Group Selling $50 Bobble-Heads So They Can Put Up an Edgar Allan Poe Statue

These pricey trinkets will help put up a Poe statue on Boylston Street.

Photo via Edgar Allan Poe Foundation of Boston

Photo via Edgar Allan Poe Foundation of Boston

A group dedicated to bringing a piece of literary history to the streets of Boston is selling bobble-head figurines to expedite the installation of a statue on Boylston Street.

For a limited time, 200 Edgar Allan Poe figurines with wobbly noggins will be on sale for $50 each, with the proceeds going to the Edgar Allan Poe Square Public Art Project, which aims to put up a bronze statue of the author near his birthplace in Boston, according to members of the Edgar Allan Poe Foundation of Boston.

In April 2012, the group announced it had selected an artist to sculpt a massive life-like figure of Poe, after a lengthy submission process, with the blessing of the Boston Arts Commission.

In the end, the foundation picked Stefanie Rocknak, a professional sculptor, to build a bronze statue of Poe striding through the city at the intersection of Boylston Street and Charles Street South, just two blocks north of where Poe was born in 1809. The statue will be flanked by a massive raven, and will feature piece of paper falling out of a briefcase held by Poe. According to members of the foundation, Rocknak was selected after a five-member selection committee sifted through design proposal from a pool of 265 artists. The artists hailed from 42 states and 13 countries, but after making the top three, Rocknak won out.

In April 2012, Rocknak said:

I propose to cast a life-size figure of Poe in bronze. Just off the train, the figure would be walking south towards his place of birth, where his mother and father once lived. Poe, with a trunk full of ideas—and worldwide success—is finally coming home.

The Edgar Allan Poe Foundation of Boston, Inc., is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) corporation organized exclusively for the charitable educational purpose of honoring Poe in Boston. All donations received will be entirely dedicated to the Edgar Allan Poe Square Public Art Project, with the goal of raising roughly $177,000 for the installation of the bronze statue. The group hopes to complete the installation by sometime in 2014, according to group members.