Today I'm going to share a little item I picked up off of eBay a few years ago that fits the season rather well. The Addams Family Thing Bank!
Well, it's not technically the Thing Bank. For an explanation, we must delve into the murky dark history of this novelty item. But first, here it is!
In 1959 Poynter Products (From Ohio) came out with an item called simply "The Little Black Box." It was not a bank, and, in fact, had no real function at all. There was a toggle switch where the coin slot would later be. When the switch was flipped, the box would move up and down, and a hand would come out of the top and push the switch to the "off" position before snapping back into the box.
Ah, but here were all the makings of a great bank! In 1964, when the Addams Family television show came out, one of the characters was "Thing." Thing was simply a hand that somehow travelled around by popping out of tabletop boxes around the house and generally being helpful. The tie-in was obvious.
That was when Poynter came out with the bank version of The Little Black Box. Called, aptly, The Addams Family Thing Bank. The toggle switch was replaced with a slot to hold a coin (witch completed the circuit to activate the Thing) and the hand would slowly come out to snatch it away into the box! Now, I really don't think the Addams' Thing would have acted quite like that, in that he always seemed much more polite, but it made for a good bank!
Now, mine isn't that bank, although as far as I can tell it's the same in every way...except on the bottom it's stamped "1972." That was the re-release date. At that point it was simply called "The Little Black Box" again.
Would you like to see it work? Well, you're in for a treat!
So there you have it! This Halloween keep a close eye on your treats and spare change!
Until next time, keep searching for treasure!
Hey! We have something very similar to "The Little Black Box". I think ours is a more recent version. It resembles a black coffin (not as large as your black box). You place the coin on a designated spot to activate it. It has a wind-up mechanism, so I guess it's just the weight of the coin that starts it. But otherwise it's basically the same: you hear the gears whirring, the hand slowly reaches out of the open end of the coffin, then quickly pulls the coin into the coffin. I guess the zombie living in the coffin is greedy. Once the greedy zombie has your coin, the mechanism stops.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your Thing with us... even if it isn't called a Thing anymore.
That's cool! I like the idea of a wind up one...and the coffin is a nice touch. With wind up, you don't have to take the batteries out all the time (I'm scared to death that they'll corrode!)
DeleteStu, I forgot all about this fun bank. I had "The Thing From The Addams Family" version; my grandpa gave it to me sometime in the mid 60s. I wish I still had it. I just Googled it and saw one on eBay -- complete with the fun box it came in. (But it's pretty pricey.)
ReplyDeleteThanks for bringing back some good childhood memories!
But of course!
DeleteYeah, I'd like an "official, with box" version, but I can't justify it. So much cool stuff, so little cash! Lol!