the SS Nieuw Amsterdam, and was likely made as a souvenir of the ocean liner.

Wellings retired in 1959 and destroyed all her patterns and remaining stock.

But the surviving dolls continue to charm more 60 years later.

Don’t forget:

The Sunshine Doll Club and The Gold Coast Doll Study Club of Florida Show — Meet me at this show, set for 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 22, at St. Luke Catholic Church, 2892 S. Congress Ave., Palm Springs (just south of West Palm Beach). Dealers will be selling vintage dolls, toys and accessories. Admission: $3; free for children under 12. Info: Call Donna at 561-965-9460. ¦

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