A 1948 Mills High Top Jewel Bell Never Looked So Good!

Recently I had a customer and blog follower email me Gil Elvgren’s illustration titled “Potluck”. I’ve always loved this image for a number of reasons and thought it would be interesting to comment on it briefly. Elvgren produced countless pin-up images, with the most famous images coming from the 1940’s to the 1960’s. The one relevant to this blog is the beauty shown above. It was put into Brown & Bigelow calendars and other advertising items during 1961.

While doing a little research on the image I ran across the original black & white photo Elvgren took of model Janet Rae. I also found the photo of the slot machine used as well. Both were really cool to see and how they matched up with the finished product of Potluck. Elvgren typically always took photos of models in similar poses to use as reference for his art. Janet Rae was used as a model over 75 times during the 1950’s and 1960’s. In almost every case Elvgen brought out even more life and excitement in his illustrations from those photos, including Potluck.

The photos tell us that Ms. Rea was originally standing in front of a light – not nearly as exciting as a slot machine. The photo also shows a nice original 1948 Mills High Top Jewel Bell – now we are talking! With the two images put together Elvgren whipped out another classic in 61’. He even drew in a fairly accurate representation of a period slot machine stand as well, not bad Gil.

If you have been following my other posts, you may be wondering the same thing as me – where in the world did Gil get that evil slot machine for his photo shoot? Didn’t he know slot machines in 1961 were highly illegal to own, especially in Florida where these images were taken? Maybe Mr. Elvgren knew one of those resourceful law enforcement officials that would “lend” him the machine to take photos of – like in my previous Twilight Zoon posting. Hopefully Janet Rea wasn’t mixed up in some illegal gambling which then gave Mr. Elvgren the inspiration for the art?

All kidding aside, I’m sure glad Gil Elvgren decided to immortalize the all American girl with a true piece of American mechanical history. His creation has hopefully inspired other beautiful women to wear super low cut outfits, use those incredibly complicated panty hose and collect their winnings in anything but a plastic cup!

Mrs. Gibbs , a 1930’s Vender Front Watling Rol-A-Top that talks just killed your husband…

Rod Serling In Front Of A 50c Rol-A-Top

One of my favorite shows of all time is the classic Twilight Zone hosted by Rod Serling. While there are many episodes that are truly classic, one of my favorites is titled The Fever. While some consider it one of the more forgettable shows in the first season, I have other reasons for ranking this one in my top 5.

With my profession and passion in vintage slot machines I’m always watching for slot machines in the background of old movies and shows. Typically westerns will have some slot machines situated in a saloon and typically used as background props. Gangster movies from the 30’s and 40’s will show slots in bar scenes, etc. The classic Oceans 11 with Frank Sinatra shows lots of them in each casino! However, I don’t recall the slot machine(s) ever playing a leading role in a show, until The Twilight Zone.

The ever cool Rod Serling starts out the show by giving us a brief synopsis of what we are in for;

“Mr. and Mrs. Franklin Gibbs, three days and two nights, all expenses paid, at a Las Vegas hotel, won by virtue of Mrs. Gibbs' knack with a phrase. But unbeknownst to either Mr. or Mrs. Gibbs is the fact that there's a prize in their package neither expected nor bargained for. In just a moment, one of them will succumb to an illness worse than any virus can produce, a most inoperative, deadly, life-shattering affliction known as "The Fever".

As we find out, “The Fever” is Franklin’s sudden addiction to a slot machine after initially not wanting anything to do with them. While the premise is entertaining the show gets a little goofy towards the end. However, as a slot machine historian – looking at all the slot machines in the casino is truly fascinating and also raises questions.

While I’m not old enough to have visited Vegas in the early 1960’s my research and period photos have given me a darn good idea of what kind of machines were operating in the casinos during that time. Suffice to say, the star machine in the show (and killer), the Watling Rol-A-Top, was not at all a standard machine used then, especially by casino’s!

