 | |
| Industry | Slot machines, vending machines and jukeboxes |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1891 (as M.B.M. Cigar Vending Company) |
| Defunct | 1948 (jukeboxes); 1954 (vending machines); and 1980s (slot machines) |
| Fate | Divestment (jukeboxes); divestment and merger (slot machines); and acquisition (vending machines) |
| Successor | Mills Novelty Co. Restores & sells violanos and other Mills products |
| Headquarters | Chicago |
Key people | Herbert Stephen Mills (deceased); Robert W. Brown CEO |
The Mills Novelty Company, Incorporated of Chicago was once a leading manufacturer of coin-operated machines, including slot machines, vending machines, and jukeboxes, in the United States. Between about 1905 and 1930, the company's products included the Mills Violano-Virtuoso and its predecessors, celebrated machines that automatically played a violin and, after about 1909, a piano. By 1944, the name of the company had changed to Mills Industries, Incorporated.[1][2] The slot machine division was then owned by Bell-O-Matic Corporation. By the late 1930s, vending machines were being installed by Mills Automatic Merchandising Corporation of New York.
- ^ "Mills Soda Machines". Retrieved 2006-08-28.
- ^ Terry Cumming. "WW2 Pinball Stories - Industry People and Mfrs". Retrieved 2006-08-28.