loading image

Fortune-telling was so fashionable in the first half of the 20th century that some machines, such as The Gypsy Fortune Teller, advertised the subject and did not actually offer a fortune. Each penny played on The Gypsy Fortune Teller dispensed a ball of gum, with prizes for winning suits available behind the counter. Other fortune-tellers kept pace with new technologies. The countertop Futura fortune machine illuminates its predictions from a roll of 35 mm film inside, visible through a lighted window atop a plastic “crystal ball.” All objects are courtesy of Joe Welch American Antique Museum in San Bruno, California. "The Automatic Age: Coin-Operated Machines" is on display, pre-security, in the International Terminal. http://bit.ly/CoinOperated This image was posted on August 30, 2018.

Similar Instagram posts

Prior to Prohibition and the Volstead Act of 1919, gambling was a mainstay of the saloon. This image was posted on January 08, 2018. #coinoperated #theautomaticage #coinop #vintage #antique #gamemachines #slotmachine #slotmachines
San Francisco-based machinists and inventors Theodore Holtz and Charles Fey were important pioneers in the development of early gambling devices. This image was posted on January 26, 2017. #sfhistory #charlesfey #theodoreholtz
Prior to Prohibition and the Volstead Act of 1919, gambling was a mainstay of the saloon. This image was posted on January 08, 2018. #coinoperated #theautomaticage #coinop #vintage #antique #gamemachines #slotmachine #slotmachines
Prior to Prohibition and the Volstead Act of 1919, gambling was a mainstay of the saloon. This image was posted on January 08, 2018. #coinoperated #theautomaticage #coinop #vintage #antique #gamemachines #slotmachine #slotmachines
Horse racing is one of the world's oldest sports. This image was posted on January 31, 2018. #coinoperated #theautomaticage #coinop #vintage #antique #gamemachines #slotmachine #slotmachines #horseracing #goodluck
Fortune-telling was so fashionable in the first half of the 20th century that some machines, such as The Gypsy Fortune Teller, advertised the subject and did not actually offer a fortune. This image was posted on August 30, 2018. #coinoperated #fortunetelling #fortune #crystalball #theautomaticage #coinop #vintage #antique #gamemachines #slotmachine #slotmachines

This post mentions the following things involved with the SFO Museum collection: