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Coin Slot

Issue: 1975 January 005

Coin Slot
Magazine SLOT
- #005 - 1975 - January JANUARY
[International Arcade Museum] 1975
THE
COIN
Another list that impressed me is the one offered by
Stephen Leonard, of Little Neck, N.Y. This one costs $3.00,
which admittedly is a little steep, but does encompass a huge
cross section of antique mechanicals, running from phonos to
automata. What this list may lack in clarity, itcertainly makes
up in sheer variety.
Bytheway, if you're a radio freak, Steve
offers old ones, ans ear phones to go with them. He also has
clocks, mutoscopes, magic lanterns, quack doctor machines,
roller organs,
and trolley car seats I
If you're interested in either of the above lists, they are
both advertised elsewhere in this issue.
One of the aims we had when we started The Coin Slot was to
help fellow collectors repair and identify machines they were
having trouble wi th.
Recently we got a letter from Dick Zeller of
Troy, NY, who wrote that he had bought a machine, the likes of
which he had never seen before.
It was not in wo rking condition,
and Dick did not know where to begin the job of restoration, or
even who originally made the item. The picture that Dick sent
along with his letter was something that we, too, could not ident
ify, so we forwarded it to a real expert. DickBueschel, of Chicago,
author of Lemons, Cherries & Bell-Fruit-Gum. There probably
isn't a slot machine made that Dick Bueschel doesn't know
about, and we felt confident that he could solve the mystery.
Sure enough, DickB. replied that the machine was either a
Cowper, or a Berger (he couldn't tell from the photo, but he felt
sure that it was a Cowper), both made in Chicago before the turn
of the Century, and both machines elecrtically run. According to
Dick B., both machines had a very short life, astheDewey, and
the Owl virtually knocked them off the market.
Having given
DickZ. such a good lead, he went up to the State Library in Al
bany to see what else he could dig up on the mystery machine.
His efforts were rewarded in the rare book section, where he
found an 1899 catalog oi the Cowper Company, S. Clinton St. ,
Chicago, 111. Illustrated there was a machine almost identical
to his. There are still a few questions to be answered about
.com
m
:
u
m
se in the catalogue), but
the OSHKOSH (as the machine
mu called
d fro de was
-
e
d
atieast DickZ. now
what he is looking for. His next ob
loa knows
n out
arca number of the machine, if there
.
w
o
w
jective is to
find
the
patent
D
//ww he will be able to get a copy of the patent,
: this
is one.
From
p
t
t
h
and from there he can restore the machine to full working order.
(con'd on page 4)
© The International Arcade Museum
http://www.arcade-museum.com/
Coin Slot COIN
Magazine - #005
- 1975 - January [International
Arcade Museum]
THE
SLOT
JANUARY
1975
If anyone has had experience with a Cowper, and would like to be
of service to Dick Z., please write to him in care of The Coin Slot.
Dick Z. was kind enough to send us copies of some pages of
the 1899-1900 Cowper catalogue, and we have reproduced a few
of them in this issue. On the cover is a Trade Stimulator, the
type found on many counters throughout the country at this time
in our history. It was not an automatic payout machine, rewards
being paid out directly by the store owner. The object of the game
was to get three, four, or five of a kind on the five dice under the
glass dome. Alternately to this was to get above a certain total
number of points on the five dice.
The coin was inserted, the
plunger pushed, and the dice bounced arornri. Naturally, the sky-
facing sides of the dice determined the score.
Page six shows the "Original Oshkosh", the mystery machine.
Does anyone know what the off center handle to the right is for?
As you can see from the illustration, it is a rather unique looking
thing. WecanH help but wonder why this type of machine was
electrified in the first place. It is no wonder that the Deweysand
Ov Is outsold them.
Page seven shows a Big Six wheel of the common variety.
These could be had with a number of different symbols on the
wheel, from colors, horses, to pictures
on what the operator wanted. The height
and a half feet. Note that the cost was $125,
of money for those days.
It would appear that the Cowper Mfg.
of dice, all depending
of this model was six
which was quite a lot
Co. manufactured just
about everything for the operator.
On the bottom of the ad
shown on page seven is the information that they made tents to
order, Hin any size or design, and equipment of complete out
fit necessary for action.
Estimate furnished on application,
with full particulars/1
WATCHES
As a watch collector who is often in contact with others
of the same affectation, I find that most of us are usually glad
to show-off our accumulations.
The problem is, that while
there is no shortage of Eigins and Walthams, few of us have
.com
m
:
u
m
e
d fro de-mus
e
d
loa two . really
n or
more than one
arca fine pieces, if even that many.
w
o
w
D
with inflation
//ww what it is today, few individuals can
: being
p
t
t
the Breguets,
h Pateks, and Vacherons.
So,
And,
afford
it was with a great deal of enthusiasm that I accepted
the invitation of the Rolex Watch people to view what is probably
(conTd on page 5)
4
© The International Arcade Museum
http://www.arcade-museum.com/

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