THE STATE SAVINGS BANK OF VICTORIA produced this booklet to encourage parents to set aside funds for baby. Stapled, 16 pages with a coloured card cover.
There seem to have been at least three editions indicating a successful idea. This copy’s back notes that the general manager of the bank is Mr N R Williams OBE. He was general manager between 1940 and March 1957 (his retirement was reported on 12 January 1957 by The Argus). The delightful bank cover shows the precocious child inspecting the bank balance in her passbook and a money box for collecting spare change. A google images search shows a version with more modern script on the cover (we haven’t seen inside). Monash Library dates their edition to the 1930s which seems very early.
Her first playthings include a couple of local references- koala and sheep. Was there a book for baby boys? Or could they provide for themselves later?
The booklet is illustrated by Betty Paterson (1895-1970). The Australian Women’s Register advises that: Elizabeth Deans Paterson MBE was a cartoonist, illustrator and journalist.
Betty Paterson and her sister Esther were prodigies born into the elite of Melbourne’s bohemian set. Father (Hugh) and uncle (John Ford) were both artists and her first playmates were her neighbours, the children of Frederick McCubbin.
Art impinged upon every facet of her life throughout its entire course. Her Art Deco cartoons were published regularly in magazines such as The Bulletin and Aussie. Her illustrated interpretations of ‘permissive’ 1920s society resonated with those she depicted – she became artist-by-appointment to the flappers.
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