You can now have John Stark and Daniel Webster in your own home….
with oversized nodding heads, and their famous quotations printed on the pedestal at their feet.
Of course, what you are purchasing are “bobbleheads“. These types of dolls, also called “nodders” have been around since the 1920s. They had some popularity in the 1960s and 70s, but most recently became sports team memorabilia favorites in 1999.
Today’s bobbleheads mimic more than sports champions. The famous, the infamous, the beautiful, the scary, and the common-everyday-in-between are becoming bobble objects.
From President Bush to Saddam Hussein, from a soldier or astronaut, to your mother-in-law, these always agreeable objects are gaining in popularity.
If you can’t locate a bobblehead that interests you, you can have one created for you. There are several companies that will create a customized bobble head doll. All you have to do is select the body type, and provide a photograph of a person’s face. They do the rest.
The New Hampshire Historical Society Store currently offers a Daniel Webster bobblehead doll, and will re-order John Stark (of “Live Free or Die” fame) if there are enough requests. They are considering making additional “characters” but they aren’t sure who those should be.
These are New Hampshire bobbleheads characters I would like to see….
– Molly Stark (Quote could be “Wife of the guy who said ‘Live Free or Die'”)
– Sylvester Roper (inventor of the motorcycle)
– Grace Metalious (Peyton Place author)
– Eleanor Hodgman Porter (Pollyanna author)
– “Doc” Daniel Lucius Adams (“Father of Baseball”)
Is there a New Hampshire bobblehead you’d like to see, and why?
Are there any famous or infamous New Hampshire people who should be “off limits” to becoming bobble-head dolls? Please let me know.
July 2008 Update: Additional bobbleheads added to the NH Historical Society offerings.
Janice
Additional Interesting Reading:
How Bobblheads are Made –
Origin of Bobbleheads –
