Mills Submarine Lung Tester by Jenny Creekmore



Mills Novelty Submarine Lung Tester Image From Sales Catalog

Don and I enjoy all types of antiques.  We have always looked for rare and interesting pieces to bring to our home and to our business.  There is a fascinating coin operated item that we would truly be thrilled to find.  Not only is this machine coin operated, but it has a nautical theme.  This machine is right up our alley!

It is a Mills Submarine Lung Tester, which is approximately 100 years old.  Don has a Mills Novelty catalog and one of the machines available in the catalog is this awesome lung tester.  Well, as usual, I was totally excited about this wonderful piece of Americana.  I instantly became curious and asked Don lots and lots of questions.

I was extremely shocked to hear, that none of these machines exist.  At least that is the rumor!  Well, this only made me ask even more questions.  Now logically, I understand that Tuberculosis was a problem and this type of machine was an easy way to spread diseases and illnesses.  So I can see why the machines are difficult to find.

Here were some of my initial questions.  Was this machine ever manufactured?  If so, how many were manufactured?  If it wasn’t manufactured, why did they put it in the catalog? Or was it a concept machine?  Did any other company try to mimic and produce a similar lung tester?  If these were manufactured, why don’t any originals still exist?  Was it due to Tuberculosis or some other reason?  Does anyone have photos or memories of this machine being used in a public place?  If these beautiful machines were destroyed, what was the process?  Did Mills give refunds to the customers or did the owner just have to eat the cost? 

See, all of these questions were just racing through my mind.  It just doesn’t make sense as to why no originals exist.  If we could only go back in time!

The detailed workmanship is so amazing and the concept is exciting.  Just think of how much fun it would be to see if you could get more divers to the surface than your buddy.  (Minus all of the possible germs – just take that gross factor out) 

The top of the machine would have said “How Many Divers Can You Bring To The Top”.  It only took a penny and you would have a chance to blow in the tube to see if you could get one, two, three, four or even five divers to the surface.  So awesome!  The top of the machine had a detailed ocean view, with waves and rocks.  The ships are just as detailed and they even have the American flag flying on one of the ships.  The five divers are down in the ocean and look like they are near an old shipwreck.  The divers even have the full jake.  (Helmet, suit, boots and belt)  I am so impressed with all of the realism and accuracy that Mills put into the design of this machine.  The lower part of the machine has an image of mermaids swimming in the sea.  The machine was encased in wood and had ornate fish as an additional decoration.  It seems like no expense was spared when designing this machine.    

If you happen to have an original Mills Submarine Lung Tester, we would love to hear from you.  I truly hope that an original exists somewhere and that we can one day be fortunate enough to look, touch and experience the machine.  Or if you have any family photos or stories about this piece of Americana, we would be so thrilled to speak with you.  The search continues and may you be as excited as we are with this mysterious and gorgeous machine. Jenny or Don can be reached at 316-371-1828 or slots@nationsattic.com

Unusual Rol-A-Top Slot Machine Bug Sighting

Unusual Weighted Percentage Device Found On A Watling Rol-A-Top Mechanism

Earlier this year I posted some information about antique slot machine percentage devices or more commonly known as “bugs”.  The article was titled Bugs In My Antique Slot Machine. I followed that up with a short update on a Mills Novelty slot machine bug we found in a machine a few days after writing that article.

Since that time, we have found numerous other bugs in machines we have gotten in for repair and restoration. Most of them are a similar configuration and do the same job – preventing one of the reels from stopping on the jackpot symbol.

Watling Rol-A-Top Restored By Nations Attic

Last week I did run across a rather unusual percentage device on a Watling Rol-A-Top we were restoring. As shown in the photo above, this device bolted to the outer ring of the reel. While this did not prevent the reel from stopping on the jackpot symbol, it did add quite a bit of weight to one section of the reel. This weight would cause the reel to want to stop in an area where the jackpot symbols were not located. This sly device was not fool proof but it still did the job of throwing off the number of times it would land on a jackpot symbol.

