Victorian Cast Iron Pair of Vintage English Architectural Still Banks, Circa 1880

Further readings and sources:

1. Architecture in the late 19th century transformed far more than cities––it radically altered the design of virtually everything in the decorative arts, including penny banks. Cast-iron penny banks were first popular on both sides of the Atlantic from about 1870 to 1940. They were viewed as toys and tools to teach children thrift in the period when the middle class emerged and when saving money was on most people’s minds, an attitude that is in sharp contrast to today’s focus on spending money and buying-on-credit.

   Architectural designs were favored more in still banks … Still banks tend to be more formidable in their appearance and the shape of buildings were about the most impressive shapes possible in which to cast them. ”Why did toy-bank producers use architectural designs? It’s natural, I guess. When you think about saving money, you think about a bank, which is a building.”

   excerpted from: “Penny Banks As Miniature Buildings“, by Rita Reif, August 7, 1983, New York Times,  https://www.nytimes.com/1983/08/07/arts/antiques-view-penny-banks-as-miniature-buildings.html  ↩