-Tom Thumb Cash Register (registering)- still bank c. 20th century

Editor: So here we have this twentieth-century mixed-media piece, a “Tom Thumb Cash Register (registering) still bank” manufactured by Western Stamping Co. It looks like something between decorative and pop art, made of metal and pigment. I'm really interested in the "still bank" part, implying it's both toy and commodity. How do you interpret this work? Curator: Immediately, I'm drawn to the manufacturing process. "Western Stamping Co." suggests mass production, cheap materials and simple fabrication. Note the "Tom Thumb" branding—an appeal to childhood, yes, but also a reduction of commercial transactions to a child’s play. How does its existence as both a 'registering' machine, a tool for mimicking capital exchange, *and* a 'still bank,' an object used to accrue savings, complicate its intended function? Editor: That's fascinating. So it's not just a toy, it's teaching a specific behavior, which is pretty capitalistic, right? The materiality seems less precious. Curator: Exactly. This wasn't about precious metals or master craftsmanship; this was about efficient, affordable production and the distribution of these objects to encourage accumulation. Consider where this object might have been made. What impact did that place have on the people involved in its production? Editor: Possibly exploitative labor practices? It makes you consider the ethics of creating toys, even then. Curator: Precisely! The contrast between the playful design and the potentially exploitative process is key. The materiality reflects the very economic forces it seeks to replicate. How interesting that the bank renders savings "still," static, and divorced from market fluctuations or investment risk. Editor: Wow, I never thought of it that way. It’s unsettling, and definitely gives me a lot to think about regarding manufacturing and consumption. Curator: Indeed. It makes one consider what has changed since then and what has not.