Posts Tagged ‘advertisements’

Originally designed to promote saving among children, Mechanical Banks were produced from about 1869 until the start of World War II.  To make these banks appealing to kids, they were cleverly designed, often depicting historical, legendary or everyday events.  Each bank performed a stunt or an action.  The banks quickly caught on with children and adults alike and soon became a sought-after collector’s item.

The Mechanical Bank Collectors of America [http://www.mechanicalbanks.org/index.html] was formed in 1958 to meet the needs of collectors, by adding to the existing knowledge base and increasing availability of mechanical banks.  Members of MBCA have access to continually updated material including a thrice-a-year journal, price guide, annual convention, special reports, videos, references, and chat, among others.

But fear not, there’s a lot of great stuff for the non-member.  And after viewing these wonderful inventions, it would be very easy to get hooked!  From the simple to the unbelievably intricate, unadorned metal to eye-popping colors – MBCA’s slide show will have you entranced.  You can choose from several speeds or, as I chose to do, view one at a time.

Scrapbook is a collection covering, well, just about everything – who, what, when, where, and why.  If you’re looking for something specific a ‘search’ will check over 3000 pages in the public section.  Having been around for over 50 years, MBCA has managed to amass an impressive amount of documentation.  Since I wasn’t looking for anything in particular I spent a couple hours browsing.  (P.S. to history buffs – you’ll love this.) 

I discovered excellent images of advertisements and catalogs from as early as 1876.  Patent images and papers that will make your heart pitter-patter because there’s a good chance you’ll find your bank even if you don’t have a patent number or manufacturer or date or any information other than a mechanical bank sitting in front of you.  First time I’ve ever come across patent information listed this way and I can only wish it was this easy for other collectibles.

A section devoted to J. & E. Stevens Co., a premier manufacturer of mechanical banks includes photos, ledgers, account books, correspondence, designers, etc.  Not just the information, but almost always the original documents.  Note: throughout the website whenever a handwritten document was scanned there is an accompanying typed transcript since some handwriting can be difficult to interpret.

For those interested in the creation of mechanical banks (for the most part, anything metal), ‘The Foundry’ has it all.  How a design on paper becomes a three-dimensional object with moving parts.  A technical expose that should interest metal workers of all disciplines.

How much is your mechanical bank worth?  With MBCA’s auction results from three major auction houses, you can find out.  And once again, easy to look up since it’s listed by bank description.

There’s more to find at Mechanical Bank Collectors of America.  It’s an awesome website with a whole lot of free information.  Wouldn’t this be a great collection to start for your kids or grandkids?

tell ‘em i sent ya,
victoria

The TJS Labs Gallery of Graphic Design (http://gogd.tjs-labs.com/) is amazing.  Whether you’re trying to date a specific product, or just taking a stroll down memory lane – with 10,414 advertisement images – you’ll want to visit for a while.

No commentary to wade through – zip, zilch – just the image and the essential facts.  For instance the Geo. A. Hormel & Co. ad shown here is one of 37 ads for Spam.  It appeared on the back cover of the November 1, 1939 issue of Woman’s Day.

5,187 products advertised in 17 magazines from 3,127 different advertisers from 1930 through 1969.  Awesome, huh?  But that’s not the best part.  You’re going to love how this is set up.  There’s a simple search and an advanced search, but you hardly need them.  Completely cross-referenced; if it’s in this collection, you can find it with a few clicks.

Want to find ads by Norman Rockwell?  Select him from the 251 illustrators listed and ads on file are available to view with publication information.  Want to see all the ads from 1941?  Click on the year.  Looking for a product, can’t remember the exact name, but sure it had the word ‘zoom’?  1032 keywords are at your disposal.

The ability to search by Magazine, Advertiser, Product, Illustrator, Keyword, Year, or Issue makes this site a joy to navigate and downright fun to explore.  Continually updated with new images (as I write this, the newest batch was added just two hours ago!).

The Gallery of Graphic Design is also on facebook (http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Gallery-of-Graphic-Design/108023629232681#!/pages/The-Gallery-of-Graphic-Design/108023629232681?v=wall) where you can view images and share your comments.  Also keeps you up-to-date on new additions.

Go to http://gogd.tjs-labs.com/ and then visit the facebook page.

Tell ‘em I sent ya’ ~ Victoria