Posted by Amelia Whitehart on June 26, 2019 in Arts
First with a brief history of bobbleheads. 2015: A 1961-62 New York Yankees Oversized (14″) Promotional Nodder sold at auction by for $59,750. It was one of only two known in existence. According to John Brey of “The Nodder Exchange,” this was “the most desirable nodder in the hobby, bar none.” It’s a truth that endures regardless of your personal team affiliation, and it’s likely due to the fact that the Bronx Bombers claimed the World Championship during both potential years of production that the uniform was chosen. While five or fewer promotional nodders exist for each of the NFL teams of the era, only the Yankees model is believed to have been produced to represent our National Pastime. And today, just two of those are known to survive.
How are bobbleheads made? We begin with the head of the bobble head doll. The body is made of hollow plastic that is covered by felt cloth. On the head, a metal clasp is connected to the downward portion of the head to connect into the bobble head dog’s body. At the far end of the body is a bolt that acts as a weight for the head. When attached to the body, this allows for the bobble head to sway and bob around. Without the weighed bolt at the end, the bobble head would simply rise to the top of the body in a fixed position. Next up is the body of the bobble head doll. The body, which in this case is about 4″ (10.16cm) in length, is made of a hollow core like the head, but the mold is not enclosed in order to allow space for the head piece to attach to the body. To attach to the body, a small metal anchor is attached inside the upper portion of the body to allow the clasp from the head to rest in the center of the anchor. When the head is attached to the body, the bobble head bobs and glides with ease. The movement can be endless as long as the bobble head doll is in contact with motion to jostle the parts enough to cause movement.
Bobble head dolls were first believed to be referenced in 1842 in the short story “The Overcoat” by writer Nikolai Gogol. The story is also known as “The Cloak” and has been adapted to film and stage. Present day bobble heads originate in Germany. Ancient Japan and China had string dolls, which were the precursor to the German style of bobble head that is prevalent today. The German bobble head dolls were made of ceramic and began production in the late 1700’s, early 1800’s. The term nodder originates with these early German dolls. In the 20th century, commercialized bobble head dolls were made of paper mache and then switched to the more durable ceramic. In the United Kingdom, it’s very common for bobble head dolls do be referred to as nodding dolls.
In 1960, Major League Baseball decided to give away a series of papier-mache bobblehead dolls for each team with the same cherubic face and imported from Japan. That same year World Series was held and first bobblehead dollswere made specifically for players but they still had the same faces. The players that had bobbleheads made for them were Roberto Clemente, Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris, and Willie Mays. Beside of players, teams made and gave away as souvenirs bobblehead dolls in the shape of their team mascots. When material of making bobblehead dolls was changed from papier-mache to ceramic they were made in likeness of players of other sports too and of cartoon characters. The Beatles bobblehead set, which was made in the next decade is still a very valuable collectable. In time production and interest for bobblehead dolls again waned and by 1970s it almost disappeared completely.
When it comes to collecting bobbleheads, there are few terms that are important to know when shopping or researching online: STH/ST – These are bobbleheads that only available to season ticket holders, so the quantity is usually more limited. Because they are issued to fans who enjoy the team enough to purchase tickets for every home game each year, these limited edition bobbleheads can be the toughest to track down. NIB – New in box. Pretty self-explanatory, but this implies that the bobblehead comes exactly as it was issued, including all packaging and paperwork. Many collectors prefer this because the box can be part of the collection.
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