antique arcade | Amusing the Zillion

Posts Tagged ‘antique arcade’

Rare & Vintage: Coin-Operated Arcade Peep Show

Posted in Amusement Game, Auction, tagged antique arcade, arcade, coin-op amusement, coin-op game, peep show, pinup on November 7, 2015| 3 Comments »

Coin-operated arcade peep show. Rich Penn Auctions, November 7, 2015

A Collection of Shapely Pin Ups-5 Cents! The art of the come-on is alive and well in this nearly six-foot-tall, coin-operated arcade peep show from the 1950s. It sold at Rich Penn Auctions today for $400. When players look through the peephole all they see is a row of clothespins in various colors. It was manufactured in 1957 by the Exhibit Supply Co. of Chicago, which in addition to the Barrel peep show, sold a Nudist Colony machine that revealed a live ant colony.

Happy Mother’s Day to Grandma’s Predictions!

Posted in Amusement Game, amusement park, Artifacts, tagged antique, antique arcade, Cleveland Grandma, Deno's Wonder Wheel Park, fortuneteller, Grandma's Predictions, Wonder Wheel on May 11, 2014| 2 Comments »

Grandma’s Predictions, Deno’s Wonder Wheel Park. May 12, 2013. Photo © Tricia Vita via flickr

Happy Mother’s Day to Coney Island’s Grandma’s Predictions! The rare circa 1923 fortune teller returned to her home under the 1920 Wonder Wheel on Mother’s Day 2013 after several months in arcade restorer Bob Yorburg’s workshop. Her inner workings had been destroyed by floodwater from Sandy. Grandma got eye surgery as well as a new wig, dress and wax hands cast from the original mold, and a fine new cabinet. Visit Grandma and get your prediction — only 50 cents.

Up for Auction: Bimbo Baby Automaton Arcade Machine

Posted in Auction, tagged antique arcade, arcade machine, automaton, Bimbo Box, monkey, vintage on March 28, 2014| 5 Comments »

Bimbo Baby Automaton Arcade Machine. German, c.1950. Fontaine’s Auction Gallery

Isn’t this the cutest? There are already two bids on this circa 1950 “Bimbo Baby” arcade machine featuring a monkey orchestra. It has a starting bid of $1,000 and a pre-sale estimate of $2,000-$4,000. The sale is on Saturday morning at Fontaine’s Auction Gallery in Pittsfield, Mass., not far from where my Dad once had a real live monkey on the midway.

Bimbo Baby Automaton Arcade Machine. German, c.1950, coin operated automaton box lights up inside with 6 figural cabana monkeys on a tropical decorated stage, the figures dance, shake and play their instruments; has a speaker built into the base which plays music through a Tefi Spezial-Band cassette (tape in cassette is unwound). Animated mechanism is in good working condition. 38 in. high x 24 in. wide x 23 in. deep.

Now if somebody would just drop a dime in the slot and make a YouTube video of the toy monkeys dancing and playing, we’d be delighted.