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Patterns and Molding of Cast Iron Banks
 
       The article "Patterns and the Molding of Cast Iron Banks" was inspired by a presentation by William (Bill) Robison at the Still Bank Collectors Club of America convention in June, 2002 and was published in the Penny Bank Post, April, 2003.  Supplements Nos. 1 to 3 expand on the original article based on patterns and banks in Frank Kidd's collection at the Kidd Toy Museum in Portland, Oregon.  Nos. 4 to 7 add new information on other topics, and Supplement No. 8 is devoted to operation of the cupola and melting and pouring of the iron.  The latter is illustrated with photos taken at the Williamsport Foundry in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.

Variations of Cast Iron Still Banks
 
     The article "Proposal for Identifying Variations of Cast Iron Still Banks" was published in the December, 2003 issue of the Penny Bank Post. It posits that knowledge of the process used to make cast iron banks allows insightful analysis of the differences between banks that are similar but not identical.  The end result is the ability to identify "Variations" versus separate "Types."  The "Proposal..." is focused on still banks, but the approach also is applicable to mechanical banks, iron toys, or any other iron object made by green sand casting.

Variations of Cast Iron Mechanical Banks
 
     The research on "Variations of Cast Iron Mechanical Banks" was done jointly with Bill Robison and initially was published in September 2005 in conjunction with the annual MBCA convention.  It illustrates with mechanical banks the proposal on variations and is richly illustrated with banks from Bill's and Frank Kidd's collections.

Notes about Research Downloads
 
     Single copies of the downloads available in this section may be printed for personal use.  No commercial use is allowed without written permission of an author.
 
     Downloads can be viewed on virtually any computer using free Adobe Reader applications.  Simply click on a research title to download that article.  The downloaded file may open automatically (this depends on how your computer is configured); if it doesn't, start Adobe Reader and then use it to open the file.
  File sizes are shown in parentheses. To reduce download times the resolution of all images in the PDFs has been reduced somewhat.
    
A very limited number of professionally printed copies of the research articles are available. They are in 8 1/2" x 11" booklet format with photos printed in high resolution and with card or plastic covers. Contact the MBCA webmaster for more information. Printed copies of the research on "Variations of Mechanical Banks..." are also available to MBCA members from the MBCA webmaster.