This lot is closed. Bidding ended on 5/21/2006.
The earliest "penny arcades" date from the late 1800s and featured such machines as bagatelles, which combined billiards and pinball. These developed into the early pinball machines, and soon came the first electro-mechanical amusements: fortune teller machines, peep show machines, love testers, slots, vending machines and the like. As a final development, these morphed into the video arcades of the 1980s that we know today. Penny arcades were very popular at seaside resorts, amusement parks and boardwalk playlands, for example Coney Island. This vintage penny arcade ticket stand / cashier's booth dates from the turn of the 20th century. Standing 43-1/2" tall by 24" deep x 26-1/2" wide, it is made entirely of solid oak. The open-faced cashier's side has one shelf and one sliding drawer with wooden money slots and sliding coin resevoir. With beautifully carved legs, the wood and finish are in fantastic condition for their age, some tiny cracks are hardly visible and can be easily repaired. On the front is a stamped brass tag that reads "Francis L. Auld, Showcase Mfgr., Boston, Mass." Atop this base sits a gold painted three-sided wire filigree measuring 23-1/4" x 24-1/4" per panel, designed so that money and tickets can be exchanged through an opening at the front bottom center. When laid onto the base, it can be said to create one of the first "box offices." Put this booth in your recreation room and you can almost smell the salt air - you can even charge admission! This item will be expensive to ship.