ourlostarcade.bsky.social

9 Nov 2024

This is Our Lost Arcade! I talk about coin-operated devices of yesteryear: Pinball, jukeboxes, vending machines, binoculars, turnstyles - you name it! Come along to explore over 100 years of mechanical and electro-mechanical devices of the #arcade that will astound and delight you.

19h

Penny drop games: The most skill you could get in a chance-driven system. Here's a Mills Novelty make: Star Target Practice from the post-WWI era.

"You're listening to coin-op radio!"

knapparcade.comLegendary Designer Steve Ritchie Announces RetirementBREAKING NEWS: This evening at 9:42 PM Central Time, the legendary pinball designer Steve Ritchie announced his retirement from the coin-op industry....

Nearly 60 years after the "lollipop" scale boom, they were still trying to convince the masses to weigh themselves in public. Watling Manufacturing had their line of Tom Thumb scales - strikingly painted and featuring no finicky springs (like that dumb pinball game).

ourlostarcade.bsky.social reposted

Steve Lin

@stevelin.bsky.social

Whoa Steve Ritchie just announced his retirement. I mean, well deserved and I hope he is able to really lean into it. Incredible career with so many iconic pinball designs. Thank you for endless hours of fun! 🫡 www.knapparcade.com/blog/legenda...

Hands to the skies! Bally's Gunsmoke is a classic Dale Gun style game. It's also actively competitive against the machine, with the outlaws able to score points if your aim or your trigger finger are too slow.

Predecessors to the modern slot machine - like this Reliance Novelty trade stimulator - used a full suit of cards to land poker hands for prize redemption. Play for cigars or more - and admire the chassis.

Another classic turn of the century vending machine: The Cupid's Post Office. Sold in many variations - all terrifying - it's the love-themed postcard vendor that absolutely nobody ever needed.

Not content with what they did to Europe, the Germans created a gun game based on Bambi to fuel your trauma. Schießautomat (Shooting machine) was an influential Dale Gun-style cabinet released in 1956. See more from @cpi.pinball.horse: earlyarcadesjapan.blogspot.com/2024/02/1963...

A precursor to the kinetoscope, the Electrotachyscope was a German invention that showed zoetrope-esque photo animation in a box. In 1893, fifty of these machines in coin-operated form were placed at the Columbian Exposition in Chicago.

Candid photos from an arcade inside of Chicago's wonderful Union Station, circa 1971. Oh to have been there for the end of the EM age...

A unique take on pinball from Deutschland, with the German Alarm by T. H. Bergmann. Not quite a bingo, boxy and stylish, it goes to show what other countries can get up to when they get the chance.

Why do we call it an "arcade"? This question takes us back to the earliest days of coin-op amusement, the origin of recorded entertainment, and the tumultuous days of technology Trusts. Introducing: The First Arcade (maybe).

Ohio Phonograph would eventually be caught up in the collapse of the phonograph Trust. James Andem would end up suing the Edison Company and leaving the industry. He died 1932 and never claimed title as "Father of the Arcade".

Here's to over a hundred years of the arcade! Even if the Cleveland Arcade is not the sole origin of the term, the opening 136 years ago stands as an important moment in the creation of the arcade. And there's plenty more arcade stories left to tell.

Regardless, the success of the Ohio Phonograph arcades (and others) attracted scrutiny. Phonograph proprietors looked down on those who peddled coin-operated machines. They believed that devaluing this technological wonder as an entertainment device would be its downfall.

But they were dead wrong. Coin-op allowed phonographs to be mass-produced, sustaining the technology until it was cheap enough to realistically enter the home. Steadily, "arcades" with coin-operated machines of all types appeared around the country.

In a retrospective article on the history of the arcade from the March 15, 1947 issue of Billboard Magazine, the author stakes a claim that "arcade" comes from the Ohio Phonograph Co. They credit the location opened in Cincinnati's Emery Arcade in November 1890, but the point stands.

That point is somewhat unproveable. We cannot be certain that these specific arcade locations were the reason for the term's adoption. The ones in Ohio were certainly not the only phonograph parlors based in arcade buildings - the location made sense for this particular business model.

Rather than charge for entry into a parlor, Ohio Phonograph became one of the earliest adopters of coin-operated phonographs. First commercialized in early 1890 by the Automatic Phonograph Exhibition Company, nickel-actuated machines were a perfect business model for wax cylinders.

On September 13, 1890, Ohio Phonograph opened an office in the brand new Arcade building in Cleveland. Initially featuring only five nickel-play phonographs, this location was among the first spaces dedicated to coin-op devices. And it was in The Arcade.

While the company still believed the phonograph was for dictation, several of their subsidiaries soon hit upon the model of the phonograph parlor. These permanent spaces were stuffed with phonograph machines. Patrons listened using eartubes and would return frequently to hear new recordings.

And what better place to draw foot traffic than an arcade? This part of the story takes us to the great state of Ohio, where the Ohio Phonograph Company took up the license. Its chief principal was one James L. Andem, who is credited with their shift in business model.

