Dinah Bank

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Identifier

KKBOC0018

Title

Dinah Bank

Description

Castiron coin bank made to resemble blackface caricature of a black person woman. The figure has an arm outstretched which acts as a lever. When raised, the arm 'opens' the figure's mouth (by removing the 'tongue') and causes its eyes to roll back in its head. The figure wears a gold dress, gold earings, and a gold necklace, and has wide red lips and white teeth. Different to the previous coin bank, this figure's hand has space for a coin, and when raised to the mouth, it appears that a coin placed in the hand would slide directly into the mouth. On the back is stamped the name "Dinah" and on the bottom is imprinted "J.E.Stevens.1890.PAT103."

Creator

J. E. Stevens

Type

Koloniale Boekjes en Artefacten

Relation

Collection of colonial booklets, memorabilia, etc. from around the world.

Source

The Black Archives

Format

Piggy Bank

Subject

Black Woman Caricature

Coverage

Gold Dress, Gold Hoop Earrings, Gold Necklace

Date

c.1890-1911

Physical Dimensions

14x14x16

Country of Production

USA

Place of Production

Cromwell

Keywords

Piggy Bank, Caricature, Woman, Americana

Rightholder

J. E. Stevens

Archived By

Richard Weaver

Oral History

Doing research during the archiving process - Richard discovered that there is a strange connection between the US and UK makers of these racist castiron piggy banks, where both J.E.Stevens and John Harper & Co are using the same exact stylings and moulds for their designs despite being separated and patented by both companies.

Bibliography

https://www.carters.com.au/index.cfm/index/13476-money-boxes-money-safes-john-harper-and-co-england/
https://www.mechanicalbanks.org/sy/schreckinger-text.htm

Citation

J. E. Stevens, “Dinah Bank,” The Black Archives, accessed February 7, 2025, https://collection.theblackarchives.nl/items/show/19.
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