-Dog Tray Bank- mechanical bank c. 1880

Editor: Right, next up we have the -Dog Tray Bank- mechanical bank from around 1880, attributed to Louis Kyser. It’s made of metal and what looks like found objects assembled together. It strikes me as both charming and a little unsettling – this worn down metal look against such a playful subject matter. What sort of symbolism can we draw out of something like this? Curator: The wear itself speaks volumes. Imagine the countless coins deposited, each act imbuing the object with memory. Notice the dog: fidelity, loyalty, but here, made mechanical, almost subservient to capital. Is that tray offered willingly, or is something else implied? Consider the grid-like structure— a cage or a stylized rendering of…security? Editor: That's a fantastic point about the grid. The security aspect never occurred to me. So, are you suggesting the image of the dog becomes intertwined with deeper societal ideas about labor and safety? Curator: Precisely! The imagery invites questions about how we condition our own desires, especially for something as fundamental as financial security. What does this "faithful" acquisition and accumulation ultimately symbolize to its user, its owner? Editor: I suppose a child using it might not pick up on those more complex ideas. It makes me consider how our individual contexts can completely shift the narrative behind such a symbolic, albeit functional, item. Curator: Exactly. An object like this then speaks to the multi-layered dimensions of visual communication – evolving in memory from a child's simple delight to potentially quite complicated messages as social, economic, and other conditions evolve across history. It’s rather fascinating. Editor: I agree, I'll certainly never look at another antique bank the same way again.