Vendo Trade Show Lineup

These vintage photos show a trade show for soda vending machines from the 1950s. On the floor are machines that illustrate the manufacturing history of the Vendo Company through to the late 50s.

In the first photo, you can see what appears to be a barrel or tub on legs that was probably the very first version of a dispenser to vend bottled Coca-Cola. Beside that is the Vendo “Washtub”. It was the first rendition of a vending machine with a horizontal rotating vending mechanism. The next two machines look like Vendo Standards with coin-operated lids. After that are a V-80 and a V-216.

In this photo the two larger machines were replaced by a single machine: the V-83. There is also space reserved for the latest Vendo soda machine model to be positioned.

The final photo is of the trade show floor. Here you can see all types of vending machines: candy, cold food, milk and soda among them. Wouldn’t it be great to go back in time and walk this floor so you can see these machines when they were new?

The Glasco GBV-60 chest cooler was an upgraded version of the Glasco GBV-50 that we featured last year. The 60 is a more square cooler than its predecessor. It is top loading and can vend up to five flavor selections (including TAB, as the ad states—remember TAB?). This is called a “slider” type chest cooler because it operates by opening the lid and sliding a Coca-Cola bottle to the opening before lifting it out. The Glasco 60 is capable of vending either 60 6-ounce bottles or 55 12-or 16-ounce bottles. It has space to pre-cool 30 bottles of any size.

Glasco manufactured soda vendors exclusively for Coca-Cola and the GBV-60 was manufactured in the early 1960s. It cools “with dry forced-air to eliminate defrosting”. It is constructed of steel with a baked enamel finish.

Dimensions: 37 1/2”H x 21”D x 42 ½”W
Weight: 224 lbs.

Manufactured by:
Glasco
Muncie, Indiana

This item is not for sale. We show restored items in this blog to encourage discussion, prompt questions and further the hobby of collecting and restoration. We also enjoy sharing the photos of the many items we have restored over the years.

These are vintage ads for the Model A cooler manufactured by S & S products Co. of Lima, Ohio. They made this cooler form the mid-1940s to the mid 1950s. It was very similar to the Glascock ice chest in looks and for the fact that the side panels of the Model A were removable. The panels were not removable on other S & S models. This was a good soda chest for storeowners, as they could change the side panels depending on which soda brand they were selling.

This cooler was manufactured about 1940. It has dual lids that share a center hinge. It has a bottle opener and cap catcher located on the front. This cooler had a 96-bottle capacity and additional storage on the rack below for a few cases of warm soda bottles or to put the empties. Casters were standard equipment. This model originally sold for $8.75 as you can see in the ads.

Dimensions: 31” high x 32” wide x 23” deep
Weight: 70 lbs.
Capacity: 96 bottles

Manufactured by:
S & S Products Co.
Lima, Ohio

The Harris Automatic Coin Changer was designed to operate on all kinds of vending machines including soda, cigarette and candy vendors. It could be modified to return change in many different combinations, as needed. An important feature at the time was the ability to prevent “jackpotting”, or releasing a gush of coins all at once.

The introduction of the automatic coin changer was announced in the August 1946 issue of “Billboard” magazine, with a projected release date of three months later. The device was named after Charles F. Harris, the inventor. According to a 1947 article in “Popular Science”, Harris got the idea for the machine years prior while he was working as an executive of a railroad. He was attending a murder trial at a courthouse on a very hot day when he tried to get a cold soda from a vending machine. He didn’t have the proper change and had to go a number of blocks to find a store where he was able to get a nickel. This frustrated Harris enough that he set about inventing a coin changer to be installed in the vending machines. Harris later served as head of the research and development department at Johnson Fare Box Company where they manufactured his coin changer.

The Johnson Fare Box Company was a manufacturer of fare boxes for trolleys, cable cars and later, buses. They developed the very first fare box around 1905. In 1955 the company was acquired by Keene Corporation, and in turn General Fare Industries bought them in 1980. They still operate today as GFI Genfare.

Manufactured by:
Johnson Fare Box Company
A Subsidiary of Bowser, Inc.
Chicago, Illinois

These items are not for sale. We show restored items in this blog to encourage discussion, prompt questions and further the hobby of collecting and restoration. We also enjoy sharing the photos of the many items we have restored over the years.

The Mills 45 Coca-Cola vending machine was manufactured for only 2 years: 1941-1942. It was the smallest Mills vending machine made pre-WWII. It is the most desired model for Mills collectors due to its smaller size. It has a small bottle capacity; only 26 bottles, which made it ideal for use in lower volume situations, such as in an office. There is also space to pre-cool 26 additional bottles. This is believed to be the only Coca-Cola machine ever made that vended the bottle crown first.

As you can see in this brochure, Mills referred to the 45 as the “Baby Cooler”, due to its smaller footprint and capacity. The 45 did not use the earlier conveyor method for vending, but rather dispensed bottles using two gravity-fed rotating drums. The compressor is on the bottom of the machine and is easily accessible by removing the lower front panel. The bowed front door unfortunately led to the machines getting pretty dented up over time.

The first of the photos below shows the features of the Mills 45, including the construction, height, weight and capacity. The last photo shows the Mills production plants located in Chicago.

Dimensions: 62”H x 25”W x 22”D
Weight: 415 lbs.

Manufactured by:
Mills Industries, Inc.
4100 Fullerton Ave.
Chicago, Illinois

These items are not for sale. We show restored items in this blog to encourage discussion, prompt questions and further the hobby of collecting and restoration. We also enjoy sharing the photos of the many items we have restored over the years.

The Glascock Deluxe cooler, when it was built was the best Glascock had to offer. The $36 price tag was considered a lot at the time (the Standard cost only $15) but came with special features, such as a stainless steel lid and bottle racks. This model was created for storeowners that wanted a more attractive soda machine in their stores.

When the Deluxe was first released in 1930 it was an icebox. Later versions came out as mechanically refrigerated boxes with a price tag of $155. The electric powered compressor was located in the base inside the stand. The vending process was like that of earlier coolers, where a warm bottle had to be inserted into the cooler in order to vend a cold bottle. The vending capacity was 64 bottles of Coca-Cola, with 66 bottles in reserve.

Dimensions: 41 1/2”H x 31”W x 29”D
Produced: Early 1930s
Weight: 418 lbs.

Manufactured by:
Glascock Bros. Manufacturing Co.
Muncie, Indiana

This item is not for sale. We show restored items in this blog to encourage discussion, prompt questions and further the hobby of collecting and restoration. We also enjoy sharing the photos of the many items we have restored over the years.