Starkie's 1945 Aluminum Bank, Jolly Negro with Hat

Robert Eastwood Starkie (English 19th/20th century), c. 1945. A Starkie's Jolly Negro with Boat Hat cast aluminum bank depicting a stylized African man in red shirt with white collar and lapel, blue bow tie, a a straw boater's hat atop his head, the figure's proper right arm extended forward to hold a coin that, when the bank is manipulated, brings the coin to mouth and deposits it inside, the bank with moving eyes, ears, and hand. Underside marked within cast "Reg. No. 844290 / Starkie's Patent No. 32537 / Patented in Foreign Countries". Approximate height 6.75", width 5.25", depth 5.75". Provenance: From the Estate of Dr. Woody Cobbs and Mrs. Honor Cobbs, Atlanta, Georgia. Note: this 1945 version of the bank based on the scare original "Jolly Nigger (Moves Ears)" made in England in the 1920's and of which only approximately 5 are known to exist.