1940s Dr Barnardo's Homes "Ever Open" Charity Money Box
1940s Dr Barnardo's Homes "Ever Open" Charity Money Box
7809
A charming and increasingly scarce mid-century Dr Barnardo's Homes charity collecting box, dating from the 1940s. Made in papier-mâché and modelled as a cheerful cottage, it is decorated in warm yellow, brown, and green, with a red front door bearing the words "Ever Open."
The cottage has a coin slot to the roof, green-painted windows, small garden details, and the title "Dr Barnardo's Homes" painted to one side. Designed to sit prominently in the home, such boxes encouraged families to save their loose change in support of the charity's work with vulnerable children. The cottage form was a particularly effective symbol of shelter, care, and belonging.
The inscription "Ever Open" refers to the principle of Dr Barnardo's original open-all-hours shelters: no destitute child was to be refused admission. It gives this small fundraising object a poignant social history, connecting it directly to one of Britain's best-known children's charities and to the post-war culture of household charitable giving.
This example retains its wonderfully naïve hand-painted character, with its embossed cottage form, textured roof, colourful details, and honest signs of age. Wear, small losses, and surface irregularities are part of its original material character and should be appreciated as evidence of a working life as a collecting box.
A highly evocative piece of British charity memorabilia, ideal for collectors of Barnardo's material, mid-century fundraising ephemera, folk-art-style money boxes, or unusual domestic objects with a genuine social history.
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![](https://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://www.emmettandwhite.com/decorative/1940s-dr-barnardos-homes-ever-open-charity-money-box&media=https://seek-unique-co.s3.amazonaws.com/emmett_84GhgetY64730-U84534/stock/6ab54ab58061c_457_7809.jpg&description=A charming and increasingly scarce mid-century Dr Barnardo's Homes charity collecting box, dating from the 1940s. Made in papier-mâché and modelled as a cheerful cottage, it is decorated in warm yellow, brown, and green, with a red front door bearing the words "Ever Open."The cottage has a coin slot to the roof, green-painted windows, small garden details, and the title "Dr Barnardo's Homes" painted to one side. Designed to sit prominently in the home, such boxes encouraged families to save their loose change in support of the charity's work with vulnerable children. The cottage form was a particularly effective symbol of shelter, care, and belonging.The inscription "Ever Open" refers to the principle of Dr Barnardo's original open-all-hours shelters: no destitute child was to be refused admission. It gives this small fundraising object a poignant social history, connecting it directly to one of Britain's best-known children's charities and to the post-war culture of household charitable giving.This example retains its wonderfully naïve hand-painted character, with its embossed cottage form, textured roof, colourful details, and honest signs of age. Wear, small losses, and surface irregularities are part of its original material character and should be appreciated as evidence of a working life as a collecting box.A highly evocative piece of British charity memorabilia, ideal for collectors of Barnardo's material, mid-century fundraising ephemera, folk-art-style money boxes, or unusual domestic objects with a genuine social history.){kind=link}