Mauchline Ware are wooden souvenirs manufactured in Scotland, primarily in factories in or near Mauchline and predominantly made of sycamore. The items have various finishes in a large variety of applications. Most Mauchline Ware products have transfers or photographs of popular tourist locations. There were also finishes with tartan, fern and black lacquer.
On offer here is a rarer honey-toned wooden money box or savings bank. It would have been a sweet little Victorian souvenir that you would have purchased on your travels in Scotland.
This little money box takes the form of a little castle or castellated tower. The box might have sat on your beside table or a mantlepiece. There is a slot in the top of the box - and on the base is a little aperture covered with a wooden baton. You press one end of this and it pops open to allow you to get your money out. There might have originally been a paper cover on the base to stop you accessing the baton - but this is not present. The base is a plain wood - lots of Mauchline pieces have a coloured paper attachment on the base.
The transfer printed image on the front shows the Middle Falls of Moness Waterfall at Aberfeldy.
My bank is in good antique condition with a lovely patina to the wood outside. There are no cracks or losses to the wood or the images.
Measurements: The height of the bank is just over 2 1/2 inches. It is just over 4 inches wide and has a depth of just over 2 1/2 inches.
We will post to you with Royal Mail Recorded postage - this will be applied to your order at the checkout.
HISTORY: Mauchline Wares are Scottish wooden items which date from about the 1880s - until the 1900s. They are generally wooden souvenirs and giftware - made of fruitwood and decorated with black transfer designs. The scenes are usually of landmarks and popular towns - and spots favoured by tourists. They were very popular in their day and many pieces were exported globally.
The centre of the Mauchline Ware industry is the small village of Mauchline - which is located 11 miles inland from the Scottish coastal resort of Ayr. At its peak over 400 people were involved in the manufacture of these small (but always beautifully made) wooden souvenirs. Similar products were also made in Lanark - but most of the pieces are known by the generic name of Mauchline Ware.