And most importantly: Music became the phonograph's raison d'être. Recorded music was born as an entertainment medium, giving those who listened to the phonograph a reason to come back beyond its novelty. But the machines were too expensive to purchase for the home.

Rather than figure out the business prospect himself, Edison instead handed the rights to exploit the phonograph into a Trust called the North American Phonograph Company. It was their job to create subsidiaries and spread the phonograph all across the U.S.

It all goes back to the phonograph. Though first demonstrated in 1878, the original phonograph was only ever an experimental device. Its complexity, fragile recording medium, and Edison's insistence on it as a dictation device limited the machine to controlled exhibitions.

Then in the late 1880s, things changed. Improvements made by Bell's Volta Labs resulted in the creation of the more durable wax cylinder medium. Edison's company then applied a reliable electric motor to the phonograph to ensure consistent playback.

The word "arcade" evolved from a term which simply meant an archway. By the 19th century, the word had taken on a more specific meaning in English: An outdoor area covered by said arches. These spaces congregated shops within - like an early predecessor to the shopping mall.

In the United States, indoor shopping arcades became centerpieces of inner city life. Their facades reflected the architectural trends of the day - often grand and ornate; of the highest class. How do these buildings relate to the dingy dens of games we think of today?

11 Sept

Untitled, Goose Game. Not coin-operated, but too good to not share.

8 Sept

Grab it by the horns: Bull Perfume! This unique dispenser leveraged the shape of the common handle to ensure that only the strongest and bravest of people would smell fabulous.

4 Sept

The Mills jukebox, Throne of Music. Has there ever been a more coveted seat of power?

ourlostarcade.bsky.social reposted

John Romero

@johnromero.bsky.social

2 Sept

Check out my trip to the Dutch Pinball Museum where I discover a new FPS, possibly the first FPS. dutchpinballmuseum.com

31 Aug

Do you like it hot? The world of hot coffee vending in the world of Bert Mills with this Coffee Bar machine! Would you spring for the 500 cup deluxe model?

reddit.comFrom the AskHistorians community on RedditExplore this post and more from the AskHistorians community

22 Aug

I answered another coin-op question on Reddit about the origin of the term "arcade"! www.reddit.com/r/AskHistori... At some point I will do a proper thread on the first part of this question.

note.comSEGA's Mysterious Jukebox [EN]｜2TieIn many official coverages of SEGA's hardware history, an important machine often brought up is their SEGA 1000 Stereo Jukebox. In the 1950s, SEGA had been locked in a three-way battle in Japan over j...

19 Aug

Ain't that machine just cute as a button? Daval Mfg produced their Penny Pack slot machine in the late 1930s, an adorable little device with so many different colors and varieties. Just remember: It's only for gum. No ulterior motives here!

ourlostarcade.bsky.social reposted

2Tie

@2tie.bsky.social

4 July

New article out now! All about the SEGA 1000 stereo jukebox, featuring some new findings I've recently unearthed! note.com/2tie/n/n80b5...

10 Aug

I stumbled across the original source for the slot machine myth that I could not previous access, from the September 1940 issue of the American Mercury! This salacious account is far from the most reliable source, but it's fascinating in its alacrity. Will update the post soon.

ourlostarcade.bsky.social@ourlostarcade.bsky.social

I wrote up a more formal version of this examination of the slot machine myth on Reddit, in case anybody needs some proper citations. www.reddit.com/r/AskHistori...

6 Aug

The Strong Museum of Play may not focus on coin-op, but they have some amazing pieces on display! Here's a few snippets from their main arcade exhibit - including my favorite mechanical trade stimulator: The Fairest Wheel!

27 July

Slightly grotesque but nonetheless fascinating, this Mills lung tester called Hats Off from the early penny arcade era is a wonderful example of creative theming for the era. Also, the game's free if your lungs are hardy!

21 July

Ready to rock with Rock-O-Ball? Rock-Ola really knew how to brand in the 1930s. Even this miniature skee ball-alike soars with a fun name like that!

14 July

Created as an add-on to kiddie rides, Bally's Fun-Phone was an interesting audio novelty to keep kids occupied while a grown-up did their shopping. All of the fun of the telephone with none of the AT&T mark-up!

8 July

Ron Haliburton is one of the few designers of electro-mechanical games that moved on into early video games! His work with All-Tech and Allied Leisure were stellar examples of late EM design. Check out the article for info on Alyssa' project!

Alyssa Brown@machinesentience.bsky.social

I spoke with UVA Today about how the unearthing of a long extinct arcade machine led to my collaboration with Allied Leisure's co-founder, Ron Halliburton. Check it out: news.virginia.edu/content/pres...

5 July

The Fourth is passed, but patriotic coin-op lives on with the Uncle Sam handshake grip testers! This iconic, creepy mannequin lasted on location for decades after first appearing in the early 1900s.