Sunday,October 18,2015
Sunny, seasonally very cold
Sunny, seasonally very cold
A Famous Collector & Auctioneer's Mechanical Banks
Come to Bertoia Auctions
Yesterday, I decided to write and post, and today again decided to write one again. I had discovered a fabulous collection of mechanical banks that had gone to auction through the internatiopnally-renowned antique toy auctioneer - Bertoia Auctions. The famous collector and auctioneer is Mr. Clive Devenish of Clive Devenish Antiques in Incline Village, Nevada, USA.
When I saw the fabulous mechanical bank below, I decided to check out the live Devenish Antiques website. I was very surprised and delighted to visit, and naturally I had to write the company and ask for permission to write about them and their fabulous collector - Mr. Clive Devenish. I'm not going to write much about them , but you have to visit their site. Not only do they have lots of fine merchandise up for auction, but they write detailed information about each listing,and add some fine historical narration to each item, and especially toys.
"Kyser & Rex Mfg., Philadelphia PA, cast iron, circa 1880
Considered one of the finest examples known, an extraordinary feat in casting design, the oval ring contains five figures in varied poses with a multi-colored back drop depicting the skating tender, rarely found with all original paint and figures, the grey area is in phenomenal preserved condition, a highlight for any collector. Coin is placed on roof of bank, pressing the lever allows the two front skaters to seemingly skate around from the front to rear of the rink where the little girl skater is met by a man who presents a wreath for her.
Provenance: FH Griffith, Steven Steckbeck Collection.
(Near Mint Cond.)"
* Description courtesy of Bertoia Auctions
For such a rare item, I decided to give it exclusivity and add it by itself. Because of its' fine condition and rarity, the item achieved a 6-digit final bid, and was well-worth the cost to the bidder. I have a reproduction mechanical bank, and have lots of fun with it when young children or adults come to visit. These banks were once very popular at the turn of the 20th century and well into the 1930's. However, like everything else, times and values change, and the cast iron banks defined in popularity. Also shipping costs went up, alternate manufacturing and materials replaced cast iron, and "the rest is history".
What was great about these banks is that they not only had children have fun with the toy, but they actually had children save money. At that time, a penny could in fact buy you lots of things. Today, at least in Canada and Great Britain, the penny has been relegated to a footnote in history -
it is no more. Our government decided the penny was superfluous (obsolete) and too costly to manufacture. Of course, I didml;t think so, and talk about frivolity, one just has to read how governments easily waste our hard0-earned money that we pay taxes to the government.
If you ever happen to find a mechanical aback,it most likely will still be working (they made toys last back then), your kids and yourself will have lots of fun, and most importantly, your children will learn the value of money and saving.
Mind you, you'll have to use dollar coins (Loonies and Toonies in Canada) as coinage in order for your "kids" to buy the latest IPhone6 . You'll also have to empty the bank vault compartment about 10 times. Back in the 1900's 20 pennies (cents) could buy you a lot of things, especially toys. Today, you can't even buy a gum ball - that's called progress and inflation!
Thanks for dropping by to visit,
and as always,
have a great part of the day or night,
wherever you may be,
Stacey Bindman
Please feel free to write to me anytime at:
Toysearcher@gmail.com
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