Images(2)

Mechanical Bank

PeriodCirca 1904

Place MadeCromwell, Connecticut, USA

MediumPainted cast iron.

Dimensions6.25 × 4.75 × 7.5 in. (15.9 × 12.1 × 19.1 cm)

MarkingsOn underside: "Patented July 30, 1904"

ClassificationsToys & Games

Credit LineGift of Mrs. Henry M. Post, Mrs. Lewis Waring, and Mr. Amory L. Haskell in memory of their mother, Mrs. J. Amory Haskell, 1944

Object number1928

DescriptionBank with three figures dressed in football uniforms, center figure carries football, two side figures posed with arms outstretched. Molded base with ornate relief spirals and scrolls. Front rectangular section with "Calamity" molded into top surface. When coin is deposited and lever depressed, two side figures moves as if to tackle central figure.
NotesBrothers John Stevens (1806-1892) and Elisha Stevens (1813-1886) founded the J. E. Stevens Company in 1843. Initially the company made hammers, hardware, and toys such as cap pistols. Their success with toys, however, led the brothers to focus largely on toys. In 1869, the company advertised their first mechanical bank, featuring a monkey that popped out of a building. Eventually, the Stevens company would make more than 300 different types of mechanical banks. The company also made ice skates. In 1928, J. E. Stevens Company began to specialize in cap pistols. The firm continued until World War II, when the wartime iron shortage made it difficult for the firm to continue production of its wares. The company was sold to Buckley Brothers in 1950.

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