“There was an old woman who lived in a shoe
She had so many children, she didn’t know what to do
She gave them some broth without any bread
And whipped them all soundly and put them to bed.”

Many children enjoy nursery rhymes because of their playful nature, sounds, rhythms, language, and sometimes for the shear silliness of the story. Adults, on the other hand, interpret these rhymes to be a far more serious matter. The origins of some nursery rhymes stem back all the way to the 1500s, but most date back to the 16th, 17th or 18th centuries. This is a time when questioning ones country’s manor of government led to the worst kind of trouble. In order to hide their negative political and social opinions about those who oppressed them, such as the Parliament, the common folk created rhymes as a disguise. However, these rhymes were never meant for the children who sang them.

In the instance of “the old woman who lived in a shoe,” the rhyme first appeared in print in 1797, but had surely been verbally passed around long before then. It is said that this rhyme can be viewed in two different ways. In the first theory, this rhyme refers to Queen Caroline (the old woman), wife of King George II, who gave birth to eight children. The second theory refers to King George himself as being the “old woman” because he was the first in the trend of wearing white powdered wigs, hence making him appear to be an old woman. In both theories, the children were the members of the Parliament, and the bed was the Houses of Parliament, which the King required members to have sessions in. The term ‘whip’ was used, and is still used in the English Parliament, to describe a member of the Parliament who’s task is to ensure that all members “toe the party line,” meaning to conform to a rule or a standard. 

Geppi’s Entertainment’s Morphy’s spring toy auction is offering a very desirable and extremely rare Cast Iron Old Woman in the Show Mechanical Bank. The bank was manufactured by the W. S. Reed Co. Circa 1884. It depicts the popular old nursery rhyme theme. "Place a coin on the boy’s outstretched arms and press the lever and the woman raises both arms in a threatening manner as the boy leans forward and deposits the coin in the bank." Generally, this is considered "the Holy Grail" of bank collecting. This bank is rarely, if ever, offered in auction and this is the best example Morphy’s has seen. To view other great items being offered in the toy auction, please visit: www.morphyauctions.com