Coin Slot Magazine - #080 - 1981 - October [International Arcade Museum]
0 BOOK R»E»V*E»
by Dave Evans
AMERICAN PREMIUM GUIDE TO COIN OPERATED
MACHINES, By Jerry Ayliffe, published by Books Amer
icana, Florence Alabama, 288 pages, 5-1 /2" by 8-1 /2",
softbound, price $9.95, available through COIN SLOT
BOOKS at $9.95 plus $1.50 postage.
Jerry Ayliffe has combined several phases of col
lecting all in one book— Slot Machines, Trade Stimula
tors, Juke Boxes, Arcade, Pinball, and Vending ma
chines. This is another book that is designed to
stimulate collecting of coin operated devices. I am glad
to see authors trying to stimulate interest in our hobby,
as we do need growth. More and more coin operated
devices are being discovered and we need more
collectors to absorb this inventory.
While this Guide is mainly a price guide, Ayliffe has
some very good introductory articles, including, why to
collect how to find 'em, and how to avoid being ripped
off. These articles are very valuable for the new
collector. A3 page story on restoration, of course, hits
only the high spots, but could possibly be of help to
anyone who has not restored machines in the past.
Ayliffe briefly touches on a "Grading System" and is
wise enought to proclaim that "no grading system is
perfect". How true! Everybody who has a "poor" ma
chine thinks that it is in "excellent" condition!
The main part of the book is divided into five sections,
and each section is preceded with a one or two page
history and generalities about the particular type of
machine to be shown. The slots are divided by manu
facturer, and each machine is identified with a short
description, and 4 prices are given according to grade.
A few errors show up — the most glaring is a Jennings
DUTCHESS, which in two places, is identified as a Mills
SKYSCRAPER! All in all, there are 74 slots identified,
not bad for a book on all phases of coin-ops. The Trade
Stimulator section identifies 62 Trade Stimulators, a
few of which I have not seen before.
The 29 Jukeboxes include the more popular units
from a 1928 Capehart all the way up to the Wurlitzer
1050. My only fault with this section is that he could
have mentioned some of the really bad jukeboxes that
are not worth much. I am not at all knowledgeable on
jukeboxes, but do know that you avoid the model
called a "Trash Can". The 35 arcade and pinball
machines are, of course, many of the better known
machines, but I believe some are shown in a price
guide for the first time. This section is probably a little
brief to do justice to this type of coin-op, but at least it
does give a potential collector some nice stuff to seek
out for his collection. The Vending Section includes 55
pictures, and a nice range of stuff, but a little heavy on
later model gum ball machines.
For a new collector, or a potential collector, the 3
pages of Bibliography is probably worth its weight in
gold. Here are all the good books, all the good sources
listed for easy inquiry. Some of this info took a long time
for us old hands to learn. In the center of the book is a
16 page section in full color showing 55 pieces of all
types of equipment While many of the astute collectors
will want this book for their coin-op bookshelf, I feel
that this book will be of greater help to the newer
collector and the potential collector. The pricings
seem more in line than some books, but as with any list
of prices, that is a matter of opinion, and everyone has
a different opinion!
The illustrations in this book do not look too good,
and at first I blamed bad photography. However, I got
out my trusty printer's magnifier and checked more
closely. From the frontispiece of the book, I take it that
Crown Publishers printed the book, and frankly they
should be ashamed of themselves. Under a magnifying
glass you can see the problems — they left dust on the
negatives before they made plates, and most of the
halftones have a "washed out" look The color pictures
are so out of register, it is pathetic — and color
adjustments — well, they didn't make any — one page
is too blue, another, way too red! It is quite discouraging
to the author and photographer, I am sure, to see their
efforts come out so badly. Possibly my copy of the book
was an exception, and I surely hope so.
All coin-op collectors should be grateful for the effort
Jerry Ayliffe has made in order to further our hobby. I
hope that the promoter, Books Americana, can get
good enough distribution on this book that we get
those hundreds of new collectors we need so badly.
And besides, the book will be a nice addition for any
coin-op collector's bookshelf.
Reviewed by Dave Evans
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Free Catalog of Complete Restoration Supplies
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C5151 981-4019 or 981-0245
1981
© October
The International
Arcade Museum
THE COIN SLOT-39
http://www.arcade-museum.com/