1947 |
1947 |
| I found this pin in the outdoor flea
market at the York
White Rose Gameroom Show in October, 2000. I walked
outside to check out the flea market action around noon,
and this was the first game I saw, literally right in
front of me when I stepped out the door. The game
appeared to complete, except for bits and pieces of the
playfield glass. Also, the original legs had water damage
and two were warped. However, the playfield looked like
it would clean up nice, the backglass was in really great
shape, the game didn't appear to be missing any major
stuff except bulbs, so I bought it. The bumper caps were
included, and that's a plus for a game this age. According to the seller, Hickory Bend Antiques, in Jasper, New York, this pin came out of a restaurant that had been closed for twenty years. When the pin was found there, dishes were still in the sink. Sure would be cool if someone knew what restaurant this pin came out of and had a photo of it on location there. United produced this pin in 1947, and a conversion pin with flippers in 1949 called Madam Butterfly. You can see this at the Internet Pinball Database.
Harry Williams helped start United just before the US got into WW II, left United in 1942 to start his own company, Williams Manufacturing Company, in 1944. United would continue to produce pins into the 50's, then they switched to jukeboxes, shuffle bowlers, bingo pinballs, etc. United produced jukeboxes from 1957-1961. They continued to produce shuffle bowlers through the 1970's. If you want to read more about Harry Williams, read the article "A Visit With Harry Williams," by Russ Jensen, pinball historian. |
CLICK ON ANY IMAGE TO ENLARGE
Just got back from the show around 11, and we moved the pin into the dining room. |
I think I wrapped the head about 15 times. Needless to say, a replacement backglass for this pin is tough to find. |
As you can see even under the shrinkwrap and dirt, this pin is in really good shape. |
No fading, and very little wear. |
 Door has a couple scuffs, not bad |
 Rusted coin mech, barely works. Lock looks to be original, with keys hanging by a wire that was probably tied together by someone over 50 years ago. |
 I unlocked the door and noticed some spider webs. |
 Some bulbs have been removed. |
 Here's a closer look at those spider webs |
 Extreme close up |
 9,358 plays. This game has low mileage. |
 Playfield needs to be cleaned up, "just a little." Whatever rodent lived there is long gone. I was surprised the wires haven't been chewed through inside the game. |
 The playfield looks nasty, but with several coats of Johnson's Paste Wax applied, it should clean up nicely. |
 I have stored the caps in a Ziploc bag for now. |
 Looks complete, just dirty. The 1k step up unit is on the left, 10,000 step up unit located on the right. The connector plug is to the left of the fuse block. |
Ok, time to play what's this thing going to do when it's plugged in after 20 + years of storage? The answer, NOTHING! I slid a nickel in the coin slot, and nothing happened. "It's dead Jim.". I tripped the lock relay to the left of the connector plug, and I heard the tranformer. The game won't completely reset, but a kick out hole fires and a bumper works here and there. Bell goes off now and then. No lights at all. |
 Original backdoor included. Notice the new playfield glass. |
 Closeup of the original lock and key. |
Backglass in great shape. Missing very little paint and the colors are really sharp. |
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HISTORY
