Slot Deco
September 12, 2006
Last week I paid a visit to the Gambling Museum in Virginia City, Nevada, home to a fabulous collection of old-time slot machines.
The evolution of the machines seems to tell the story of American industrial design, from the clunky cast iron cash register-style gizmos of the late nineteenth century to the beautiful Art Deco "goose neck" slots of the 1930s and 1940s, to the more familiar-looking computerized fruit machines of recent decades.
The old machines have an appealing mechanical integrity, like adding machines or manual typewriters. They are handbuilt, diligent workhorses - taking your money one nickel at a time - a world away from the ruthlessly efficient microchip boxes that slurp up your $20 bills on the modern casino floor. Time was, the machines had to work for your money.
File under: Personal
_____________________« Colorado-bound | Terminal Island »
GLUT:
Mastering Information Through the Ages
“A penetrating and highly entertaining meditation on the information age and its historical roots.”
—Los Angeles Times
“A fascinating tour of the many ways that humans have collected, organized and shared information.”
—Publisher's Weekly
“A readable romp through the history of information processing, from the origins of writing to the emergence of libraries and finally the World Wide Web.”
—New Scientist
Now Available From:
