On The Pier The History of the British Coin Machine Industry Part One. Since the turn of the Century when Coin Operated Amusement Machines started to appear on the Piers around the British coast line, there has been an interest in them from the Traveling Showmen who were the first real operators of coin operated machines. Machines like the Working models that were created by John Dennison of Leeds who created several of the working model machines for the Black pool Tower Company that was formed in 1891, who had these machines installed from their early days of operating the Tower complex. Dennison s English Execution 1905, Dennison s Midnight in the Haunted House 1899 John Dennison installed and several of the working model machines in the Blackpool Tower complex as early as 1894 after he had secured a contract from the Tower Company, prior to that in 1892 he had installed several working models in Crockers Aquarium that was next to the Blackpool Tower, and his brother-in-law William Towers was supervising them, John Dennison had purchased shares in the Tower company, it is said that he used this ploy to get the contract with the Blackpool Tower Company. John Dennison also bought and installed 44 other types of coin operated machines in the Tower Complex, and from 1894 until 1927 they were supervised by John Dennison s brother-in-law William Towers all of the working model machines were owned and operated by the Dennison and Towers families up until 1944, John Dennison having died in 1924, Albert Towers, William Towers brother ran the automatic machines and working models the Blackpool Tower until 1944 when they were sold to the Tower Company. They in turn operated them until 1963. Since that time the Blackpool Tower as been owned by several companies associated with the coin machine industry such as Trust House Forte, EMI and First Leisure that was owned by the Bollom family.
This Article is dedicated to my lifelong friend the late Michael Noble who I dearly miss every day. God bless you Michael.
In 1906 the Worlds Fair newspaper was incorporated, this newspaper would become the adopted newspaper of the British Traveling Showmen for the next 100 years, not only was the Worlds Fair a source of information for Traveling showmen buying their wares for anything from their stainless steel water cans, to their swag (Prizes) for their joints (stalls) but also a source of communication between each other, Worlds Fair not only created a mail box system where traveling showmen could post a letter to one another but also to announce a show land wedding, birthday and even an obituary column that is still carried today. As the popularity of coin operated amusement machines increased amongst the traveling showmen, so did the advertising of machines by the various manufacturers and importers of coin operated machines increase, some advertisements for coin operated machines that were manufactured in the U.S.A by companies such as Caille and Mutoscope appeared in the Worlds Fair as early as 1910. After World War I, several British manufacturers were stating to produce coin operated machines, some designing original machines and other making them under license from either the United States, or Germany and France. Companies like International Mutoscope Inc. from New York, Mills Novelty Company of Chicago, Caille Brothers of Detroit from the United States. International Mutoscope from the early 1900 s in a Broadway Arcade
Caille Operator Bell 1926 Caille Phonograph Picture Machine 1921 Mills Commercial 1922 Mills Operator Bell 1918
From Germany came the Cast Iron chocolate machines from Stollwercks & Co, from Coln, the Clown wall machine from Jentzsch & meerz of Leipzeg Stollwercks Chocolate machine 1986 Kinoscope Viewer (Unknown Manufacturer) Saxony Allwin 1908 Jentzsch & Meerz Clown 1927
The first Egg Dispensing machine distributed in England by Ruffler & Walker 1930 s. The machines listed above were the first coin operated machines to come into England between the Great War and World War II. This set s the scene for the introduction of the first British coin machine Distributors such as Sir William Burrows, Clarence Barron, Weston Montague (British American Novelty Company) and Charles Ahrens these I will cover in Part Two Next Week. Part Two. The First British Coin Machine Distributors