It is perhaps surprising that the clumsy Pickwick machines were still manufactured in the
1920s. I say surprising, because in about 1905, the German firm of Jentsch and Meerz
introduced the Clown; a machine light years ahead of it's predessor, and one which
would remain in production, in one form or another, for three decades. The Clown was
smaller and more compact, and more importantly, far less laborious to operate. The focal
point was the catching medium, in the form of a lithographed clown, scooting along on a
ball. The bone or composite balls used previously were replaced with just one steel ball
bearing. Gone too were the knobs, buttons and levers of the Pickwick; just two controls
were needed to operate the Clown. All of this would have made for a much shorter cycle
time, thus ensuring their popularity with operators.
On insertion of a coin, the ball was released ready for play. Unlike the Pickwick, the
ball was lifted from the rear of the playfield, rather than fired at the front. The player
used a turnkey to control an arm that lifted the ball and deposited it through the hole at
the top of the playfield. As the ball made it's decent through the pin field, the player
turned a knob to move the clown from left to right. If the ball was successfully caught in
the clown's up-turned cone, an automatic mechanism paid out a token.
The classic Clown Catcher. Note the holes either side of the payout, indicating that this
machine originally incorporated an electric shock. When I restored it a few years back I
decided to remove the knobs, as the shocker mechanism was missing. But as yet I haven't
got round to filling the holes.
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