It should also be noted that it appears Watling went out of their way to provide pre-drilled spots on both the reel tins and inner reel stops. These pre drilled holes made it very easy to install a bug in seconds . Generally the other slot machine manufactures would never put these on their machines but Watling seems to have rolled out the red carpet for percentage device installation. Watling slot machines, specifically Rol-A-Top’s, are notorious for having hundreds of different small and large changes to the inside and outside of their machines. While these “bug holes” may not be in your Rol-A-Top, I’m sure others out there have some equally interestingly unique features!  Don - Nations Attic

Mills Dewey Restoration Part 3 by Jenny Creekmore



Dewey Upright Cabinet After Stripping

Don and I are slowly restoring our Mills Dewey antique slot machine.  When we have some time, which isn’t very often, we try to do a little work on the machine.  The first task was to take all of the metal off of the machine that needed to be copper plated.  I am pleased to say that this task has been completed and looks phenomenal.  The next big task is to begin the woodworking of the cabinet.

For some reason, back in the day, someone decided to paint this upright slot machine with a very heavy beige paint with burgundy accents.  Goodness...  I wanted to take every precaution when working on the wood, because we just didn’t know if the paint contained lead.  We finally found a respirator that filters out any lead particles. 

So let the stripping begin! 

Well, I am pleased to say that after lots and lots of paint stripper, you can finally see the wood.  I knew this was going to take a lot of time and elbow grease to get this paint removed, but it took a bit longer than anticipated.   That old paint did not want to come off the wood.  However, I am pleased to say, the machine has been stripped of that ugly paint and is now ready to be carefully sanded.   And even though the machine hasn’t been sanded, I can already see the beautiful wood. 

As I progress with the sanding I will post some photos on Facebook.  Stay tuned as we continue to make progress on the Dewey.

Mills Dewey Upright Restoration Part 2 – Brief Historical Information & Details



Mills Dewey Upright Glass

My wife Jenny recently posted a blog about a Mills Dewey upright slot machine that we are restoring.  During the restoration process we have ran into a number of interesting details about the machine. I thought I would share some of these “finds” about this specific machine and the Mills Novelty Dewey slot machine in general.

In the fall of 1899 Mills Novelty of Chicago, IL introduced two 6-way slot machines, one called the Chicago and one the Dewey. Both of these machines allowed the player to bet on 6 different colors, hence the name 6-way machine. Mills also made the Owl, a 5-way and the Duplex, a 10-way in the large floor standing style as well.

It has been said that Mills intended the Dewey to actually be named the Puck. A competing company, Caille-Schiemer named a machine the Puck in 1898. This machine for Caille was a 6-way and turned out to be quite successful for them. In the tradition of the industry at that time, Mills was simply going to copy the name for their new 6-way machine. The name Puck was taken from a magazine called the Puck Weekly, which was a popular humor magazine at the time.

Just as Mills was getting ready to roll their two 6-way machines out to the market, Admiral George Dewey came back to America in September 1899 as a huge war hero. Capitalizing on his fame Mills decided to name their new machine the Dewey rather than Puck. The admiral’s likeness would actually appear on thousands of products during the early 20^th Century. Other slot machine manufactures would also name their own upright models Dewey as well.

The Mills Novelty Dewey turned out to be a great sales success. Initially the Dewey was only available in 5c play but as production went on, Mills made everything from 5c to dollars. Mills Novelty made the Dewey in a large number of variations from 1899 clear into the 1930’s! Brand new Mills Dewey machines could actually be ordered in late 1932.

MIlls Dewey Inspection Tag

One of the rare but special treats with any slot machine is an inspection tag on the inside indicating when it was made. Many times these pieces of paper came off over time or were covered over with dirt and oil. When this machine came in we were quite excited to see that the original tag is still present.  As shown above, the machine was inspected on April 16^th, 1903, making it 109 years old in a few days from writing this blog. The machines serial number of 11004 is also present in multiple locations including the tag.

