Back in the good old days (before television) folks entertained themselves through the use of amusement and arcade machines, which offered, for a mere penny or nickel, fun, excitement, thrills and challenges galore.
Some machines, such as the 'Hercules Grip Tester,' were designed to test one`s strength; others, such as 'The Enchantress' or 'Egyptian Seeress,' told your fortune; whereas still others, such as 'Cupid`s Arrow,' predicted your love life. Then, too, there were various examples designed to tell you how many babies you`d have or your true character by the color of your hair or eyes.
Still another was the 'Radio Love Message Machine,' which vended a small card bearing a love message for married and single men and women. Then there was the 'La Vie de Boheme, So Frenchy and So Nice, Photoscope Picture Machine,' a compact, automatic device made of iron designed to show a variety of stereoscopic picture sets portraying movie stars, art, comedies and Western stories, all of which were passed by the New York censor. Such machines came in a floor and a table model. The floor model had a solid oak cabinet embellished with polished aluminum ornaments and fancy legs.
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Some machines featured animals. The 'Donkey Bray' was designed with a lifesize head of a donkey with flashing eyes; when activated it let out a loud bray. The 'Tiger Tail Puller' portrayed a tiger with a long tail that the player pulled to make the tiger roar-the harder the pull, the louder the roar. Still another machine was the 'Electric Energizer,' designed with a dragon that one was supposed to spear. Then, too, there was the 'Jazz Baby,' which featured a jazzy dancing doll that for a mere cent and a push on the handle caused the 'baby' to shake and shimmy shamelessly like a real Salome.
Such machines were manufactured by the Exhibit Supply Co., which was established in Chicago in 1901 and which once had its offices, salesrooms and factory on Lake Street and was presided over by J. Frank Meyer.
A reproduction of the company`s 'Exhibit Amusement Machines' catalogue
(produced about 1930) pictures and describes the machines along with other pieces and products put out by the firm. It is available for $15.95 postpaid from Mechanical Antiques & Amusements Co., R.R. 2 Bateman Circle, Barrington Hills, Ill. 60010.
Such machines, along with other coin-operated types including jukeboxes, gumball machines, other candy machines and novelty machines can be found at this weekend`s Chicagoland Antique Advertising, Slot Machine & Jukebox Show
(billed as the world`s largest) from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday at the Pheasant Run Mega Center on Ill. Hwy. 64 (North Avenue) 2 1/2 miles west of Ill. Hwy. 59 in St. Charles. Admission is $4.
Among the show`s huge selection of coin-operated machines, especially desirable are the various gambling machines, many of which were cleverly designed and magnificently made with colored wheels-of-chance, built-in miniature horse races, dice, and other such come-on devices to induce gambling.
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To be legal, many of the gambling machines that paid winners off in cash jackpots were combined with candy or gum dispensers, fortune-telling cards or mechanical music. However, not all gambling machines paid off in cash. Others, called 'trade stimulators,' instead paid tokens that could be exchanged for cash or merchandise and were deceptive in that their real purpose was camouflaged.
Trade stimulators were often kept near store cash registers and were an additional source of income. Many early cast-iron examples were richly embellished with embossed, highly detailed designs.
Today, of course, many trade stimulators and other oldtime gambling machines command big bucks and therefore pay off in bigger jackpots, so to speak. If you wish to check out an old gambling slot machine, jukebox, vending machine or any other coin-operated type for its value, or to be put in touch with cash-paying collectors, write Anita Gold c/o The Chicago Tribune, 435 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago, Ill. 60611. Enclose a description or photo of the machine along with any wording or numbers it has and include your phone number.
Penny arcade machines were popular public amusements that included kinetoscopes, strength testers and coin-operated adaptations of punching bags. One example, dating from 1904, was the 'Hat Blower,' made by the Mills Novelty Co., which stood 10 feet tall. By inserting a penny (and blowing with great strength into a tube until red-faced and breathless) a person could try his skill at blowing the hats off comical papier-mache heads (of which there were eight) enclosed in the machine behind glass.