-My Pet Horse- still bank c. 1920s

The Arcade Manufacturing Company made this cast iron "My Pet Horse" bank, and it now lives at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. I see this little horse and think about touch, like running your fingers over cold, smooth metal. It makes me wonder about what they were thinking at Arcade when they designed this, about how things were made back then, the weight and heft of it. You know, I bet the artist was thinking about kids, about the way they love animals, and how special a pet can be. It’s kind of amazing how they captured that feeling in such a solid, simple form, kind of a love letter to childhood. I wonder, how many kids saved their pennies in this horse, dreaming of adventures? It makes you think about all the different ways we connect with animals and the stories we tell ourselves about them. It's like a little portal to another time, another way of seeing the world.