As mentioned earlier, Mills started offering the Dewey in nickel though dollar soon after 1899. This particular machine accepts quarters. Rather than simply putting 25c on the coin head, Mills decided to make the Dewey machines that accept quarters a little different. As shown directly above, the ornate cast iron coin head had Two Bits cast into it.

Mills Dewey Coin Head - Two Bits

Many people today, over 100 years after this machine was made, wouldn’t have a clue what Two Bits means or what the two images on the center wheel are. (To be honest, it wasn’t that long ago that I wouldn’t have known what these various images and phrases were either.) The term Bits, when talking about money, is a way of saying 1/8 of a dollar – at least in the United States it does. Since there isn’t a 1/8 dollar coin many people would refer to a quarter as Two Bits. While it’s not a common term today, it’s wasn’t that obscure in 1903.

As for the images on the wheel, unless you are into horse riding or equestrian sports, like me, you probably have no idea what they are. First, they are not symbols for some secret organization or part of the Mayan calendar predicting the end of the word in 2012. What they are is a pair of horse bits. Like a good magic trick, the truth is usually a lot less cool than the imagination initially conceives, unless you are really into horses……

At the turn of the century most people used horses for their primary mode of transportation. Like cars today, most people can relate to common tools associated with a car. The images of two horse bits and the wording Two Bits on the coin entry of the machine made it obvious to most people in 1903 that this was a quarter slot machine. Today I bet many people would have no clue what kind of coin to put into this machine.

Another fantastic feature we found that I will go into more detail in a later blog posting is the fact this machine had a music box in it. By incorporating music into the machine, it would sometimes skirt gambling laws in parts of the country. The idea was to give the person a catchy song for their quarter, while also happening to be gambling at the same time. This put the machine into a gray area in some locations, allowing it to operate. When we received the machine it had its music box removed, but the details and clues were obvious inside the machine that one was present originally. We have located an original music box that will be re-incorporated into this machine.

Slot machine manufactures were always battling with gray anti-gambling laws in parts of the United States. These musical upright slot machines were the first to try and complicate those laws. Around 1910 and even a little earlier slot machines started adding gum and candy vender attachments. Rather than installing very expensive music boxes, these candy venders were much cheaper and did the same trick – confusing the law so the slot machine could operate a little longer while lawyers figured it all out.

As we progress further with the detailed restoration we will post more photos and details. Luckily our restoration and repair business has been so good in 2011 and 2012 that it has been difficult to find time to work on our own machines, but we will keep you updated! – Don Creekmore  

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.

Vintage Mills Novelty Posters Available

Recently we turned up some really interesting old paper from the Mills Novelty Company. The engraving and art work on some of the paper were so amazing we decided to have some posters professionally printed. Two of the posters images date to 1908 and the third is from 1927.

Finding old advertising material from any of the slot machines companies from before World War 2 is quite difficult – especially in color! Over the years we have seen and found some really neat letters, catalogs and even posters from Mills Novelty, Pace, Watling, O.D. Jennings and various smaller companies. Since Mills Novelty was the largest company in the industry, their material tends to be high quality and very attractive.

 Below are images of the three posters. We have made them in a small 12”X32” size and a limited amount in a large 24”x64” size. The smalls are $32.50 each or $90 for all three, which does include shipping within the US. The large posters are $67.50 each. These can also be purchased on our web site at www.nationsattic.com/antiqueslotmachineforsale.html

We are always interesting in purchasing vintage photos, letters and posters associated with the coin operated industry from before 1950. Please email me at slots@nationsattic.com or call 316-371-1828.

Slot Machine Bug Sighting!

Just a few days after posting the story about the slot machine bugs, we had a Mills 7-7-7 High Top come into the shop infected with one of the little buggers! Above is a photo of the mechanism and a close-up of the bug in action!

This bug was placed on the 2^nd reel, preventing one of the jackpot bars to be landed on. This machine will still line-up three bars but the odds of hitting a jackpot are really bad now. That’s probably also why we found lots of Mercury dimes from the 1940’s still inside the machine – no one could win them back once they went into the jackpot compartment!