seizing slots

[minneapolisslot]

From the Madison Wisconsin Police archives. Seizing slot machines
when outlawed.

[terick2104]

What is the date on the calendar in the back ground.

[altort]

It looks to be 1924 and by checking the month being January and the 1st being on a Tuesday I was able to verefy the year being 1924

[minneapolisslot]

1924 was in a caption under the photo..

[J57T]

My guess is March 1932; here is why: winter coats, style of one of the axe handles, style of slots at that time, calendar hanging on the inside closet door is still rolled on the bottom (indicating that the calendar had not hung there long enough to flatten out), length of the month's name, and most convincingly March 1, 1932 was in fact on a Tuesday corresponding to the first of the month showing on the calendar in the picture and the only cold weather first of the month on a Tuesday that would tie it all together. Then again, it could have been an old calendar, and a bunch of clever disguises for propaganda. Cops had time to pose for pictures, Hmmmm.

[Frank]

Can anyone ID the narrower machine lying sideways on top of the front row?

[oldslotman]

Can anyone ID the narrower machine lying sideways on top of the front row?

It's part of the side from the other machine on the other end. You are seeing the inside of it and the handle is on the other side. Part of the side is missing that what's makes it look narrower. The rest of the side is right next to it.

[altort]

Definitely not 1932, I dont know about the axe handle but this is what I am looking at, no slots have jack pots, by 1932 you would figure at least one or two out of the eight slots would have at least have been revamped,
one early Caille center pull, one early Jennings with curved reel glass, four early Mills with curved reel glass, the two newest slots in the picture are the very top one and bottom right both Mills with flat reel glass, but they both have small square sight glass witch would date them to the early to mid twenty's.
The calendar on the door I cant make out the year but clearly can make out the month of January and January 1st 1924 was on a Tuesday.

[watlingboy]

Can't agree with 1932. The1924 date would be correct for these to be confiscated. All that stuff is cast iron and seems unlikely someone leave an out dated calendar hanging for 8 years.

Watlingboy

[Anglobritish]

In my opinion, 1924 would be the year, it was during prohibition, and the cop's were busting the various speakeasy's and other locations to make it look like they were doing their job, I do believe that this was a "Staged" picture for the local press, in fact I would venture to say, they probably went out and bought the axes for the picture, to make the picture look more interesting (They look like they were brand new axes) in the 1920's the Capone mob out of Chicago operated a vast amount of slot machines in both Indiana and Wisconsin, I am sure the cop's from the local police department probably only busted one machine, and sold the others back to the local operator who was working for the mob who had the connections, also they would have had to go to court to get an order from a judge to destroy them.

I have hundreds of pictures of slots being destroyed, most of the pictures show cop's breaking the machines open to get the money from the mech's. I know I have this picture somewhere, and perhaps the press report, I will try to find it.

Fredddy Bailey