August 1926 issue. The player is challenged to maneu-
ver a penny toward the top of the machine with a metal
rod. The machine is all metal. Almost all of the few
examples I have seen have been repainted. What is im-
portant is that all the labels and castings that should ap-
pear on the front are preserved. Like all wall machines,
OVER THE TOP is opened from the front.
The next Boyce came from the memorable Dr. Smith
auction in New York City when I was able to secure the
JUGGLER, the rarest of the Boyce line. This is the only
example I have ever seen, and I had been beating the
bushes for one ever since I began collecting ads. Manu-
factured in 1925 at a retail value of $15, the player was
suckered into depositing a nickel into his wall machine
and trying to maneuver it so that the front door mount-
ed on the front of the machine would open and a small
prize could be removed. You do not see the prize before
the door is opened. It is important to remember that 5
cents for this play made sense in the roaring twenties
when money flowed and misery was scarce. I believe
the degree of difficulty of both OVER THE TOP and
JUGGLER in conjunction with the crash of the depres-
sion less than four years later sounded the death alarm
for the Boyce line. After the depression commenced,
Boyce ads simply disappeared.
The rare JUGGLER became the pocket sized version
of my next Boyce purchase, the diabolic PATIENCE
DEVELOPER. Imagine yourself in a speakeasy in the
l 920's, perhaps a little inebriated. You need a drink,
maybe even money. You look at a large metal machine
with a wire mesh window that entices you with a shot
of booze and some money that are illuminated inside.
All you have to do is deposit 25 cents and maneuver
the coin with the tum of a handle at the front of the
machine. But sorry, you don't succeed and your quar-
ter disappears. Think you might be a little annoyed at
the course of events? Its no wonder that the ad for this
instrument of sickness in the December, 1925, issue of
Billboard on page 15 offered this machine at a cost of
$100 because it was made of 1/16 gauge steel. It came
in both 5 cent and 25 cent model s. And if your frus-
tration got the best of you while you played, you bet-
ter have had a big hammer. Stone cold sober and you
rarely win. No wonder that PATIENCE DEVELOPER
became an instant favorite with magician David Cop-
perfield when he visited my wife and me to see our col-
lection. I cannot describe how addictive this machine is
to play. For years my wife and I put on a local benefit
and invited the public to play machines, with all the
profits going to the local Children's Home. I will never
forget one lost soul who put in over $20 in quarters
in an unsuccessful attempt to free a delicious piece of
cherry cheesecake from the window. I ended up feeling
so sorry for the person that I opened the back door, trig-
gered the window, opened it and simply give this com-
pulsive loser his cheesecake. Again, the depression,
and perhaps even some fire bombings, eventually did
in the PATIENCE DEVELOPER. Friend Mike Gor-
ski once remarked that playing this machine felt simi-
lar to some of his "learning experiences". I purchased
my prize from friends and collectors Ken and Jackie
Durham during one of my trips to see their wonderful
collection in Washington, DC. Note that my example
is complete except that part of the handle is missing.
I love this machine and recommended it highly to all
other collectors who have an appreciation for the sick
mind. Boyce surely did.
After thoroughly enjoying JUGGLER, OVER THE
TOP and PATIENCE DEVELOPER, I had to purchase
my fourth Boyce, the WEE GEE. At a price of $10 to
operators, this wall machine offered players yes or no
answers to a variety of questions posed. It is all origi-
nal. Be careful, as I have seen this most simplistic of
the Boyce models reproduced.
As stated above, JUGGLER is the rarest and most
valuable of the Boyce line, followed by PATIENCE
DEVELOPER. OVER THE TOP is somewhat rare,
and WEE GEE is by far the most common. They all
stand out for their structural quality and uniqueness in
conception. Little seems to be known of Boyce's PEN-
NY BACK GUM VENDER, RACING MACHINE or
RUNABOUT, and I would appreciate hearing from
anyone with any information on any of these three
unique mysteries.
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