O.D. Jennings Dixie Bell by Jenny Creekmore

O.D. Jennings Dixie Bell Restored By Nations Attic

Love it!

Don and I had the privilege to restore an O.D.  Jennings Dixie Bell for the nicest lady.   Yes, it was the first time I had ever seen one in person and of course I instantly fell in love with the machine. 

Oh dear…it is indeed another instance where I would just be thrilled to add a Dixie Bell to our personal collection.  Both Don and I truly are honored to work on such wonderful pieces of Americana.  The problem is our passion for these antique slot machines.  We just want to keep them all!  J

Not only does this antique slot machine have a stunning color of green, but look at the bells.  The bells are really just awesome.  Other than the obvious aesthetic beauty of this machine, let’s get to the interesting history of this vintage slot machine model. 

The O.D. Jennings Company manufactured this slot machine model for use in the southern parts of the United States, specifically Louisiana around 1937.  While it has not been proven, the story is that this model was a special order by gangster Frank Costello.  By having his own particular slot machine model, everyone knew who was in charge of and operated this ‘one armed bandit’.

The Dixie Bell is unique in that it has a false extra jackpot on the front.  The false jackpot was an attempt to attract more customers.  Customers would ‘think’ the machine had an extra-large jackpot, but they were really just being fooled.  The jackpot on the mechanism was really the same as other models being manufactured by O.D. Jennings at the time. 

Just a little bit of deception……gotta love our history!

For the before & after photos please go to: http://www.nationsattic.com/antique_jennings_slot_machine_restoration_repair_3.html

How To Turn Your Antique Slot Machine Mechanism Into A Dust Infested Monster! By Don Creekmore



Mills 25c Roman Head Restored by Nations Attic

 

Roman Head Mechanism Coated In Fine Sticky Dust

Recently we just finished up restoring one of my favorite slot machines, a Mills Roman Head from the 1930’s. This model epitomizes the early style of the Golden Age of Slot Machines which lasted from the early 1930’s till the start of World War 2.

One of the biggest jobs involved with a restoration is working on the internal mechanism. This particular Roman Head had some internal parts missing and broken, but it also had another nasty surprise inside – blanketing layers of fine dust, lint and hair on every square inch! Shown below are a few close-up photos of just what I'm talking about.

Mills Mechanism - Close-Up Of Stuck On Dust!

Nasty Mills Mechanism! - Click To Enlarge Photo

Most machines are going to have there fair share of grease and dirt inside but this one was different. So how in the world did this particular mechanism turn into a dust magnet? The reason is simple, someone sprayed liberal amounts of a product know as Water Displacement 40 or WD-40 on the mechanism.

WD-40 will indeed lubricate antique slot machine mechanisms; it will also attract dust like mosquitos in a nudist colony! This is why many old machines simple get bogged down with dust after they have been sprayed over and over with WD-40.

Originally slot machine manufactures would recommend cleaning and lubricating the mechanism with gasoline. With the safety hazards associated with that and the fact gas is $4+ per gallon now, the best product to use is good old 3in1 oil. It does a great job of lubricating the small areas of a slot machine and will not attract the dust like WD-40 does.

As for the Roman Head mechanism that looked like it was evolving into a small furry dirt creature, after hours of hand cleaning each part and a little light media blasting it was resurrected and is now taking quarters as fast as they can be put into the machine!

Nation’s Attic Facebook Page

Nation's Attic Facebook Page Image

BIG NEWS! 

Well, the time has come that Don and I have joined the 21^st Century with a business Facebook account.   Our Facebook page can be found at the following link.  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Nations-Attic/147926491984899

Our goal is to keep our customers updated and informed between this blog, our new Facebook page and our website at www.nationsattic.com with our daily business adventures.

When you have some time, please check out our new Facebook page.  Thank you so much!

Which is cooler – Frank Sinatra or the Jennings Sun Chief machines? by Don Creekmore

Danny Ocean Getting Ready To Rob A Casino Full Of Jennings Sun Chief Machines!

Recently we ran across a great vintage CBS Television press release photo for the original Ocean’s 11 movie with Frank Sinatra. What makes this photo so cool is that he is standing in front of what appears to be the Flamingo casino with a whole slew of Jennings Sun Chief light-up slot machines!

The original Ocean’s 11 movie has some great scenes of the casino’s and their interiors. It’s actually fairly hard to find vintage interior photographs of Las Vegas casinos. The reason being is the same as it is today, the casinos don’t want people taking photographs inside the casino floor for security reasons.

During the 1950’s and early 1960’s the Jennings Sun Chief was the primary type of machine used in the casinos. Jennings made a number of sub-models of the Sun Chief and would install different color light panels on the lower front as well. These panels would come in red, green, orange, clear and even blue.

