Sachgebiete

Beschreibung:

159 S.; viele Illustr. (auch farbig); 34,5 cm; fadengeh. Orig.-Pappband.

Bemerkung:

Gutes Ex.; Einband stw. minimal bestoßen; geringe Gebrauchsspuren; ohne OUmschlag. - Englisch. - ... The earliest examples of coin-controlled devices in modern times were tobacco dispensers, known as 'honour boxes'. These were found on shop counters in England in the eighteenth century; due to their lack of sophistication, the customer was on his honour to deposit the coin. With the improvements in the standard of engineering in the nineteenth century, this system was superseded by a more cynical device which was able to withhold the rendering of the goods or service until the coin had actually been deposited. Thus the principle of 'pre-payment' (the machine cannot trust people, but people may trust the machine), was established. The standardisation of the size of the coinage was an important prerequisite to the growth of the industry. In early times while the weight and content of the coin was paramount, size was often erratic. Despite the considerable effort to develop an efficient coin mechanism - as witnessed by the prodigious number of patents - operators agree that it didn't happen until the mid-1980s. Before then the automatic machine was easy prey to slugs (wooden discs, foreign coins, tokens, wire and a variety of tools). Losses to the operators were substantial and this was the principal reason for the retarded development of the vending machines in the early period. Amusement machines (which had no merchandise to lose) were not inhibited by this problem and from the 1890s they were produced and operated in great numbers throughout the United States. As well as being a coin-operated piece of equipment, the juke box is a member of the phonograph family, and the development of the phonograph plays an important part in the history of the juke box. ... (S. 7) / INHALT : Introduction: The Coin Concept --- The Evolution of the Talking Machine --- A Nickel in the Slot --- Coin-operated Phonographs in Eclipse --- Radio vs Jazz --- Seeburg --- Capehart --- Wurlitzer --- Rock-Ola --- Seeburg in the 1930s --- Depression, Repeal and After --- The War Years --- Wurlitzer Succumbs to Seeburg's Secret Weapon --- Mills Novelty Company --- Speed Test --- Uncle Sam vs Seeburg --- King of the Title Strips --- Operating (Where's the Mob?) --- England --- 1960 Onwards --- Appendix: Notes on Design and Styling --- Index.