Mills Chicago Upright

[saloonkpr]

Wanted to Know if Mills Uprights that came WITH music , Had Musical Cabinet Emblem on the Front of the Machine ?..Also did All the Mills Chicago's have Shut Offs on the side of the machine as to be able to play with out music...Thanks...John

[SLOT DYNASTY]

John:
Not all Mills Uprights that came out of the factory with music, had shut-off knobs on the side.
I have seen more without, than with, and I don't think that operators had a habit of adding them
either, but that is a grey area.
As far as the 'Musical Cabinet' casting on the front goes, every "Dewey" and "Chicago" upright that
left the factory with music, had the casting installed. The many that I have seen without the plaque,
tells me the music was added at a later time, and a plaque was not installed, as there were no holes
where it mounts. Another exception, are the Doubles and Triples with music. When the music was
installed in the center, it had a casting that said "Genuine Mills" above. There have been a few, that
had the music directly under a certain model, in a multiple machine cabinet, with no plaque, as it
would have to say 'Musical', not 'Musical Cabinet', as the music would only pertain to that one model.
Most "Owl", "Judge", "Jockey", and "On The Square" models, did not have a 'Musical' casting, as the
machine name was always in the center location below the wheel. But there are a few early models
that had a smaller 'Musical Cabinet' casting, below the name, between the payout cup, and handle.

Who really knows, how many changes these machines went through afterwards, so if you are looking
to buy a machine that appears to have had changes, or missing something, buy it if the price is
right, and in decent condition, and make it right. I can't tell you how many Uprights I have worked
on over the years, that have been messed with by some hamburger, that didn't know what-was-what.
Now my next question is, why do you ask?
Bill