Promo/ Souvenir
Collection 1 > Particular banks
Promotion
Advertising with piggy banks needs a link with the item one wants to promote. A commercial bank and piggy banks? OK. But an economical car on LP gas? A bike? Albert Heijn (AH), the Dutch equivalent of Tesco or Wall Market?
The Albert Heijn concern created a piggy bank with a text (translated): "Here you little one can put the money saved when buying AH products”. Nowadays a rare piggy bank!
In The Netherlands well known types of promotional piggy banks are the series commissioned by the NV Nationaal Spaarfonds (National Savings Trust). Like the National Westminster (NatWest) Bank in the UK they created over decades promotional piggy’s. The inscription is in old Dutch: “Die bi mi spaert gheluck vergaert”, translated: “Who saves with me will gather (good) luck”.
Souvenirs and 'crested china'
With the development of the railway system in the 19th century, and the introduction of bank holidays, tourism flourished. Everyone wanted to bring back a little memento of their day-trip, and in the 1880s William Henry Goss developed a new kind of porcelain for this growing tourist market - ivory-coloured ceramic miniatures, hand-painted with the crests of towns and modelled on famous buildings, monuments and objects of local interest. Fun, affordable and small enough to be carried home in the daintiest handbag. this crested china was an instant success and provided the perfect souvenir. You could only buy specific coat-of-arms in its town of origin, and when you showed off your model of Blackpool Tower, all the neighbours would know where you'd spent your holidays. A host of other potteries jumped on the heraldic china bandwagon. producing tiny ceramics in every conceivable shape from seaside subject to comic characters.
A large picture for the smallest souvenir piggy banks, namely 9.5 and 10 cm long. These are more souvenirs, reminders of where you were, than specific piggy banks. Because you can save almost nothing in it and then only very small coins. Which were scarce even in the years 1920-1935. Special, presumably, made in the Netherlands, souvenir piggy banks. Two of 12 cm and 1 of 9.5 long. From left to right: Maaspanorama Rotterdam (± 1920), Amersfoortse kei (1905-1910) and De Bedriegertjes, Roosendaal (1920-1935).
Typical shape with one ear standing and one ear flat. I have not yet been able to discover this special breed of pig. Made in Germany and most of them in the Netherlands (if sold here) with souvenir transfers and glazed. In 2 sizes: 11 and 14 cm.
A specimen of the pig breed above with a transfer from Harderwijk (The Netherlands). Period 1920 -1930. Length 14 cm. Dark glazed with a technique that makes the pig look like it has black spots.
The transfer shows the harbor head of Harderwijk, with wooden fenders. It says"Zuiderzeegezicht van af Harderwijker Haven" (From Harderwijker harbour looking at the former Zuiderzee).
An example of Crested China. These are mostly hollow off-white china ornaments, decorated with civic arms and/or other crests. They were popular souvenirs with many people who travelled in the years immediately before the First World War, especially at seaside resorts. These china ornaments are also known as ‘Heraldic China’ or ‘Heraldic Souvenir Ware’.