Anatomy of a Vintage Slot Machine [Hardcover]

The Mills Novelty Company (Editor), Dan Post (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 1990

This slender book was never meant to be read by anyone but the slot machine operator. The Mills Novelty Company published the information itself as a means of touting its own machines by spotlighting its new high-tech (for that time) factory and its emphasis on precision construction.

Now beautifully reprinted for the enthusiast and collector of antique slot machines, Anatomy of a Vintage Slot Machine shows the high-tech world and craftsmen of a bygone era. Size: 6.25" x 9.25", with a plain-paper dust jacket.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

This slender volume, slanted to be read by the slot machine operator, was first published during the Great Depression by Mills Novelty Company's own printing plant to tout a new standard in precision construction. Though few first editions appear to have survived, the work is recognized today among slot historians as perhaps the unwitting centerpiece in all the annals of slot machine literature. Distribution was reportedly made in a one-shot mailing in 1933-1934, keyed to the operator list Mills maintained for its monthly house journal, Spinning Reels. The remainder was circulated by the Mills road Men.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Watchmakers or Coin Machine Manufacturers?: Ability to make a machine isn't enough. Only the finest materials must be used, for the materials and their treatment govern life and satisfaction. In this regard, the following statement of our Purchasing Agent will tell why you often hear of a Mills machine still going strong after 20 or 25 years of operation: "Foundrymen have asked us if we are trying to be watchmakers when we have shown them what we demand in the way of accuracy and perfection in our castings. We know we are insisting on much better work than they usually are called upon to turn out, but our own good workmanship would be wasted if it was used to try to cover up defects in second-grade goods."

Product Details

• Hardcover: 48 pages
• Publisher: Mead Publishing; 1 edition (May 1, 1990)
• ISBN-10: 0934422303
• ISBN-13: 978-0934422307
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,598,517 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)