{"product_id":"sans-titre-15sept-_10-34-05","title":"O. D. Jennings Jackpot, Chicago, post-1925","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThree-reel mechanical slot machine, manufactured by \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eO. D. Jennings \u0026amp; Company\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e (Chicago). The patents engraved on the top — January 17, 1922 and November 24, 1925 — date the device to \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eno earlier than late 1925\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, likely from the second half of the 1920s. The coin mechanism is set for a \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e1 French franc\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e coin: a version intended for European cafés and bistros.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe style blends two worlds. The mechanism is American (reels, lever, visible jackpot, payout card). The facade, however, is very \"Belle Époque \/ Art Nouveau\": textured cast iron, floral motifs, two colorful harlequins, and a red diamond with the Jennings \"J.\" This is typical of machines exported or dressed up for French tastes, which were much more decorative than the Jennings \"Chief\" models sold in the United States.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe history of \"Bell Fruit Gum\" candies\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eOn the payout card, one reads \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eA BELL FRUIT GUM\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e. This is no coincidence: it is the legal disguise used by early jackpots.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAround 1910, in the United States, slot machines were often banned as gambling devices. Mills Novelty circumvented the law by presenting them as \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003echewing gum dispensers\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e. The reel symbols became fruits — cherry, lemon, plum, orange — supposedly corresponding to the flavors of \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBell-Fruit-Gum\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e chewing gum. In the event of a \"win,\" the machine dispensed tokens or coins... officially in exchange for a treat.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eJennings, a former employee of Mills, adopted this system. The fruits remained, as did the name Bell Fruit Gum, even when no one really believed anymore that one was buying candy. In France, the same terminology was still used in the 1920s–1930s, until the prohibition of slot machines in 1937.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"L'échoppe de Thibaud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":59130505527644,"sku":null,"price":1990.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0993\/9170\/1340\/files\/FullSizeRender_72d6621c-ef57-41f2-ab6b-647359c9c0e2.heic?v=1789462046","url":"https:\/\/lechoppedethibaud.com\/en\/products\/sans-titre-15sept-_10-34-05","provider":"L'échoppe de Thibaud","version":"1.0","type":"link"}