After stopping and starting the Twilight Zone DVD a few times I was able to identify all of the machines in the casino set. There is quite an eclectic collection of machines dating from the early 1930’s to the late 1940’s. The first machine that got my attention other than the murdering Rol-A-Top was a really rare AC Multibell. Those rarely come up for sale today and are very unique. A mix of Mills Black Cherry and Golden Falls machines can be seen lined up a few times. A Mills Extraordinary and Mills High Top machines are also in the room. Another interesting machine is a Mills jackpot revamp sitting off the side in a number of scenes. Watling Rol-A-Top’s in various forms are sprinkled in the background as well.

The primary Rol-A-Top that somehow follows Mr. Gibbs to his room is actually quite rare. By rare I don’t mean the flashing bulb at the top that covers the escalator either – ha ha. The Rol-A-Top that figures out how to belch out “Franklin” throughout the show appears to be a $1 Vender Front. I’ve had a number of rare Rol-A-Top machines but I’m actually not aware of real $ Rol-A-Top machines. During the show Mr. Gibbs is dropping them in and he also screams at the end of the show after knocking over the machine “Give me back my dollar”. I’m guessing that this machine could have been modified by an operator before the police confiscated it. By accepting dollars, I’m sure the escalator was modified or even removed, which is possibly why the white lens was placed over the top as well. The machine could be a real half dollar and the show simply implied it was a dollar – silver halves and dollars do look similar from a distance.

Regardless if it’s a 50c or $ machine it is quite odd that a large denomination machine has the mint vending columns on it. It’s possible that this machine was modified somehow for the show or the mechanism was switched out. I’m sure the shows director or prop department did not even know the machine originally vended mints. After finding some cool software on my computer I was able to freeze a scene from the shows trailer (image above). Mr. Serling is standing in front of a similar but different Rol-A-Top. This one is also a rare 50c machine with the escalator window covered, but it is not a vender front. I also have a shot of Franklin standing in front of the Rol-A-Top above as well.

A book titled The Twilight Zone Companion by Marc Scott Zicree has a brief background history of this show, which is really fascinating. In the 1960’s, slot machines were illegal to own in California. So, the only way to get a bunch of machines was to contact the police department where a number of them were impounded. For the filming of the show the police supplied all of the machines and kept an officer on set the entire time – apparently to make sure no one appropriated one of them. This behind the scenes trivia explains why the casino set has such an assortment of different machines not likely found in a real casino! It also explains why so many slot machines are hard to find today, with the police snatching them up. See my previous blog of where some of those machines ended up after the police snached them.

I’ve had a number of Rol-A-Top’s over the years. However, the next time I find a 50c Rol-A-Top it’s going to be hard not to stick a flashing plastic lens over the escalator and a cover over the jackpot with a white box and evil smile on it. Hopefully I won’t wake up in the middle of the night with the machine somehow wobbling towards me as I fall backwards out the bedroom window.

Police Benefit Casino Night or Nasty Prohibition Era Gambling Raid?

A number of years ago I found this vintage photo and hung it up on the wall of our shop. When people notice it they always ask me why a few guys with guns and note pads are standing in the middle of a bunch of old slot machines! Are they tough guys getting ready to start their own casino in the 1930’s? Could it be savvy collectors storing away these old machines to later cash in on their collectible value in the 21st Century? Or my favorite – a shot from a 1930’s movie about the dangers of gambling combined with alcohol consumption and caring a gun………
Actually this image was taken in the early 1930’s and is a police evidence photo. When law enforcement would come busting in they would take all kinds of photos of the evidence and aftermath. A lot of these photos really capture some great scenes. This particular photo I believe was taken in Chicago after a raid. As you can see it appears they found the mother load of slot machines and trade stimulators. After a raid the police, in most cases, would confiscate all the machines and later destroy them. I have a number of great shots of piles of slot machines being broken up and either burned or dumped into a lake.
As someone that deals in these antique slots for a business every day I get calls from people with rather unique back stories about the origin of their family’s slot machine. One of the more common ways a slot machine made its way home was via someone back in the day who was a cop. I’ve restored countless slot machines that are family heirlooms that were originally brought home after a police raid. Dad, uncle or grandpa was a cop and rather than distort all the “evil” slot machines, he would save one and bring it home. Of course all the kids in the family were told never to breathe a word of this at school. Family friends after diner were shown the illegal device and sworn to secrecy afterward. In many cases playing the machine on special occasions was tradition and became important parts of family memories over the years. One of the best parts of my job is getting to talk to those people and bring those very slot machines back to life. A sample of the before & after photos of some of those machines can be seen on our web site at http://www.nationsattic.com/antiqueslotmachinerestorationrepair.html
If you browse the web site a little you will notice that a number of the machines in the police photo above are models we have restored. I’ve always found it neat to look at these vintage images and see just how the machines looked when they were new. As a restorer it’s always a great tool and reference. The photo shows quite a collection of mostly Mills slot machines from the early to mid 1930’s. The Mills War Eagle, Extraordinary, Castle Front, QT, FOK and Lion Front to name a few. There are also some early turn of the century upright slot machines at the far back left of the photo as well. The smaller machines are called trade stimulators; one can clearly be seen called the Pok O Reel.
When I look at this photo I always wonder if there is a old warehouse somewhere that still has all this evidence waiting to be discovered again!

