-Fun-Producing Savings Bank- mechanical bank c. 1918

Curator: Looking at this quaint object, I feel immediately nostalgic, like I've stumbled upon something from a simpler time. It's that sort of endearing kitsch that pulls at your heartstrings. Editor: What we're looking at is the "-Fun-Producing Savings Bank-" mechanical bank, a piece hailing from around 1918. It’s attributed to the Silver-Mirror Company, Inc. a testament to early 20th-century material culture here in the United States. The materials are listed as mixed media, comprising of ceramic and metal elements. Curator: Its green coloring and circular dial reminded me of early scientific devices and turn-of-the-century aesthetics. I find it really intriguing that a bank is disguised as a playful sort of weight indicator, its form completely playing with ideas of health and wellness fads that proliferated then. Editor: Indeed, the color immediately makes one think of an almost medicalised environment – the bank operates, literally and figuratively, around notions of chance and fortune, class anxieties of the time. Did people buy into the symbolism? Curator: The inscription on the base says: "Guess Your Weight, Get Your Money Back!" I wonder if this reflects a collective aspiration for prosperity that became increasingly emphasized during times of great inequality and industrialization. And the visual grammar here, particularly its bolded size indication - ‘ONE CENT’ - is a not-so-subtle reminder about its costs to access even ephemeral feelings of control. Editor: The semiotics of the device, with its weighing scales, suggest control. However, by putting money into the equation, it becomes a spectacle. The scale isn't just about weight; it also serves to make very visible people's efforts at accruing something, financial stability and physical, and therefore socio-economic capital. Curator: It’s also fascinating how they use something like our inherent fascination with body image – its always there in the room with you - to promote savings in the shape of play! It makes the message behind this vintage object still timely even today, and an intersectional dialogue about cultural beauty ideals can continue for generations. Editor: It’s also very satisfying to connect to past notions of body-positive sentiments – in today’s language. Even as this seemingly basic novelty bank plays upon certain universal vanities and fears! Curator: Right, and by recontextualizing how we view it – the design choices, messaging - we have the potential to transform its very function – or at least offer us tools to reshape old beliefs!