The Coin Machine Industry-jukeboxes - Coin

Part One.
The Coin Machine Industry-Throughout the Ages.
“Coin Operated Music Machines”
Edison and the Automatic Phonograph
By the turn of the century the American public
had already been introduced to the first coin
operated music played on The Edison Automatic
Phonograph that was introduced as far back
as 1889.
The first real commercial venture that could be
called operating coin operated musical devises
by individual operators, was started around
1900, with the introduction of Edison’s
Automatic Phonograph arcades, (Edison’s
Gramophone Arcade pictured below in New
York City around the turn of the Century) where
people would gather to listen to music played on
this wonderful new sound machine, they would
put on the earpiece attached to the phonograph
and listen to the latest music played on
cylinders.
Edison formed his own operating company and
had the lead on any competitor that tried to
design similar equipment. Not only did he have
the Gramophone Arcade market tied up, but
also any location that wanted to install a coin
operated sound machine, insisted on the Edison
Automatic Phonograph.
Below is a typical Edison Gramophone arcade around the turn of the Century.
Part One.
The Coin Machine Industry-Throughout the Ages.
“Coin Operated Music Machines”
By the year 1908 Edison had much competition, companies such as The Mills
Novelty Company who had a vast network of coin machine jobbers and slot
machine operators, that had deep pockets and more importantly a great trust in
the people at The Mills Novelty Company who with their many other coin
operated creations had made plenty of money for their clients.
Also Edison had failed to patent his Automatic Phonograph in Europe and Mills
was quick to open these markets such as England and France where Mills had a
strong customer base.
So it was that the era of the 4-inch cylinder record was being replaced with the
10-inch disc, it would not be for more than 50 more years when coin opered
music machines would once again move ahead with the introduction of the 45
rpm record replacing the 78 rpm records.
Part One.
The Coin Machine Industry-Throughout the Ages.
“Coin Operated Music Machines”
By 1906 the progression of amplified music had improved enough to replace the
original cylinders with flat discs.
Gabel designed and developed the first phonograph of this type called the
“Automatic Entertainer” but the sound was still of poor quality and Gabel was
forced to stop production in 1907.
It was not until the mid 1930’s that the name
Gabel would once again appear in the coin
operated music machine business.
In 1937 Gabel produced the 20 selection Gabel
Charme, but by this time all of the major
manufacturers such as Seeburg, Wurlitzer,
Ami ,Rock-Ola and Mills all had similar coin
operated phonographs using 20 or 24
selection models.
Part One.
The Coin Machine Industry-Throughout the Ages.
“Coin Operated Music Machines”
Gabel would have one more shot at creating a model that would blow the
opposition away, in 1940 Gabel introduced their Kuro the most futuristic looking
model of its time, the Gabel Kuro although very art novou in appearance, it
would go down in jukebox history not only as a flop, but it would also go down in
the jukebox history books as the jukebox that brought the largest price in the
history of antique jukebox collecting, when in 2010 a Gabel Kuro was sold to a
North Carolina businessman who was building an house along the same lines as
the Gabel Kuro jukebox, he bought this Gabel Kuro at a Texas auction for more
than $120.000 no other jukebox as even come close to making anywhere near
this figure in any coin machine auction.
Part One.
The Coin Machine Industry-Throughout the Ages.
“Coin Operated Music Machines”
The J.P Seeburg Piano Company had been making coin operated player piano’s
for several years, and these machines were not only large and cumbersome to
install, but very difficult to not only change the paper music rolls, but to service
in general.
In 1911 The J.P Seeburg Piano Company drew comments from the Chicago Revue
newspaper in their April 24, 1911 edition, who announced that The J.P Seeburg
Piano Company had devised a unique way of delivering their musical rolls to
their locations, by incorporating a fleet of specially designed bicycles that would
deliver and install new music for their customers. (See original add below)
The J.P Seeburg Company that started out as The J.P Seeburg Piano Company.
would for the next 70 years be the most innovative coin operated music machine
company in history.
Part One.
The Coin Machine Industry-Throughout the Ages.
“Coin Operated Music Machines”
Another key manufacturer of coin operated player piano devises was Wurlitzer
who would later become the market leader not only with the mammoth Wurlitzer
organ that would later in the 1940’s become a permanent fixture in virtually
every movie theater in the World as well has many ballrooms prior to the big
bands that came along immediately after World War II.
Wurlitzer was a late comer with coin operated music devises, they had been
making musical instruments since the early 1880’s, but once they started
producing coin operated player piano’s from their vast Tonawanda factory in
upstate New York, no other company could produce such quality products in
such vast numbers, that was until The Mills Novelty Company introduced their
Mills “Vertuoso” coin operated musical instrument machine.
Part One.
The Coin Machine Industry-Throughout the Ages.
“Coin Operated Music Machines”
Just like the problems of today, our industry as always been challenging for both
the “Street location operator”, and the service engineers who keep the locations
happy.
Part One.
The Coin Machine Industry-Throughout the Ages.
“Coin Operated Music Machines”
As we slide along this musical way of the coin operated music machines, we must
make special note of the “Virtuoso” that wonderful coin operated instrument that
really introduced “Single Site Operators” to coin operated music machines.
The Mills Novelty Company was no stranger to the American and indeed the
British coin machine operators, they became the largest slot and amusement
machine manufacturer in the World, from the turn of the Century up until the
Johnson act was introduced in the United States making it illegal to transport
Part One.
The Coin Machine Industry-Throughout the Ages.
“Coin Operated Music Machines”
gambling devices. Although it was Charles Fey who first invented the slot
machine, it was the Mills Novelty Company that put slot machines in the hands of
the coin machine operators. So when the Mills Novelty Company introduced the
Mills “Vertuoso” in 1907 to their already flush with money clients, it was an
outstanding success.
Next Week.
More from: The Mills Novelty Company and
“Ragtime, in the Roaring Twenties”.
Part One.
The Coin Machine Industry-Throughout the Ages.
“Coin Operated Music Machines”
Part One.
The Coin Machine Industry-Throughout the Ages.
“Coin Operated Music Machines”
Now available on direct transfer using Sugarsync or on a flash drive.
Part One.
The Coin Machine Industry-Throughout the Ages.
“Coin Operated Music Machines”
Now available on direct transfer using Sugarsync or on a flash drive.