Penny in the Slot Automata and the Working Model

This is the first comprehensive guide to those ingenious amusements which have delighted visitors to the seaside, fairground, or exhibition for over a century. The book features many of the unusual coin-operated models and tableaux built to entertain the public from the 1860s to the 1970s. The models are based on a variety of themes including haunted houses, drunkard scenes, executions, laughing clowns, sailors, puppet-shows, and miniature locomotives. There are also chapters devoted to American machines (such as fortune-tellers and vendors) and mechanical music--the precursor to the modern jukebox. With over 200 color illustrations, including many of the rarest surviving examples, plus a price guide, this unique book will be a comprehensive source of reference for automata and working-model enthusiasts and collectors.