Saving for The House that Jack Built

I know that credit has been given to “Jack”, but who actually built the house? The nursery tale has beginnings which go back a few centuries according to Wikipedia, and it has been a basis for storybooks and decorations on children’s items since.

My money box made from pressed tin is a little more modern but still historical. Patent applied for is printed on the back, but it is not clear exactly what was being patented. 

No waste went into its production. The base is printed on the inside with a Golden Syrup logo. Did someone print too many syrup tins or is this an example of recycling of used tins? It does not help date my little house however, as Lyle’s Golden Syrup made it into the Guinness Book of Records in 2007 for having the world’s longest unchanged brand packaging beginning in 1883.

The clue that the moneybox was well used, is the loss of paint in parts of the design on the base, though the threepences would not have had far to fall to cause damage. Wear on the corners shows in fact that it was handled quite often, yet not at all misshapen.

From memory of similar items in my childhood, once the money went in, it was stuck there. It was the only way to safeguard your money from curious siblings or for that matter yourself, in a moment of wanton desire. Only a knife, some solid manipulation and a surfeit of time was ever going to recover anything posted through the slot.

Did a past child have this moment of frustration? I think so. The lid of this box is now completely removable. Slight bends expose the guilt of the child who manoeuvred an object into the corners of the slot and prised away the ‘roof’ to reveal the treasure chest of silver and copper coins within.  Was there joy or disappointment at the contents? I hope it was well spent.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/This_Is_the_House_That_Jack_Built

https://www.lylesgoldensyrup.com/our-story