
# 3502i - 2001 34c American Illustrator Rose O'Neill
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Rose OâNeill
34¢ American Illustrators
City: New York, NY
Quantity: 125,000,000
Printed by:Â Avery Dennison Security Printing
Printing Method: Photogravure
Perforations:Â Serpentine die cut 11.25
Color:Â Multicolored
Birth of Rose OâNeill

Illustrator and writer Rose Cecil OâNeill was born on June 25, 1874, in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. OâNeill was the highest-paid female illustrator of her time, most famous for creating Kewpie, the most well-known cartoon character until Mickey Mouse.
OâNeill was the daughter of a bookseller and teacher/musician. She displayed a joy and talent for art and writing at a young age and entered a childrenâs drawing competition when she was 13. She won first prize. The judges of that art competition worked for local periodicals and helped OâNeill find work providing illustrations several Omaha publications. The income she received help to support her family.
In 1893, OâNeillâs father decided to take her to New York to find better opportunities. They stopped at the Worldâs Columbian Exposition along the way, where OâNeill saw large paintings and sculptures in person for the first time â previously she had only seen them in books.

In New York, the 15-year-old OâNeill lived at the Sisters of St. Regis convent. The nuns went with her to sell her work to publishers. She sold several drawings and was commissioned to create more. Her illustrations were featured in True magazine on September 19, 1896, making her the first published American woman cartoonist.  Soon, OâNeill was the only woman on the staff at Puck magazine, and she also provided illustrations for Harperâs and Life plus advertisements for Jell-O.

OâNeill moved to Missouri to be with her family and illustrated two books for her then-husband and assistant editor at Puck magazine â The Lions of the Lord (1903) and The Boss of Little Arcady (1905). OâNeill wrote and illustrated her own novel, The Loves of Edwy, in 1904. One reviewer said her illustrations possessed âa rare breadth of sympathy with and understanding of humanity.â

In 1908, OâNeill created her âKewpieâ characters, whimsical cherubs based somewhat on Cupid, the Roman god of love. OâNeill dreamt about the characters and said that they were âa sort of little round fairy whose one idea is to teach people to be merry and kind at the same time.â Her Kewpies first appeared in a comic strip in Ladiesâ Home Journal in 1909, followed by Womanâs Home Companion and Good Housekeeping.

The Kewpies became popular very quickly and in 1912, a German porcelain company began producing Kewpie dolls. Later versions of the dolls were the first mass-marketed toys in America. Kewpies were eventually included in the advertisements for Jell-O, Kelloggâs Corn Flakes, and Sears as well as many home goods including dishware, rattles, soap, stationery, and more. The success of Kewpies made OâNeill a millionaire, but she continued to work.
OâNeill was active in the womenâs rights and suffrage movement and was the inspiration for the song âRose of Washington Square.â She studied sculpture under Auguste Rodin. Her sculptures were largely inspired by her dreams and mythology and were exhibited in New York and Paris.

OâNeill spent her later years at the family home, Bonniebrook, in Missouri. She had lost most of her fortune supporting her family and friends and investing in properties. By the 1940s, her Kewpies were no longer popular, and photography began replacing illustration. OâNeill died on April 6, 1944. Her family home was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1997 and she was inducted into the National Womenâs Hall of Fame.
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Â
Rose OâNeill
34¢ American Illustrators
City: New York, NY
Quantity: 125,000,000
Printed by:Â Avery Dennison Security Printing
Printing Method: Photogravure
Perforations:Â Serpentine die cut 11.25
Color:Â Multicolored
Birth of Rose OâNeill

Illustrator and writer Rose Cecil OâNeill was born on June 25, 1874, in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. OâNeill was the highest-paid female illustrator of her time, most famous for creating Kewpie, the most well-known cartoon character until Mickey Mouse.
OâNeill was the daughter of a bookseller and teacher/musician. She displayed a joy and talent for art and writing at a young age and entered a childrenâs drawing competition when she was 13. She won first prize. The judges of that art competition worked for local periodicals and helped OâNeill find work providing illustrations several Omaha publications. The income she received help to support her family.
In 1893, OâNeillâs father decided to take her to New York to find better opportunities. They stopped at the Worldâs Columbian Exposition along the way, where OâNeill saw large paintings and sculptures in person for the first time â previously she had only seen them in books.

In New York, the 15-year-old OâNeill lived at the Sisters of St. Regis convent. The nuns went with her to sell her work to publishers. She sold several drawings and was commissioned to create more. Her illustrations were featured in True magazine on September 19, 1896, making her the first published American woman cartoonist.  Soon, OâNeill was the only woman on the staff at Puck magazine, and she also provided illustrations for Harperâs and Life plus advertisements for Jell-O.

OâNeill moved to Missouri to be with her family and illustrated two books for her then-husband and assistant editor at Puck magazine â The Lions of the Lord (1903) and The Boss of Little Arcady (1905). OâNeill wrote and illustrated her own novel, The Loves of Edwy, in 1904. One reviewer said her illustrations possessed âa rare breadth of sympathy with and understanding of humanity.â

In 1908, OâNeill created her âKewpieâ characters, whimsical cherubs based somewhat on Cupid, the Roman god of love. OâNeill dreamt about the characters and said that they were âa sort of little round fairy whose one idea is to teach people to be merry and kind at the same time.â Her Kewpies first appeared in a comic strip in Ladiesâ Home Journal in 1909, followed by Womanâs Home Companion and Good Housekeeping.

The Kewpies became popular very quickly and in 1912, a German porcelain company began producing Kewpie dolls. Later versions of the dolls were the first mass-marketed toys in America. Kewpies were eventually included in the advertisements for Jell-O, Kelloggâs Corn Flakes, and Sears as well as many home goods including dishware, rattles, soap, stationery, and more. The success of Kewpies made OâNeill a millionaire, but she continued to work.
OâNeill was active in the womenâs rights and suffrage movement and was the inspiration for the song âRose of Washington Square.â She studied sculpture under Auguste Rodin. Her sculptures were largely inspired by her dreams and mythology and were exhibited in New York and Paris.

OâNeill spent her later years at the family home, Bonniebrook, in Missouri. She had lost most of her fortune supporting her family and friends and investing in properties. By the 1940s, her Kewpies were no longer popular, and photography began replacing illustration. OâNeill died on April 6, 1944. Her family home was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1997 and she was inducted into the National Womenâs Hall of Fame.
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