The Richard C. Stevens Collection May 22, 2010 - RSL Auction ...

Lot 218 The Bread Winners Bank
Based on a design by Charles Bailey
Manufactured by J. & E. Stevens
Cromwell, Connecticut – Circa 1886
Regarded by collectors as one of the greatest mechanical toy banks ever produced. The
Bread Winners Bank derives its imagery from the controversial debate that raged in the
press as to the harmful nature of monopolies. Indeed, the bank references the rise of
unionism and the Sherman Anti-Trust Act, which enabled the federal government to
break up any businesses that were perceived as monopolies.
The fi gure on the right represents the labor force, the immigrant population that went
to work in our nation’s factories. His daily toil earns him honest money as depicted by
the “Honest Labor” loaf of bread. At the other end of the bank we fi nd the head of the
capitalist factory-owner rising out of a bag of money labeled: “Boodle, Steal and Bribery”.
His earnings are the opposite of honest, they are underhanded and criminal.
Caught in the middle is a fi gure that can only be described as Semitic in appearance.
He holds a giant club marked monopoly. Jews such as Samuel Gompers were among
the very earliest labor negotiators. However, even though they pushed for the rights of
laborers and advocated for unions, Jews were often vilifi ed in the press, and their efforts
were deemed suspicious, at best.
In the case of the Bread Winners Bank, the “Rascal/Jew” is sent fl ying up in the air, but
when his feet land on the ground again he is depicted as being closer to the side of the
factory owner than that of the laborer.
Material: Cast Iron
Condition: Near Mint and Bright
Provenance: Al Caron Collection, Robert Brady Collection,
Larry Feld Collection,
Estimate: $90,000 - $120,000
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