Had someone stop by my business, Old Sled Works, last week and asked if I was interested in this c. 1905 penny arcade machine. He had a photocopy of himself standing next to it among some other miscellaneous antiques. It had been in the basement of an old restaurant/inn not too far away from Hershey, PA. Had seen some water damage over the years as the building was along a creek that flooded periodically. Hard to tell much from the photocopy so I made arrangements to see it in person tonight.
Well, I visited the man tonight. Good news is the machine seems to be complete and all original. Water damage was minimal. Bad news is...he completely disassembled the machine in hopes of restoring it someday. It's now a giant puzzle. So now I'm the proud owner of several boxes of wood and metal parts. Fortunately it appears pretty simple and the man offered to help if I get stuck as he remembers how it goes together.
Incidently, he told me he thought it was made by a company called "CB" as those letters were in one of the castings. After doing some quick research, I realize CB means Caille Brothers. Pretty cool! Anyone have a picture of a Caille Strength and Lung tester? Would love to see another one.
I will post some before and after pics soon. Probably will submit for upcoming COCA magazine too.
Jimmy