Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1886-07-31
4 TOr BaNb MakEH.
A Chat WIN the Nan who Make, the rur
Iri,k Inv. In HhiIansinhIn

a Chat WIN the Man who Make. the roruiu
Trick Toys In philadelphia.
Tracy Layard Robinson in tins London eng |
Very few children IN England probably
are uuacquainted with these ingenious iron
toys known as "trick banks" The first of
these clever contrivances which appeared in
England was ritloman pertiuaciously firing
at a hole i'll the trunk OF n tree \ coin was
placed upon his rifle, catch near his heol re-
leased spring, and the coin was lodged " it'll
uuerring accuracy in the hole in the tree trunk
opposite. This ingenious piece ofmechanism
WAS quickly followed 10y others even moro
skillully designed and constructed, such rs
the "kicking mule" the "bulldog,' and "the
Irishmau and his pig"
All OF these toys are the work of one man
not, perhaps, his invention, pure and simple
but certainly to him is due the credit OF hav.
ing brought To perfection the ideas suggested
to him.
John Page is an Englishman by birth, II
Birmingham man, who years ago emgratod
to America like many another good man, in
the hope of lettering himself. lie landed AT
New y ork the year after the first great eShi-
bition, which was the progenitor of our heal
theries, fisheries, inventories, and tho present
colonial and Indian exhibition. But he soon
wended his way towards Philadelphia, aud
the grand old Quaker city has been his home
ever since. As a mudelIor III wax, in plaster
of Paris, and in bronze, rs a chaser of all
metals, John Page has few equals in the
| nited States to-day, and no superior.
In long, low-CeIlnged room at the very
top of a siN-storied house in Chestnut street,
Philadelphia, sits the toy-bank maker ali day
long at his work. He is "A little, broad -shoul-
dered man, with bright face, blue laughing
eyes, and a mouth which has ever a winning
smile upon it. His hair il nearly white yet
it grows thick and curly over his head and
chin. Seated somewhere near him il always
big black cat, whose story alone IL of in.
| terest and worth telling. One morning, six
| years ago, Mr.. Page came down as usual to
| his work, and was astOnished to hear sounds
of life at the far end of his usually quiet work
| room. Going towards the noise he perceived
! little black kitten lying on the floor Ii
| could not have been many days old, for a.
| vet 1t was unable to sea. Looking up Mr..
| Page saw that some damage had been done
| t. his rooi-that there was a considerable hole
| in the ceiling. The kittens home was pro
baby in the ratters and she had fallen
| through. The mother, being unable to carry
her back, had left her to the tender mercies
| of the proprietor of the room below. For.
| tuuately tor pussy, Mr. Page is humane
man. tie Immediately procured some milk,
| and, by dint of some patience and persuasion,
aided, no doubt, 10y one of those nine lives
which belongs to all eats, he succeeded in
rearing the little orphan, who in return, be
I
work she rarely leaves his side.
| The room presents a scene of woll-uigh in,
| describable, but very picturesque disorder
On every wall hang casts in plaster, wax
| and bronze, mingled in most incongruous
manner with designs on paper, and model.
in every kind OF soft metal. Three low win
| dows look out on to the roof OF great tailor
ing establishment, from whence emanate a
| constant hum of voices and whirring of sew.
ing machines. But the modeller cares little
| for this noise, for the bright sun shines in al
the window nearly all day long, and he get
| the pure air of heaven from away over the
broad Delaware river and the sand flats o
| Ne" jersey. There are three tables in the
| long atelier, for John Page is assisted at his
| work by his two sons Jim and lack, who are
in partnership with their father.
Mr.. Page is a genial, hearty little man
| he loves nothing better than a chat And il
he can get real Englishman to talk with
| him about the dear old country he left sc
| many years ago, and to which he has never
| returned, he is beyond measure delighted
| So when the writer was in PHILADELPHIA last
| year, an occasion offering for visit to the
| pleasant old gentleman's workshop, II was
eagerly accepted, resulting in great deal o
| mutual qualification. He was at the time
engaged upon the construction of new toy
| bank, one which is now 10 be seen in every
| toyshop in London--a monkey with a cocoa
nut. And about his work John Page thus
| pleasantly conversed
"The Creedmoor Riheman was the first
/ Dabh L lhdub. Inc Iutt WAS given Int Dy u
notion dealer from Boston. He said he
| wanted man made to shoot penny into a
box, and that's all the idea got from him.
The riiieman was the result. Do they have
| him in England p"
| "Oh-dear yes" replied the present writer
sand several other banks OF the same kind. y
| "Ah, they were all modelled by me. All
/ made for the same man, but l didn't know
they'd got to England. / am now at work
on much more complicated bank than any
4 others. InnnkHV ~
casting has ust come in. We are now Chas-
ing it, and filming down all the rough edges,
and making the joints work easily. ] first
OF all make solid model of the figure In
specially prepared wax. From this / take a
| plaster OF Paris mould in two halves. From
these moulds make two hollow models in
wax. The next thing is to separate from the
complete models the parts which are intend
| cd TO be movable. Before me have the left
fore arm and hand of the monkey holding a
piece OF eocoanut shell, the thumb of the right
hand, the lower jaw, the eyes and the tail,
which latter, when the toy Is complete, will
act IN conjunction with spring on the in
| side. These parts removed, | have to make
fresh model in wax of every part, with an
| end or joint, as the case may be, attached 10
each. They are then sent to the brass fOun-
dry to be cast in brass or bronze. The whole
/ hgure has to be made complete and in work
| ing order in wax before it Is sent to the brass
foundry. The brass pieces that come back
are very rough, and need great deal of fill
| ing ana chasing to make them lit and move
| easily You see, the model that / make in
brass or bronze is the foundation from which
all the banks are eventually made, and un-
less my model works perfectly, there will he
no end OF complaints when it goes eventually y
| to the iron foundry, where the marketable
toys are turned out Thore are twenty pieces
| In this bank. A coin is placed between the
thumb and fingers OF the monkeys right
| hand the thumb you see," and here Mr..
Page very kindly lifted the pieces of his
model together, ''the thumb, you see, is
kept in place by spring just strong enough
| 70 hold coin the weight Of half a dollar.
| When the tail is depressed the left hand
raises the upper half of the cocoanut the
lower aw falls down, the eyes go up, the
right thumb is drawn back and releases the
coin, which falls through the slit in the Co
| coanut and into the bank"
But Mr.. Page does not confine his genius
| to the manufacture of models for toy banks.
lie is an adept at the art OF repOusse, brass
hammering. SomSof the most beautiful OF
| those brass plaquesSw with raised figures upon
them, which are sold as limitations oi the long
neglected art, saw their first light In John
Pages workshop at the top OF No. 722
Chestnut street, Philadelphia And so the
Birmingham brass chaser, who went to
America nearly forty years ago 10 better him
self now sends his manufactures back TO his
native country. though very few of the
people who see admire and purchase them
know the name even OF the man who makes
them.