Automatic Age

T he A
u t o m a t ic
A
ge
15
to
^ *s now P°ssible to listen
. a radio program at home simply
a nickel in the slot of an
in °ma^c device. One of the most
^ ° u s of the recent developments
the 6 mec^anical service devices is
s automatic picture machine, which
, your portrait in several poses
2rs the finished pictures
in a very few minutes.
One
could
and ^ de-
s
.
--------- few go v a on 1 10 listing
UAilfe
t.U
these vending machines to
the
extent of seevral pages, and still
Hot
c°me to the so-called amusement
0 , Ces» with their phonograph rec-
s> “ horseless” pianos, crude mo-
s> or many opportunities to try
°Ur luck or skill.
^ ese amusement devices
their kindred catch-penny ma-
the station platforms are
^ to be sneezed at when one is in-
ta *^a^n£ the commercial impor-
1106 of the automatic vending de­
e> leaders in this field are most
tur
S^ress
Possibilities for fu-
e development along the lines of
strictly mechanical merchandising. It
Possible to conceive of a complete
re operating through levers and
aGars set in motion by the weight of
c°m. But the necessary invest-
^ nt in equipment is heavy and there
other considerations which make
ls more of a dream of the future
Q^an a probability. In the opinion
C. Lightner, who publishes the
^gazine AUTOMATIC AGE, de-
ted to this special field, “ vending
aehines will eventually take the
. ace of clerks only for merchandis­
e s such articles as are in constant
ail(l very staple use. They serve a
r^al need in public places where arti­
es may be bought at times when
erks are not on duty, or the profits
are ^sufficient for clerk hire.”
An interesting example of the pos-
© International Arcade Museum
A
p ostbc* w h ic h
a u t o m a t ic a lly
fra n k s
le tte rs has
been
in ve n te d
hy
F r e d e ric k
W ilk in s o n .
If
it
is
a d op te d by the E n g lis h P ost Office, the te d io u s b u s i­
ness of usin g a d h e siv " s ta m n s. r e q u irin g lic k in g , w i ll
be a th in g o f th e p ast.
sibilities of the coin machine for ren­
dering service during off hours is re­
ported from England, where tobac­
conists whose hours are limited by
law wheel tobacco-vending machines
out in front of their shops when clos­
ing time comes.
One difficulty that is encountered
in analyzing the possibility of the
machine is a substitute for the clerk
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