roboz Posted July 5, 2013 Share Posted July 5, 2013 Back from exile , cam across this unique robot coin operated fortune teller made in England uses the English Penny & finalized a deal for it . Had some trepidation as I'm still a novice in collecting coin ops but this seems like a rare crossover piece From a few collectors they seem to feel the machine is a 1930's -40's piece based on the fact that it used a penny & most arcade operators wouldn't have made much profit from penny machines into the 50's & 60's I will include a few pictures of the machine & hopefully some of you roboters from the UK can help ID this particular machine. I have some reference photo's of other machines from the era but they do not look like this machine at all. The functions are a back glass that illuminates a red & white bulb behind the eyes the ears move & their is a roll mechanism that feeds the fortunes & a cutter chops them to dispense the fortune ticket Anyway several of my coin op contacts like the machine & think it's unique but no one can ID it properly & there is no Mfg markings. Back in the day many small craftsmen created these wonderful pieces in garage type set ups so unless you have a distributor or mfg mark the history is tough to unravel I am currently on the hunt for the machines from the reference photo's so if anyone comes across them I would offer a nice finders fee Cheers ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roboz Posted July 5, 2013 Author Share Posted July 5, 2013 John was able to find this photo of another 1930's British robot fortune teller though I can't tell if this is a trade show piece or coin op arcade piece Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian.. Posted July 5, 2013 Share Posted July 5, 2013 I love the old penny arcade machines and have a few, though no robots. Here's a machine to add to your wants list, Ozzie: Vulcan the Robot. Look at a point 48:00 minutes in. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=MKcuyQ7Mzmc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robothut Posted July 5, 2013 Share Posted July 5, 2013 Great You Tube Brian from 1937. Helps prove the date of some of there robot machines ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roboz Posted July 5, 2013 Author Share Posted July 5, 2013 Wow cool link Brian !! That robot looks almost the same as the one 'eric' in the first B&W photo John I need to convince you to work on this machine. I will have it repainted & I don't think the head is painted correctly aka I don't think the face has the original paint , If I restore it , it will be much more robotic looking from the 1930's for sure Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roboz Posted July 6, 2013 Author Share Posted July 6, 2013 Brian you would like these 2 machines , the Mutoscope is from 1899 when they were only leased to select locations & the Mills Brownie Machine is Dated to 1900 , one of the very early Slot machines Here is a description of the brownies who are featured on the litho'd tin wheel "The Brownies is a series of publications by Canadian illustrator and author Palmer Cox, based on names and elements from Celtic mythology and traditional highland Scottish stories told to Cox by his grandmother. Illustrations with verse aimed at children, The Brownies was published in magazines and books during the late 19th century and early 20th century. The Brownie characters became famous in their day, and at the peak of their popularity were a pioneering name brand within merchandising." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian.. Posted July 6, 2013 Share Posted July 6, 2013 The clamshell mutoscope is gorgeous. I have one of the tin ones that amuses visitors. I asked members of a group I belong to about the Magic Robot. This is what they had to say: My guess is that this was produced by one of John George Brenner's companies (active from the '30s-'50s), such as Original Machine Manufacturers Ltd. Does it have any markings on it? J Brenner built a number of metal-constructed, floor-standing, fortune tellers in various 'future-science' guises. Comparing the card vending mech to that of a known Brenner machine might confirm this. Consulting Arcades & Slot Machines, I see Original Machine Manufacturers Ltd. made a fortune teller called Robot King in 1935. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roboz Posted July 6, 2013 Author Share Posted July 6, 2013 The clamshell mutoscope is gorgeous. I have one of the tin ones that amuses visitors. I asked members of a group I belong to about the Magic Robot. This is what they had to say: Brian many thanks for researching . One of the things I will need is a fortune roll. Original would be great but reproduction would work too. Perhaps you can inquire if someone knows of any fortune rolls available as I suspect they may have been used in various machines ( hopefully) It would be fantastic if you were able to dig one up. I do have about 15 loose fortunes so in the worst case I can try & find a printer to produce one. I believe the way the head on this machine is painted was probably done in the 60's in some weird attempt to update the look but before I go ahead & change it I would like to get other opinions so as not to destroy any originality. Also if there are any robot machines from that era available for purchase please put the word out that I am interested !! Thx again !!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robothut Posted July 6, 2013 Share Posted July 6, 2013 The card vending mechanics start as a roll and get cut off as dispensed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robothut Posted July 6, 2013 Share Posted July 6, 2013 Here are the cutters up close. See if your friends can identify the card dispensing mechanics from these pictures I got from Ozzy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roboz Posted September 22, 2019 Author Share Posted September 22, 2019 Came across another British machine Brian that movie link no longer works do you know of another ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian.. Posted September 22, 2019 Share Posted September 22, 2019 Sorry, Oz, can't find a replacement video. Youtube videos just aren't permanent features. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roboz Posted September 22, 2019 Author Share Posted September 22, 2019 Wish I would have gotten a screen shot do you remember what the movie was called ?? Anyway I FINALLY closed the deal on that robot fortune teller after 6 years! & it's going to the resto shop with my flying saucer machine I don't know how original it is with respect to Paint but I'd like to bring closer to a Mechanical Man Style of the period They did find an english penny in it BTW I may do a custom roll for fortunes with my collection Tagged on the fortune card Lots of Unknowns with this machine If you want to migrate this Thread temporarily into robot talk The guy will post periodic Videos of the machine but we have to get a game plan settled on with respect to appearence functions etc etc etc In robot talk I may be able to grab more ideas since more members will likely see it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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