For Amusement Only: Arcades and Cafes -- exhibit at the Morris Museum

The news story in the video above reports on the new exhibit at the Morris Museum titled For Amusement Only: Arcades and Cafes. The exhibit explores the fascinating world of coin-operated entertainment from the early twentieth century. Visitors will see fortune-tellers, strength testers, penny arcades and gambling machines, as well as mechanical musical instruments.

The exhibit runs through October 10, 2016

Special demonstration dates:
Special Exhibit Demonstration, Saturday, July 23, 1:00PM
Special Exhibit Demonstration, Friday, August 12, 3:00PM
Special Exhibit Demonstration, Monday, October 10, 1:00PM
Curator’s Tour, Thursday, September 15, 6:30PM

Location:
Morris Museum
6 Normandy Heights Road
Morristown, NJ 07960
Phone: (973) 971-3700
Online: http://www.morrismuseum.org

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Zoltar Speaks replica fortune teller - How it was made

Roger Hess wrote to say that he has created a long "how it's made" article detailing the build process of the Zoltar Speaks fortune teller we featured on this blog back in 2010. The video shown above is a new compilation of video clips which shows the mechanism in operation.

This article is a fascinating in-depth look at the process. If you have any interest in old coin-operated machines (or are perhaps thinking of making one) this article is full of useful stuff.  It has a little bit of everything: cam timers, casting eyeballs, paint techniques, jewelry-making, and advanced woodworking methods. And, that's just a taste!  The article serves also to demonstrate the amount of skill and dedication required for a project of this magnitude. My hat is off to Roger Hess. Incredible.

Here's a link to the full-length article on The Making of the Zoltar Speaks Fortune Teller Replica.

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Exacting reproduction of the extremely rare Mills Verbal Fortune Teller machine for sale

Larry Bieza wrote to give an update on an automaton fortune teller project his team has been working on. Their recreation of three Mills Verbal Fortune tellers from the turn-of-the-century is complete. The video above tells you all about the machine and the process of reproducing it.

Bieza and his team studied the original extensively to create this faithful reproduction.

The fortune teller's voice comes from two independent cylinder players -- just like on the original. These play six inch long cylindrical records with a mechanism that allows them to play one fortune at a time. The fortunes themselves were created from the original surviving Mills Novelty cylinder.

The video includes many interior shots of this extraordinary build. No expense was spared in the making of these reproductions. Measuring about 8 feet tall and weighting in at some 300 pounds, details include quarter-sawn oak, red silk, period playing cards, hand-strung silver plated beads, spun brass ornaments, flat-key locks, and knob-and-tube wiring.

Production of the original coin operated machines was probably less then 100. Only one is known to exist. Back in 2011, the magician David Copperfield offered to buy the one remaining original for a reported $2,000,000. Unlike the one remaining original, the reproductions are fully functional, making them just as rare. This is the last of three reproductions for sale.

Should you wish to purchase this remarkable reproduction, drop me a line using my contact form or send an email to coinoplibrary [at]comcast [dot] net and tell them you heard about it from The Automata Blog.

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Messengers - life-size mechanical figures tap out messages to spectators on a telegraph

You've got to check out this video of this kinetic sculpture by artist Pat Keck. Titled Messengers, it depicts four nearly life-sized figures seated behind a desk, each with a telegraph key. The spectator inserts a coin in the slot at the front of the machine. One of the figures taps out a message and a ticker tape emerges from the machine for the viewer to take and read. The figures take turns tapping out messages and passing slow, meaningful sidelong glances among themselves. They would appear know something that we do not.

The video takes about 10 minutes; it is worth setting aside some time for it. It's like an entire scene in some quirky surreal movie. The motion of the figures is so smooth and life-like, yet slow in an eerie way. I especially love it when a figure raise a hand off the telegraph key and rest it back on the table. It has a deliberate quality to it that reminds me of a magician in slow-motion.

Around the 7 minute mark we get to see some behind-the-scenes shots of the piece in-progress. The construction looks impeccable. We also get to see some of the motions in isolation, with is both fascinating and instructive. It's an incredible piece by a fantastic kinetic sculptor.

See more work by Pat Keck on the artist's web site.

[ Thanks Margaret! ]

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Very rare speaking Gypsy fortune teller machine

Charles Bovey spent years purchasing the buildings that made up the ghost towns of Virginia City and Nevada City, Montana. He then packed the buildings full of his massive collection of antique games, music machines, and coin-operated amusements.

Curators from the Montana Heritage Commission are still discovering exactly what is in the 250 or so buildings they acquired in 1998. Among the finds was this 100-year-old fortune teller machine.

Made sometime around 1906 by the Mills Novelty Company, this oracle does not deliver your fortune by simply dispensing a card with some pre-printed text on it. Rather, the Gypsy would actually speak your fortune, or to be more exact, a hidden record player would. For the price of a nickle, her eyes would flash, her mouth would move, and you would hear your fortune in a human voice. It must have been quite thrilling in 1906.

Yet, you can buy a modern talking Zoltar fortune telling machine of your own any day of the week, so this find is really no big deal right? Wrong. This is one of two or three verbal fortune tellers of this type left in the world. It might be the only one left. It may also be worth as much as $10 million dollars!

Here's an article with a photo gallery of this extremely rare 100-year-old fortune teller machine.

[ Thanks Lu! ]

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Fortune Bird Automaton by Bliss Kolb

Back in February of 2011, I encountered the gorgeous automata of Bliss Kolb. If you missed them, check out the fine craftsmanship on his crow automaton and chirping bird automaton. Shown here is another bird automaton. While I don't know all the details, I gather it is a work in progress of what will be a coin operated fortune-telling machine. Excellent! The motions of the wings, head and plume are great. He certainly has a way with mechanical birds!

You can check out a variety of different work by Bliss Kolb on his web site.

[ Thanks for the reminder Charles! ]

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"Zoltar Speaks" coin-op fortune teller recreation

Did you ever see the Tom Hank's movie Big? Do you remember the fortune teller machine? What appeared to be a classic vintage coin-op fortune teller was actually just a prop. The "magic" of Hollywood. The one shown here, made by Roger Hess, is a fully functional stand-alone interactive game. In 2008, Hess built this incredibly accurate working replica in his basement workshop! Amazing.

Zoltar was featured in an article the Homebrew section of MAKE magazine, Volume 21.

You can contact the creator via email at parlour.automata at gmail.com.

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