Vinyl Kewpie Dolls by Cameo and Others
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.
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.
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.
Copyright 2006-2024 by Zendelle Bouchard.