In the 1950s and ’60s, Cameo began making Kewpie and some of their other characters in vinyl, but also licensed other companies to manufacture them. This makes identification difficult, unless the original packaging is present, as they may be marked with the Cameo name while actually made by other manufacturers. Cameo closed in 1969, but founder Joseph Kallus retained his copyrights and continued to license them to various other firms. The dolls pictured above include an 8-inch Kewpie marked Jesco, and two smaller dolls marked Cameo. Kewpies were made in many different sizes, from miniature to child size.
Kewpies finally got fashionable in the ’50s and ’60s. Kuddly Kewpie, like most of the vinyl versions, was sold in various outfits.
Kuddly Kewpie photos courtesy of eBay seller your-favorite-doll. The doll on the far right is 12 inches tall.
There were variations of the standard Kewpie dolls as well: Kewpie Gal has chin length molded hair; Ragsy Kewpie, which is a vinyl version of the original cloth doll, has a body molded in color and is jointed only at the neck.
Ragsy Kewpies made by AMSCO under license from Cameo.Photos courtesy of RubyLane seller Romancing the Doll.
Another sweet Kewpie by AMSCO. Photo courtesy of RubyLane seller Romancing the Doll.
Most vinyl Kewpies were flange jointed, but the unusual doll pictured below is strung together with elastic cord.
For much more information on Kewpies and their history, visit this page. Sadly, the Kewpie trademark is no longer owned by a doll manufacturer, but by a Japanese mayonnaise company.
Vogue made an all-vinyl baby version of their popular Ginny doll beginning in 1959. In the first two years of production, she was made in an 18″ size only. (This is the doll pictured above. She is missing her shoes and socks.) In 1961, 12″, 16″ and 20″ sizes were added. These were all drink-and-wet babies. In 1962 and ’63, an 8″ doll that did not drink and wet was produced. Beginning in 1964, the 8″ doll had the drink and wet feature too. This causes confusion for collectors, as she was identical to Vogue’s 8″ Ginnette doll, and can only be conclusively identified by a wrist tag or original box. Ginny Baby was made in both molded hair and rooted hair versions, with sleep eyes. Rooted hair dolls were made in platinum blonde, dark blonde and brunette. Boxed outfits were sold separately.
Black dolls were available beginning in 1964, and possibly earlier. These were made from the same molds as the white dolls, with rooted black hair and brown sleep eyes.
In 1975, a 25″ doll was produced. Watch my video about the 25″ Ginny Baby here. That same year, a 12″ Ginny Baby will rooted red hair was sold. In 1978, a Ginny Shower ‘n Bath set was made with an 8″ painted eye doll.
Ad for the first Ginny Baby dolls in the March 1959 issue of Playthings magazine.
16″ Ginny Baby from the 1970s wears an orange knit coat with a white sleeveless dress underneath. This doll was made during the time when Vogue was a subsidiary of the Tonka Corporation.
Ginny Baby Shower n’ Bath
Tbis 1978 set includes an 8″ doll with painted eyes and rooted hair, with a bathtub and accessories.
