Incredible Collection of Mechanical Banks to be Offered by Heritage
“The William Esser Collection of Mechanical Banks will be offered in Heritage Auction Galleries’ upcoming Political Memorabilia & Americana auction, to be held on November 12 & 13 in Dallas, TX.
” Mechanical banks were produced as early as the 1860s,” said Tom Slater, Director of Americana auctions for Dallas-based Heritage Auction Galleries. “The J&E Stevens Company of Cromwell, CT, estimated to have produced about a third of all known mechanical banks, began making iron toys, such as cook stoves, pots and pans, toy cannons and toy tool chests soon after the company’s founding in 1843, and produced their first mechanical cast iron bank, the ‘Hall’s Excelsior,’ in 1869 and continued well through the turn of the century, with some later examples dating from the 1920s and 1930s.”
“This auction marks a spectacular opportunity for collectors of mechanical banks to acquire some of these magnificent specimens,” Slater said. “I’d invite everyone with any interest in popular Americana to visit our website at www.HA.com , where they’ll be treated to full-color enlargeable images of each and every lot in he auction, complete with our informative catalog descriptions.”
All the old stuff I wore as a child is coming back. Kinda scary and makes you feel old, but it looks great most of the time.