-Pig with Bow- still bank 1899

Editor: Here we have “Pig with Bow” still bank, dating back to 1899, by the Shimer Toy Company. I am instantly struck by how charming and subtly unsettling this little metal sculpture is. That tiny bow…it almost feels forced. What are your thoughts on this little piggy? Curator: Well, first, its metallic surface whispers tales of a time when even piggy banks possessed an air of industrial solidity. You sense the weight, don't you? And the bow! Oh, that jaunty bow… it's pure, unadulterated Victoriana. It's that era’s obsession with dressing things up, isn’t it? Humanizing them, claiming ownership, or perhaps simply distracting from something more… raw. Does it perhaps remind you of something lurking under our controlled and mannered behavior? Editor: Absolutely! It makes you wonder who this little bank was intended for. A child, obviously, but what kind of childhood did they experience if their bank was a somewhat ominous, metal pig? Curator: That's it! The Shimer Toy Company may have aimed for innocent fun, but a metal pig—durable, cold—suggests lessons of financial restraint or maybe even a quiet, lurking fear of…lack. And remember this era when everything was connected with symbolism; nothing happened by coincidence, from colors of dresses, names, pets... Did piggy banks become some status symbols at a certain point, or teaching examples to save money instead of spending it on fun items and frivolity? Editor: That's fascinating! I hadn't thought of it that way. Seeing it as more than just a children’s toy, but a coded cultural artifact. It sounds so serious! Curator: Perhaps a tad dramatic, but all of art has at least one potential answer hiding in it. It reminds us that objects, even playful ones, carry stories embedded within them. Editor: True! The pig bank feels more than just cute and antique—it’s a time capsule! Curator: Precisely! Sometimes the most whimsical creations contain the most profound secrets.