Gambling With Antique Slot Machines

Thank you for checking out my first blog entry! I hope to keep this site updated consistently with new and interesting stories and information about the world of antique slot machines and other unique devices. Hopefully the content with some humor and sarcasm added in will compensate for my lack of proper writing skills and make this an informative place to visit!
So why in the world would some want to collect, much less base an entire business on finding and restoring antique slot machines? My simply answer is, because they are really cool! In addition to being cool, they are purely an American invention that in many cases over the last 100 years have been very illegal to own.
The first slot machine as we know them today was invented by Charles Fey in San Francisco, CA around 1895. Fey invented a number of coin operated devices but that first slot machine called the Liberty Bell is what started everything! At some point in future postings I will expand on some interesting stories about those first Liberty Bell machines and just how many are around today.
As those first “nickel in the slot” machines became hugely popular in San Francisco and other parts of the country, they also became the source of much criticism, corruption, theft, you name it! The slot machine would have probably flown under the radar but they were making so much money they just kept popping up everywhere and problems were inevitable.
Depending on what part of the country they were in, slot machines were welcomed with open arms, mildly tolerated or simply banned. Even areas where they were strictly a no-no, they still seemed to pop up! With the amount of money each of these machines were making, it was common practice to make sure the proper people were well “taken care of” when the issue of shutting them down came up.
Slot machines flourished during Prohibition, with the decade of the 1930’s, now called the Golden Era of slot machines. During this time slots came in all kinds of designs to attract the player. Internal engineering and external design were at their peak during this time period. All kinds of gimmicks were tried and even unique ways to conceal and quickly move slot machines were invented by the major manufactures during the 1930’s. Everyone associated with slot machines were making money at this time – except for the players.
Just as slot machines were going into the 1940’s with full force, WWII started for the US. All production of slots was stopped from late 1942 until early 1946. After the war companies like Mills Novelty, OD Jennings and Pace geared back up for production but they were in for a big surprise. Changing views on gambling were taking place and by 1951 it became illegal to transport slot machines over state lines. It was also illegal to operate or own slot machines in almost every state except for Nevada.
From the early 1950’s until the early 1980’s it was very illegal for an individual in almost every state to be in possession of a slot machines – regardless of its age. There are lots of stores and period news accounts of people with old slot machines being arrested and given serious fines and jail time during the 1960’s, 70’s and 80’s. As the old mechanical slots from the 1940’s and older became more obsolete and simply antiques, laws started to change state by state in the 1980’s. Today 44 states have laws making it legal to own antique slot machines of a certain date, typically one at least 25 years old. Here in Kansas where Nations Attic is located, slot machines must have been made before 1951 to be legal to own.
So with that brief history of slot machines covered, it’s clear if you are a collector or history buff why there are so many reasons why to became fascinated with them. I have clients that enjoy the mystique of having something that was once illegal. There are people that feel it’s like going back in time playing a slot machine that is all original from the 1920’s. There are also people that see them as fun, functional antiques that they can enjoy as a hobby or investment.
My future blog entries will cover some of the unique devices that I have handled for clients in the past and currently. In addition to slot machines I will also delve into the depths of other mechanical devices I deal in as well, such as old diving helmets, non gambling coin operated devices, gas pumps, advertising, etc.