The year was 1909, and the cartoon drawings would quickly evolve into paper doll versions and then into unglazed ceramic items which would cause them to soar in popularity. Soon an overwhelming demand would call for the production of kewpie inkwells, saltshakers, perfume bottles, earrings, bracelets and pipe tobacco accessories.
Kewpie Dolls (which were named in honor of Cupid) were big cheeked, wide-eyed, round tummied little creatures which immediately appealed to children. Initially Ms. O'Neil developed a series of the dolls, each with their own names and personalities and four years after their creation, more five million had been sold. With the coming of World War I, Ms. O'Neil stopped writing stories about Kewpies but brought them back in 1925. In 1930, the dolls regained popularity, not as the cute national treasure they had been but instead as giveaways at carnivals and festivals.
