Coin Slot Magazine - #079 - 1981 - September [International Arcade Museum]
BOOK REVIEW
by Dave Evans
WALLACE-HOMESTEAD
PRICE
GUIDE
TO
ANTIQUE SLOT MACHINES, by Richard and
Barbara Reddock, published by Wallace-Homestead
Publishing Co., Des Moines, Iowa 296 pages, sticker
price $12.95, available thru COIN SLOT BOOKS at
sticker price plus postage.
Richard Reddock has been collecting slots for less
than two years, yet he was able to do enough research;
get help from enough collectors, that he could author a
very creditable book on the hobby. My first thought is
that this type of feat requires more guts than good
sense, but it shows what can be done if you put your
mind to it — have a helpful and co-operative wife, and a
wide circle of friends to lend a hand! Author Reddock
starts the book with a dedication to his wife (although
she appears as co-author) that should really hit home
to all of us who at times might not appreciate our very
tolerant wives.
The book starts off with an overview of the hobby by
Mel Getlan, a preface by the author, 3 pages of
acknowledgements to those who lent a hand, and on to
an Introduction by the effervescent Editor of THE
COIN SLOT, Mrs. Rosanna Harris An 8 page brief
history of the slot machine follows— nothing earth-
shaking, and a few "facts" which might be incorrect.
The second chapter, "How to Play for Fun and Profit,"
covers modern machines with the 3 line pay — five line
pay and multipliers. A piece on percentages follows
(ho-hum) followed by short pieces on legal states, and
Auctions. The next 25 pages trace how slot machines
were operated for profit by the operators from the first
machines sold by Herbert S. Mills up to the modern
casino. I am sure that Mr. Herb Jones of Bally did most
of this section.
The next 200 pages are the main section of the book
— a price guide together with description, date and
name of the machine. It covers machines from the
1900 uprights right up to the Mills HI-TOP of 1939 (??).
The sections are divided by manufacturer, which is a
good idea to help you find a particular machine much
more quickly.
In addition to the about 185 black and white illustra
tions, a special 8 page full color section show some
really beautiful examples of restored machines. The
photography is good, and reproductions fairly decent
figuring the illustrations are on uncoated book paper.
Yes, the color pictures are on coated paper for best
reproduction.
As for the pricings in this book, I'd rather not comment
on them. Any price guide that has ever been published
gets a lot of criticism by someone, and this one will be
no different. No matter how hard an author tried to be
accurate, someone is going to blow holes in his
pricinga For the most part, I'd have to say that Reddock's
prices tend to be on the high side. I would certainly not
want to use this book to buy machines, rather I think I'd
sell my whole collection tomorrow if I thought I could
get his average price; maybe even his low price!
But, all in all Reddock has done a good job, and I
hope the slot collectors will look at the positive side of
this book, not the few inaccuracies. I am not so sure
WANTED
I AM
ANY
INTERESTED
CONDITION
IN BUYING
WORKING
JUKEBOXES
OR NOT
that this PRICE GUIDE TO ANTIQUE SLOT MACHINES
was really written for the astute collector, although I
am sure that you, like I, will buy almost any picture book
on slots. It will be a good addition to you bookshelf.
However, after reading this book thoroughly —
leafing thru it about three times, I believe I finally hit on
the reason behind this book. I do not believe that
Richard Reddock was trying to write a book to appeal
to the "old hands" in slot collecting. Instead, he is
trying to attract new people to the hobby! That is
just what we need — more slot collectors! I have often
said that what we really need these days is a thousand
new collectors with fat pocketbooks! I feel if this book
gets proper distribution, we just might get part of that
thousand. Yes, many machines are being sold to folks
.com
m
:
u
m
use
d fro de-m
JUKEBOX
JIM
e
d
loa .a E.
rca Colfax
n 6738
w
o
w
D
w
://w
Denver,
CO 80220
p
t
t
h
(303) 321-2242
© 44
The — International
Arcade
Museum
THE COIN
SLOT
for their home rec rooms — they will buy one machine
and that is it. However, possibly this book can turn
some of those slot owners into slot collectors. I think
back — I had a slot in my rec room for a couple of years
before I saw the publicity release in PLAYBOY on Dave
Christensen's book—sending for that book started
me on the road to a very enjoyable hobby, and the
purchase of many, many machines. I hope that Richard
Reddock can "turn on" many new collectors. We need
'em.
http://www.arcade-museum.com/
September 1981