I have a big special intrest in penny arcades and novelty machines so back when I found out Marvin's Marvoulous Mechanical Museum was closing I decided I needed to go before my dream was gone forever. I brought my Oliver Swift Plushie (because we all know hed be into this) and went on the long roadtrip all the way to Michigan just for this one thing.
Mutoscope!
These things are great. Just a uncomfortable machine where you lean down over cold metal binoculars and turn a crank to watch a flipbook of some explosion or a physical comedy sketch or whatever. Peek 1920s entertainment! Unironically, I love them. I can't remember what this one was of...
Marionettes!
I love these fun lil guys. I am obsessed with their stupid lil faces. Absolutely marvelous.
-- The Doctor Vibrator is an absolutely marvelous machine. It is one of the tallest penny arcade games topping out at 106 inches. The site of the game just makes you wonder what exactly they were thinking when Watling built this thing in 1904. From the gigantic iron casting to the intricate grain in the white oak the Dr. Vibratoris spectactular in every way.
-- As Dr. Vibrator would say "Vibration Is the Law Of Life" but I am sure he might just say anything to get a penny from you. When someone walks up to this machine, they have no idea what to expect. They think "Is it going to shock me?", "Man, you know what that looks like right?"
-- The process of recreating the Dr. Vibrator was extremely long and grueling. Perhaps the worst part was grinding the castings. The whole project is very difficult because you worry about every about every little detail and things have to be done over and over again.
These are Penny Scales! I find them pretty interesting due to just how outdated the concept is. They're also the only novelty machine that I have seen outside of an arcade other than a fortune teller. These photos really suck but ive just got to infodump. The idea is that back in the 1930s scales where not that common household objects so you would only get weighed at the doctor. This made geussing your own weight a fun novelty. Some of these scales would also have built in horoscope generators or something of the sort.
The Gillotine!
(display blurb transcription) This working model, as they were called, comes from the "tube" station near Picidilly Cincos in London England. The actual workings were made in the late 1930s, and were also found at the famous Brighton "by the Sea" (Pier?). It depicts an actual beheading! So put in a quarter and watch!
