Coin Slot Magazine - #081 - 1981 - November [International Arcade Museum]
Letters to the Editor continued
parities
to be a full sun or moon shining through some palm trees and
reflecting on the water on the right side, but I can't make out
anything on the left side. There also appears to have been two or
three cards of some sort stapled, tacked or pasted on at one time.
What sort of "gravel" was used in these machines, and what sort
of merchandise was usually displayed?
Keep up the good work in your magazine. Art Reblitz's
articles are particularly good in the depth and detail of their
coverage, although I do not personally collect automatic music
buys & sells
GAMBLING o ARCADE <> VEND ING
MT 40E
VOJACEK ~WI
S5S9 BLACKSTONE
CHICAGO 60637
(312)
752-6263
machines.
Thank you for any help you can offer.
Sincerely,
Edward F. Shockey
Dear Edward,
Thanksfor the letter, and glad to see some expressed interest
in arcade machines. And you're right. We're planning a Coin
Slot Guide on the Exhibit Supply NOVELTY MERCHANT
MAN, as well as a number of other Exhibit diggers. But it's
scheduled as Guide No. 121, and that'sat least two years away.
Coin Slot Guide No. 121 will help you mechanically, but it
won't cover the questions in your letter, so we'll have to take a
crack at them right here and now. The tough one is the
background panel It was printed paper in many cases,
although some were paintings on a bent board. You'll find
illustrations ofthem in the old reprint Exhibit Supply catalogs
offered by Coin Slot Books. But your best bet is tofind another
collector that has one. So, collectors of arcade machines out
there, can you help Edward F. Shockey? You can write to him
at 6 Westerly Way, Severna Park, MD 21146.
BUY/SELL
Arcade
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&
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FOR COLLECTORS AND
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ICE CREAM PARLORS,
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STEVE GRONOWSKI
from -muse
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ade
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Chicago,
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a
Dow //www.
:
http 775-4023
(312)
12 —THE COIN SLOT
© The International Arcade Museum
Next, the gravel below. There are two ways to go with this.
The actual machines used the colored crushed stone used in the
bottom offish tanks. It was colorful, and trashy. You can still
get a lot of neat colors at a pet shop or tropical fish store.
Another answer is to use dried beans. Gray orpurple ones were
often used.
As far as the cards stapled to the back of the background
scene, that was often the operators'option. They stuck, stapled,
glued and clipped all sorts ofdifferent instructions inside their
machines, and they differed a great dealfrom one operator to
another. So it's hard to say what was there originally.
Lastly, the merchandise displayed. Pure junky stuff.
Marvelous junk, such as phoney Ronson lighters, covered
pocket whiskey glasses (a really poplar item during the
prohibition years), little dolls, cheap watches, and a lot ofstuff
like that The major supplierfor this stuffwas afirm called Eric
Wedemeyer in New York City. Get some old THE BILLBOARD
copiesfrom the 1926-1937 period and look up the Wedemeyer
ads and you'll have a complete review of the trashy yet
marvelous goods that filled the floors of these great arcade
machines.
Thanks for thefine comments about our magazine. We take
all comments seriously; the bad with the good.
The Editor.
Continued on page 14
November 1981
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