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What is it? - looks like a early mills gooseneck

who made the case ?
anyone have one?

looks like the escalator window is blocked off

Hi,
Your machine cabinet was built by Bert Firman, in Nottingham, U.K. in the early 1950's, it should have a Mills Gooseneck with a ten stop mechanism, ence the large Totalisator numbers, Firman was the first man to come up with the large double Jackpot to accommodate the large old English Penny (Same size as the U.S. 50 cent coin) and fit a new front on the Mills gooseneck models, it is said that Mills took the idea for their later models after their U.K. distributor at the time, (Shefras Automatics) sent then a Firman jackpot, I used to go to his factory with my late father in the late 1940's,he did a lot of conversions for the British traveling Showmen (Carny People).

Freddy Bailey

Hi Freddie, Just to correct you a bit. The Bertie Firman you met in your youth in the 1950's would have been an old man in his 60's. He was born in 1890. In 1920 he took out a joint patent for tip up seats. From the early 1920's he ran a garage in Nottingham. In addition in the mid 1920's he started dealing, renovating, adapting slot machines. In 1932 he was fined by the courts for illegally operating machines. In 1937 there was a major court case involving death threats, where some £2000 that had been hidden in his garage by a confederate went missing- a bag had been sliced open and all that remained was £1,000 in notes and £900 in pennies and he was blamed!!! This was enormous amount of money for the time.

The machines in question (e.g. the Egyptian Bell) are without doubt original 1930's designs and products- not 1950's. What you may have witnessed was them being adapted/converted/ renovated, but not designed and manufactured in the 1950's. They are pure Deco, which by the 1950's was old hat.

By the way at some point in the next few months Nic Costa's new book will be ready dealing with the history of the very earliest coin machines- it will overturn the accepted history of the genre and completely rewrite it- for example the first American vending machine (for sheets of paper) dates to the 1790's! A fully fledged arcade with coin operated machines was operating in England as early as the 1840's-and it was this that really set the ball rolling! Vending machines were in use in the 1850's!
The working title is Puss and Mew: Conceiving the Internet- the Birth of the Coin Machine 1735-1893. There will also be a second volume coming out at some future date covering the years 1894-1906

WOW Nic,
Now you know why I wanted you to right the Forward for my book, (Still working on it) you are of course 100% right, When I went to Firman's Clifton Engineering Works in Nottingham, I was with my late father who was having some Mills gooseneck's converted to give the big jackpots of the old English Pennies, that was in the early 1950's, the Gold machine in the picture was the conversion that he did for my father. Firman made several other machines in his workshop in Nottingham

Are you sure about the robbery in the garage, because in the early 1960's the Firman family had an amusement arcade on Skegness Pier, could it not have been a robbery at the arcade on the pier, I am only guessing, if you say it was the garage, I would take that to the bank, meaning that is how safe your information is.

Look forward to the book, you should write one about the 1940-50's era, it seems a lot of collectors are interested in those times.

Stay well my friend.

Freddy

Hi Freddy- keep up the good work!!!

Here's a short article concerning the theft involving Bert Firman which happened in 1935, but the case came to court in January 1937. Sounds a bit Alphone Capone since there were death threats made but thankfully not carried out (the money had been hidden in the pit in the Garage so that the legal authorities would not find it- shady business eh?

"REMARKABLE THREATS ALLEGATIONS BRIDGFORD MAN BOUND OVER "Obsession" He Was Robbed Of £2,000 GARAGE " ELDORADO " FRUIT MACHINES AND MONEY STORED IN PIT Remarkable evidence was given at the Nottingham Guildhall to-day, in a case in which John William Tomlinson, 47, of Gertrude Road, West Bridgford, was charged with using threatening language towards Bert Firman, of Curtis Street, Nottingham, on January 7th. Tomlinson was bound over for 12 months in a surety of .£5O. The chairman (Major J. Ashworth) stated that, failing to find the surety, accused would have to serve six months' imprisonment. Mr. E. E. Eccleston, who prosecuted, said the facts arose out of statements made over 12 months ago that complainant had taken £2,000 in bank notes which belonged to accused. Twelve months ago it was arranged that a large sum of money and fruit machines should be stored in the pit of a garage belonging to complainant. The money remained in the pit for about three months, being taken out a week before Christmas. Apparently the accused had the " obsession that he had lost £2,000, and a threatening telephone message was sent to complainant. Mrs. Tomlinson went into the witness-box and stated that she gave the telephone message threatening complainant. [Full story on another page].


I am also still looking for any info that might still exist concerning Charles Fey's time in London- he lived and worked in exactly the same part of London as Jack the Ripper operated and where the earliest coin machine made by Percival Everitt was located. Perhaps they all bumped into each other?

Anyway Charlie got out of London some 3-4 years before Jack became famous for his work, so Charlie's innocent, honest guv!, ..but young Percy might have given him some bright ideas to take over to the States with him...
Any info concerning the young Charles Fey other than what has already appeared in the Fey books would be most WELCOME- IF IT EXISTS...

Freddy:
What machine is that Blurry pix of above? Can't read the name. Do you have a better shot? Looks very interesting,
and appears to have a payout cup & panel, like the Bradley "Challenger".
Thanks, Bill

I think the blurred pix machine is called pushapenny

but I believe the use of the pushapenny chrome trim

went on a number of different models, this maybe a

Five Win? although it doesn't have a 5 win trim badge

but there was a pushapenny x3 win badged model?

GP

Well captkid..did you buy it ? It intrigued me when I saw it on ebay but I wasn't close by to pick it up.

No didn't buy it - close!!!!! ---- but I looked at all the projects backed up & decided to pass - very neat cabinet - but I prefer american coinage - would be neat to convert to 50 cents!