Cylinder still bank c. early 20th century

This Cylinder Still Bank, by an anonymous artist, is undated and made of tin. It's a small object, but it’s full of visual activity. The whole thing is covered in lithographed images, flat and graphic. What I like about this piece is its commitment to the flatness of the material. There’s no trompe l'oeil here, no attempt to disguise the object. The images of the kids carrying bags of money are charming, but what really grabs me is the color and the way the surface is worked. The yellowed areas and the rusty edges really speak to the passage of time. There's also the way that the artist or designer has used the grid of the money slots as part of the overall design, each slot is a pause in the pattern and the rhythm, a little dark syncopation in the composition. It’s this type of thing, where function meets form, that makes this bank much more than a simple container for coins. It's a testament to the beauty found in everyday objects. I'm thinking maybe Joseph Cornell would be into this thing.