This jukebox features the classic atomic design of the 1960s. The uniqueness of its design has resulted in the Continental 2’s appearance in several Hollywood movies. Built in 1962, the distinctive styling of the AMi Continental 2 reflects the esthetic of the modern space age. The Plexiglas dome over the turntable and the semi-circle of the song selection board give this juke a real “Lost in Space” appearance.

The Continental 2 is able to play up to 200 selections from either 45 or 33rpm records and features the AMi Stereo Round sound system. Still a relatively new concept, the first stereo jukebox was made by Wurlitzer in 1959.

AMi was founded in 1909 as the National Automatic Music Co., making coin-operated player pianos. AMi developed the first electric jukebox amplifier in 1927, greatly increasing the popularity of jukeboxes. They merged with Rowe Corp., a vending machine manufacturer, in 1959. Today the company is known as AMI Entertainment Inc. and is a worldwide supplier of digital entertainment, such as touch screen games and Rock-Ola jukeboxes.

Dimensions: 65”H x 30”W x 29”D
Weight: Approx. 350 lbs.

Automatic Musical Instruments, Inc.
Grand Rapids, Michigan

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.

This is an Esso visible gas pump, called the G&B model 177, made in 1925. The manufacturer was Gilbert & Barker Manufacturing Company. The first gas pumps were “visible” gas pumps that drew the gasoline out of the ground and into a 5 to 10 gallon glass cylinder before it was released into the car. The glass allowed the customer to see how much gas was pumped and whether or not it was clean, which was too often not the case. The gas was pumped from the ground using a lever on the pump (not visible in this photo), by pulling it back and forth. When the gas was released, gravity allowed it to flow out of the tall cylinder and in into the car’s gas tank.

The Gilbert & Barker Manufacturing Company was located in Springfield, Massachusetts. They began manufacturing gas pumps around 1902. The company name was changed to Gilbarco in 1965. In 1966 they relocated to Greensboro, North Carolina where they operate today as Gilbarco Veeder-Root, a subsidiary of the Danaher Corporation. They remain one of the leading gas pump manufacturers in the world today.

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.

Nicknamed by collectors as the “mailbox” or the “tabletop”, the Vendorlator 27 was the smallest soda machine made by Vendorlator. Being only 27 inches high and weighing about 100 lbs., this machine was designed to sit on a countertop or on an optional stand. Because of their small size, these vendors were very popular with owners of small stores having limited floor and counter space.

Built between 1948 and 1951, these machines are relatively easy to find, since most were used indoors and did not suffer from exposure to the weather. It vends up to 27 6.5-ounce bottles and had the space to pre-cool an additional 10. The bottles are loaded into an interior drum which rotates to vend each bottle. These machines originally sold for $125. This is a soda machine we restored when we were in the business years ago.

Dimensions: 27”H x 24”W x 19”D (without stand)
Weight: 100 lbs.

Manufactured by:
The Vendorlator Manufacturing Co.
4000 Railroad Avenue
Fresno, California

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.

The Seeburg 100 Wall-O-Matic set shown here includes a remote song selector and two speakers. These components would have been connected to a central jukebox located elsewhere in the building. These worked with any jukebox in the Select-O-Matic series. The selector was designed to mount on a wall or it could also be placed on a table or countertop. It allowed the customers to remotely select songs from the jukebox and the selectors were placed in diner booths or on counters. The teardrop-shaped speakers were wall-mounted and also worked remotely, receiving the signal of the jukebox.

The Wall-O-Matics were manufactured between 1948 and 1958 and were initially released with a painted finish. The chrome finish was introduced in 1950. This early set has been restored and painted a trendy turquoise. These units were a very common sight in diners and restaurants and are recognized today as true icons of the jukebox era.

The first stick gum machines were introduced in 1888, followed by the first gumball vending machines in 1907. Shortly after that, Ford Mason, a roofing salesman, was looking for a business to get involved in during the winter months, when sales were at a lull. He started by leasing about 100 gumball machines and placing them in stores throughout western New York. He found the gum business profitable enough that he considered leaving roofing sales altogether. But Ford realized he would never do as well as he could because most gum sales were from one-time customers. This was because the gum in vending machines was of poor quality and the machines were unreliable. So Ford set out fulltime to make a better gum. Shortly after Ford’s father, a Baptist minister, advised him to start making his own gum vending machines. The success of Ford’s machines lead to a nationwide business with over 500,000 gum vendors across the country.

This is a vintage Ford gum vending machine from the 1950s. This model was set up to vend gum for 1 penny. The glass globe has a flat top, because originally there was a metal frame positioned on the top of these gumball vendors that displayed the name of whatever local charity the vendor was collecting for. These machines had the capacity to fit 4 lbs. of gumballs. We restored this chrome gum vendor back when we were still in the restoration business.

Dimensions: 12”H x 8”W
Weight: 13 lbs.

Ford Gum and Machine Co., Inc.
18 Newton Ave.
Akron, New York

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.

The Streak-O-Lite wagon was manufactured by Radio Steel & Manufacturing, a company that later became known as Radio Flyer, Inc. The company was founded by Antonio Pasin, a man who emigrated from Italy at the age of 16 and started his own toy wagon business in 1917 with little more than ingenuity and a lot of hard work. The Streak-O-Lite coaster wagon was introduced in 1934, amid the Depression of the 1930s. Although people were forced to live with less, they desired better lives for their children and continued to purchase wagons. Because of this, the wagon factory was able to remain open through the depression, producing 1,500 wagons a day.

The Streak-O-Lite’s styling was based on that of the Zephyr streamline trains with their Art Deco design. In addition to the streamline design, the coaster wagon came with details like control dials and functioning headlights. It retailed for $5 at the time.

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.