MILWAUKEE – This morning, the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum unveiled a limited-edition bobblehead of President Warren G. Harding. This marks the first bobblehead featuring President Harding and is one of 18 “Neglected Presidents” bobbleheads that the Hall of Fame and Museum is releasing today.
Standing in a presidential pose, the Harding bobblehead is wearing a black suit and tie. The bobblehead includes Harding’s name on the base. Each bobblehead is individually numbered to 500, and they are only available through the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum’s Online Store. The bobbleheads, which just arrived and ship now, are $30 each plus a flat-rate shipping charge of $8 per order. A set of 18 is also available for a discounted price of $500.
A Republican, Harding served as the 29th President of the United States from 1921 until his death in 1923. While on a western tour, Harding suffered a heart attack in San Francisco and died at age 57. He was succeeded by Vice President Calvin Coolidge. Harding was one of the most popular U.S. Presidents to that point, but a number of scandals, including the Teapot Dome bribery scandal and his extramarital affair with Nan Britton (which produced a daughter), greatly damaged his posthumous reputation. However, Harding was noted for embracing technology and he was sensitive to the plights of minorities and women.
The Ohio native bought The Marion Star as a young man and, as the publisher, built it into a successful newspaper. In 1899 he was elected to the Ohio State Senate. Four years later, he became the 28th Lieutenant Governor of Ohio. He was defeated for Governor in 1910, but was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1914 and served until 1921. Considered a long shot for the Republican nomination for President in 1920, support for Harding gradually grew as he ran on a theme of a return to normalcy of the pre-World War I period. An Ohio admirer, Harry Daugherty, began to promote Harding for the nomination because, he later explained, “He looked like a President.” Harding won in an unprecedented landslide over Democrat James M. Cox and the then-imprisoned Socialist Party candidate Eugene Debs with 60 percent of the popular vote. He was the first sitting Senator to be elected President.
“The Neglected Presidents” bobblehead collection includes 18 former United States Presidents: John Quincy Adams, Chester Arthur, James Buchanan, Grover Cleveland, Calvin Coolidge, Millard Fillmore, James Garfield, Warren G. Harding, Benjamin Harrison, Rutherford B. Hayes, Andrew Johnson, William McKinley, Franklin Pierce, William Howard Taft, Zachary Taylor, John Tyler, Martin Van Buren, and Woodrow Wilson. These mark the first bobbleheads for 13 of the Presidents and the first traditional bobbleheads for four of the other five.
"We’re excited to release the first bobblehead of President Warren G. Harding,” National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum co-founder and CEO Phil Sklar said. “While previously neglected in the bobblehead world, President Harding is an important part of our country’s history and we think this bobblehead will be a great learning tool and a fun collectible for history buffs.”
About the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum:
The National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum, which is located at 170 S. 1st St. in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, opened to the public on February 1st, 2019. The HOF and Museum also produces high quality, customized bobbleheads for retail sale as well as organizations, individuals, and teams across the country. Visit us online and on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.