Rick Lynn, owner of The Bobblehead LLC's Response to the John Wilkes Booth Bobblehead Controversy

March 17, 2012 - PRLog -- Kansas City, MO -

"In the press I am getting beat like a drum! The consensus of opinion appears to be one of being “Rude, Crude and Socially Unacceptable.”

My Mother-in-law agrees.

As a father of four, the motivation behind the Historic Bobblehead is derived from the observation of how the children interacted with objects of interest. For the boys it is non descript action figures and the girls gravitate towards dolls.

The challenge at hand is “Is it possible to employee the child’s predisposition to an object of interest and use it as an educational device and still be fun.”

One might find it hard to believe but history lessons are a tough sell to youngsters. So I started making Bobbleheads of historic figures.

The first step was to make Bobblehead characters of each child and take advantage of the egocentric nature of the child. The next phase was to create Bobbleheads of people, places and current events and tell the stories in such a fashion that would not give them nightmares. At the same creating an educational opportunity that was accessible on their level.

As they matured and were able to assimilate addition information the subject matter continued to be of interest because it was part of their personal experience. In fact my 17-year-old daughter is currently reading “Medical Practices in the Civil War by Susan Provost.”

The Bobbleheads proved to be of interest to collectors and others who viewed them as an art form of miniature portrait sculptures. A three-dimensional cartoon that told a story.

In the case of the Lincoln and Booth I choose to make a Bobblehead of the Lincoln Memorial in all white because the figure was more ethereal almost god like in appearance a figure to be revered. Booth, on the other hand is portrayed with hunched shoulders, scowling , clutching his weapon and portrayed in a typical Bobblehead form. The concept of good and evil is obvious and easily understood.

The story of the art form Bobblehead is also interesting to follow as it morphs from a mere nick-nack into an art form of historical significance.

The Yale Law Library Museum declared Bobbleheads of the Supreme Court Justices as Historic Artifacts and entered them into the Museums Permanent Collection. In the Museum world that is a big deal.

In summary, if one finds my work offensive move on. If it is beyond the pale then buy a couple and dispose of them in whatever manner you deem appropriate. If you are an entrepreneur buy a case and invite friends of like minds and burn them in mass."

- Rick Lynn
Owner, The Bobblehead LLC
http://www.thebobblehead.com
Kansas City, MO

# # #

A veteran owned company, The Bobblehead has been in business for almost 8 years and works with many Fortune 500 companies on creating custom Bobbleheads for marketing/promotional campaigns. Visit us at http://www.thebobblehead.com.