Bobbleheads
By John Stark
Whoopee cushions, glow sticks, ridiculously over-sized sunglasses, the American public buys loads of novelties each year, yet perhaps the most familiar is the Bobblehead.
Similar to the motion of their spring-loaded craniums, the popularity of Bobblehead dolls has gone up and down over the past century. While Bobbleheads are traditionally modeled after sports stars, the latest wave of popularity can be attributed to the NBC show "The Office," according to Warren Royal, owner of Bobbleheads.com.
"I have noticed a renewed interest in Bobbleheads since they have been on TV," Royal said in a phone interview on Saturday. "The character Dwight Schrute has a Bobblehead of himself on his desk."
Royal says that the Dwight Schrute Bobblehead is one of the top-selling figurines on the website. It also sparked some copycats.
"What we're seeing now is a huge interest in custom Bobbleheads. I get at least five inquires a day from people wanting Bobbleheads of themselves, their friends or their boss," said Royal. "They might get 10 copies made, or 200."
According to folklore, and Bobbleheads.com, these finicky figurines were originally produced in Germany in the late 1800s. They were generally modeled after animals and were referred to as "nodders."
The Bobblehead made its stateside debut in the 1920s when the New York Knicks produced nodding-noggin likenesses of their players. This promotion garnered some notoriety, but it wasn't until the 1960s when the fad began to capture the fascination of the masses.
Major League Baseball released a collection of Bobbleheads constructed out of papier-mâché and sold them during the 1960 World Series. The original line-up of dolls included such popular players as Willie Mays, Mickey Mantle and Roberto Clemente among others. While the collection was popular there were obvious downsides, namely, all of the dolls had the same face and the poor construction led to a brief shelf life.
By the 1970s, companies began manufacturing Bobbleheads out of ceramic, making them more durable. Companies also started producing more than just sports stars; cartoon characters and pop icons such as the Beatles were now being immortalized via wobbly crown models. But, like all fads, popularity soon waned.
It wasn't until the late 1990s that these made their comeback. Bobbleheads.com credits the San Francisco Giants for inciting the craze when they gave away lifelike Willie Mays Bobbleheads during a 1999 game. Along with this promotion, diminished production costs and overall increased quality in resemblance and durability, Bobbleheads were once again a hot item amongst collectors.
According to 2001 article by Eric Fisher for News World Communications people were paying up to 500 dollars for the collectables, a price that is staggering when compared to the value of current Bobbleheads. Out of the over 110 ceramic caricatures found on Royal's website, the most expensive is a replica of the 1960s cartoon character Space Ace, which retails for $59.95. The average price for a Bobblehead on the website is 10 dollars. Despite this, Royal remains optimistic that the collectibles will experience resurgence in popularity.
"I had always bought Bobble-heads for my kids and I thought to myself, 'This could be an interesting business,'" Royal recollects of his decision to get into the Bobblehead game.
Collectors, such as avid Dodger fan and Bobblehead owner, Andy Warrener, back up his sentiment.
"Bobbleheads are just cool pieces of memorabilia," states Warrener, "It's not just team specific, it's player specific. It's more personal."
Today, Bobbleheads are constructed out of a high quality poly-resin mix, almost like a ceramic, which makes them very durable. The statuettes are now more lifelike than ever as they feature all the distinguishing characteristics of whatever subject they are modeled after including hair color and styles, tattoos and scars.
The website even offers a new format of Bobblehead In the spirit of the campaign season, the website is offering virtual Bobbleheads that are modeled after this year's presidential hopefuls, which like the whoopee cushion, are full of hot air.