Print
E-mail
Comment
Rate
Doll collection enjoyed by residents at Allen House
All residents and guests at Allen House in Atlantic recently had the pleasure of viewing a large collection of lovable Kewpie Dolls displayed by Shirley and Gene Kinen .
The Kinens have about 200 of the Kewpies in all shapes, sizes, and attire.
Twenty -year hobby
Shirley says she became interested in the dolls about 20 years ago, after seeing a Kewpie and realizing that she never had one. At first her efforts to obtain the Kewpies were not too great as she was just looking in antique stores. Then, by chance she found Verna’s Dolls and Teddy Bears in Ashland, Neb., filled with Kewpies. Rose O’Neill, famous creator of the Kewpies, was just a young girl about seven when her family moved to Omaha, which was her main ties to this area.
Lovely gift
Shirley would look in all the stores for her new passion, a new Kewpie for her collection. While in one of the cities shopping, the couple happened to be in an expensive shop and Shirley shook her head and said to Gene, “They are too costly ,” and went off by herself to get something else, but as they were leaving the store, she discovered a box with Gene’s things. He had gotten her one of the dolls as a special gift.
Vacation time
When traveling around the country on their vacations, Shirley and Gene, kept and eye out for any type of Kewpie in stores, especially in Branson, Mo., California, and antique shops.
Doll Maker
Rose O’Neill, creator of the famous doll, attended Omaha’s Sacred Heart Convent School, and was a talented artist. After her brother was born, she would spend hours watching him, and thought he look like a little cupid. Rose soon was drawing illustrations of the cupids and they were appearing in magazines.
Later, Rose moved to New York City and sold her drawings to magazines there. She drew images of plump cupids that appeared in Harpers Bazaar and Ladies Home Journal. Then Woman’s Home Companion, Good Housekeeping and McCalls were printing her illustrations.
She wrote four books featuring her Kewpies and her fans were asking for a Kewpie they could hold in their hands.
O’Neill, in 1911 enlisted the help of sculptor Joseph Kallus, and in 1913, the Kewpie was born.
An immediate Kewpie explosion rock the world and German Kestner Doll Co. was hired to make the first porcelain doll. (Kewpies were also seen and heard in popular songs, toys, trinkets, books, Broadway shows, dishes and other items. ) France, Austria, and Japan followed. Rose never like the Japanese doll because of the smile. In the U.S., Jesco/Cameo have the copy rights and extended them to Enesco, Rose Art, Lee Meddleton, Effenbe, and Danbury Mint,and Kewpies are still made around the world. Rose became famous as an illustrator, painter, poet and sculptor, and later in life returned to the family home in Branson, Mo., where she died in 1944.
The Kinens have about 200 of the Kewpies in all shapes, sizes, and attire.
Twenty -year hobby
Shirley says she became interested in the dolls about 20 years ago, after seeing a Kewpie and realizing that she never had one. At first her efforts to obtain the Kewpies were not too great as she was just looking in antique stores. Then, by chance she found Verna’s Dolls and Teddy Bears in Ashland, Neb., filled with Kewpies. Rose O’Neill, famous creator of the Kewpies, was just a young girl about seven when her family moved to Omaha, which was her main ties to this area.
Lovely gift
Shirley would look in all the stores for her new passion, a new Kewpie for her collection. While in one of the cities shopping, the couple happened to be in an expensive shop and Shirley shook her head and said to Gene, “They are too costly ,” and went off by herself to get something else, but as they were leaving the store, she discovered a box with Gene’s things. He had gotten her one of the dolls as a special gift.
ADVERTISEMENT |
When traveling around the country on their vacations, Shirley and Gene, kept and eye out for any type of Kewpie in stores, especially in Branson, Mo., California, and antique shops.
Doll Maker
Rose O’Neill, creator of the famous doll, attended Omaha’s Sacred Heart Convent School, and was a talented artist. After her brother was born, she would spend hours watching him, and thought he look like a little cupid. Rose soon was drawing illustrations of the cupids and they were appearing in magazines.
Later, Rose moved to New York City and sold her drawings to magazines there. She drew images of plump cupids that appeared in Harpers Bazaar and Ladies Home Journal. Then Woman’s Home Companion, Good Housekeeping and McCalls were printing her illustrations.
She wrote four books featuring her Kewpies and her fans were asking for a Kewpie they could hold in their hands.
O’Neill, in 1911 enlisted the help of sculptor Joseph Kallus, and in 1913, the Kewpie was born.
An immediate Kewpie explosion rock the world and German Kestner Doll Co. was hired to make the first porcelain doll. (Kewpies were also seen and heard in popular songs, toys, trinkets, books, Broadway shows, dishes and other items. ) France, Austria, and Japan followed. Rose never like the Japanese doll because of the smile. In the U.S., Jesco/Cameo have the copy rights and extended them to Enesco, Rose Art, Lee Meddleton, Effenbe, and Danbury Mint,and Kewpies are still made around the world. Rose became famous as an illustrator, painter, poet and sculptor, and later in life returned to the family home in Branson, Mo., where she died in 1944.
 |
||
| Births |
Article Rating
Reader Comments
The following are comments from the readers. In no way do they represent the view of atlanticnewstelegraph.com.
Submit a Comment
We encourage your feedback and dialog, all comments will be reviewed by our Web staff before appearing on the Web site.
Please note: We provide our story commenting feature in order to solicit feedback, debate and discussion on topics of local interest. Please keep in mind that civility is a necessary component of productive conversation. All blatantly inflammatory or otherwise inappropriate comments (i.e. vulgarity, marketing, etc.) are subject to rejection and/or removal. Comments will appear if and when they are approved. Thanks for reading, and thanks for participating.
