C.O.C.A. Times

,,
St
ore
The "Little Novelty
A little over a year ago I received
a call from another collector about
a machine he had never heard of
by Tom Gustwiller
before. It was "The Little Novelty
Store" made by North American
Novelty Company. Another collector had bought it
in a small country auction in Wisconsin. Needless to
say after a few days of going back and forth on the
price, my friend bought it, and then sold it to me for
a profit.
The machine was made up of a wooden case with a
gum dispensing mechanism on one side. On the other
half was shelves behind glass where the prizes hung
or lay. Every time you played a nickel, a piece of gum
was dispensed with some of the gum pieces having a
small note telling what you had won.
The machine had an envelope with over 500 of the
original prize slips. Prizes ranged from a bar of soap,
fancy pipe, novelty knife, pair of shoe strings, collar
buttons to a watch. I needed to know more about he
manufacture so I contacted the Minneapolis Library
where the machine was made. They had no material
on the company. I did find out from the Minneapolis History Museum that North American Novelty was in busi-
ness from 1903 until 1910. The company was listed as making slot machines, vending machines, hardware spe-
cialties, and chewing gum in the early years. The decal on the r--------------·-
. . .,
front lists them at 1308 Washington Ave North. This address was
only listed for the one year 1903 so I had dated the machine. It is
1 HL l lTTI r N() f l TY
a combination vending machine
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f.i...1ur«I ,n f< b) ~'<1h,
p, W&w. ·ton A,.., Nonh \1 1
and trade stimulator because
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you didn't know if you would
get a prize and who would have
payed a nickel for one piece of
gum in 1903. If anyone has seen
another machine like this one or
has something else made by this
company please let me know.
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