The top sign was also customized by the casino’s to give the machines a more unique appearance to that specific location. While not common, these original casino’s Jennings Sun Chief signs can still be found on occasion from places like the Flamingo, The Sands, Desert Inn, Riviera, Sahara and Hacienda.  

A super rare example is the double Jennings slot machine sitting to the left of Frank. These machines were used on the end caps of a bank of machines. Also rarely found today is the extra top sign mounted to some Jennings machines. These signs would simply add a little more pizazz and were sometimes lighted. If you find a Sun Chief with holes plugged up at the very top, there is a good chance a sign like the one just behind Frank’s left shoulder was mounted to it.

As a full time antique slot machine dealer it’s sometimes easy to forget that these machines originally operated in some fantastic locations around the world. In most cases the history of the machine is lost, but on occasion a machine will turn up with just enough clues to let us know where it came from and possibly who could have played it – like Danny Ocean himself!  

Mills DEWEY Floor Machine – Restoration Part 1 by Jenny Creekmore

Mills Two Bits Dewey Upright Slot Machine

Well, the time has come…  My husband and I are finally adding a Mills DEWEY Floor Machine to our collection.  Granted, it is in desperate need of a full restoration, but I am pleased it is ours and will eventually get to come to our home. 

I thought this might be a great blog topic.  As we proceed with the restoration, Don and I will both be posting updates on our progress.  I think it is going to be quite an extraordinary journey and I thought you might like to be included.  I really am excited to bring such a phenomenal machine back to its original glory.  With that being said, there is certainly a lot of work that needs to be completed. 

This particular machine was literally SAVED!  The family that we purchased the Mills DEWEY from had quite the story tied to the machine.  Apparently in the 1940’s, the family went to the local dump or landfill in the Pocono Mountains.  They noticed the Mills DEWEY machine had been brought to the landfill and it had been discarded as trash or garbage.  Oh my, right?

After the family got rid of their haul, they decided to load up the Mills DEWEY floor machine and take it home.  They got the machine home and surprisingly it functioned.  No one knows how long this marvelous machine had been sitting outside and enduring the elements of the Pocono Mountains.  It really makes you wonder just how many of these upright floor machines were dumped, because at the time they were viewed as obsolete and outdated.  If the slot machine operators only knew this would become a treasure….

The family kept the Mills DEWEY in the upstairs of their home until the 1950’s.  At that time, the slot machine was moved to the basement and left until just recently. 

Our Chicago-made Mills Novelty Company DEWEY is also known as the Admiral.  Don will post some historical information in a future blog about why the machine is also referred to as the Mills Admiral DEWEY floor machine. 

Please stay tuned as we make progress on our newest personal slot machine addition.

Jennings Butterfly Revamp by Jenny Creekmore

I had the privilege and opportunity to restore a JenningsButterfly Revamp slot machine.  When the slot machine arrived in our shop, I unpacked the antique machine and I instantly fell in love.  At that time, I had never seen one of these beautiful slot machines before.  The lower front casting looks very similar to the lower front casting of a Mills Poinsettia slot machine.  However, this revamp machine added a butterfly and a sunrise image.  In my opinion, it really is spectacular and quite detailed. 

Of course, directly after unpacking the slot machine, I quickly found my husband Don Creekmore.  I wanted to know everything about this machine.  I found it to be very interesting that the machine looked extremely similar to the Mills Poinsettia machine.  Almost like a copy, but with some new casting enhancements. 

Don informed me that it was indeed an O.D. Jennings slot machine and was originally an Operator Bell.  However, the machine had been revamped or modified by another company called PNC.  PNC probably made the modifications to this slot machine around 1930. 

So why would an O.D. Jennings Operator Bell need to be modified?  At least that was my question. 

When the slot machine was originally sold, it did not have a jackpot.  The jackpot feature is something that became available after this particular machine was manufactured. 

With the relatively large number of non-jackpot slot machines on the market, smaller companies, such as PNC, would buy these used slot machines.  These smaller companies would then make a new lower casting which would include a physical jackpot.  Often, they would mimic or copy other slot machines that were popular.   As in this case, the Mills Poinsettia lower front casting was mimicked.  Along with the smaller companies, Pace Manufacturing of Chicago IL made similar looking castings to revamp Mills and O.D. Jennings machines.  These companies would then resell the slot machine as a ‘revamp’ jackpot model.  To the best of my knowledge, this practice occurred from around 1928 to 1932.  By the early 1930’s all factory new slot machines contained the jackpot feature. 

I think the O.D. Jennings Butterfly Revamp slot machine is absolutely gorgeous and historically very interesting.  I would love to add one to our collection.  If you have one and are interested in selling your antique slot machine, please give me a call at 316-371-1828.