1948 · Gottlieb
Ali-Baba
Flat dark purple night sky with scattered small white stars, huge flat yellow disc with concentric maroon and orange rings, yellow and cream skyline of onion domes, minarets and low blocky towers, pink-and-yellow diamond-tiled ground plane and dark green scrubby vegetation silhouettes at the lower right.
- Year
- 1948
- Maker
- Gottlieb
- Type
- Electro-mechanical
- Display
- Backglass lights
- Players
- 1
Made by
- Design
- Harry Mabs
- Art
- Roy Parker
Vision analysis
On the backglass
Written by a machine from the photos, so details may be off.
Backglass
- purple
- yellow
- red
- magenta
Fingerprint: Enormous yellow disc backing belly dancer in red-pink beaded costume kneeling on patterned cushion with arms raised, "ALVI-BAB" arched title spanning upper area, three long-robed men around slatted table with red goblet and hookah lower center, domed tower skyline with minarets, painted on dark purple night sky
The single most memorable element is the enormous flat yellow disc behind a red-costumed belly dancer who balances on one knee with both arms flung up, the whole scene framed by a huge arched white title. A second strong memory is the vertical ladder of coloured score panels running down the left edge, 900,000 at the top in descending steps to 30,000. Bottom centre, three long-robed men seen from behind — one turbaned and bearded — stand around a slatted table with a red goblet, next to a brazier and hookah. A man with a flaming head and green face in a red suit stands at lower right.
Setting
- Flat dark purple night sky with scattered small white stars
- Huge flat yellow disc with concentric maroon and orange rings
- Yellow and cream skyline of onion domes, minarets and low blocky towers
- Pink-and-yellow diamond-tiled ground plane
- Dark green scrubby vegetation silhouettes at the lower right
Symbols
- Row of playing-card suits (spade and heart shapes) on the left
- Large yellow full-moon disc
- Onion domes and minarets
- Hookah pipe
- Brazier with a red flame
- Stringed instrument
- Turban
- Star field
Lettering
- Large arched hand-lettered white capitals with pink-magenta shading and a heavy dark red drop shadow, following the curve over the moon disc
Themes
- Oriental
- Belly dance
- Exotic fantasy
- Score ladder
- Night sky
- Onion domes
Title on it
- Alvi-bab
Text on it
- ALVI-BAB
- 900,000
- 800,000
- 700,000
- 600,000
- 500,000
- 400,000
- 300,000
- 200,000
- 100,000
- 90,000
- 80,000
- 70,000
- 60,000
- 50,000
- 30,000
| Kind | Description |
|---|---|
| Woman | Central belly dancer, pale skin, red bobbed hair with a headband, red and pink two-piece costume with beaded belt and a fringed hip scarf, kneeling on one knee on a pink-and-yellow patterned cushion with one leg raised, both arms lifted and fingers pointed, head turned in profile |
| Woman | Standing woman to the right of the dancer, dark hair, green and gold cropped top with a short green skirt and sheer dark leggings, hip cocked, one arm raised |
| Woman | Tall woman far right, long dark hair, orange/brown beaded top with a striped orange-and-cream skirt, arms down at her sides, facing front |
| Creature | Lower right figure in a tight red bodysuit with a green face and a crown of yellow/orange flames for hair, left arm raised to shoulder height |
| Man | Seated musician at lower left-centre, bare-chested, wearing a small cap, playing a long-necked stringed instrument resting across his lap |
| Man | Centre-bottom man seen from behind in a long red robe and a white turban with a dark beard, facing right |
| Man | Centre-bottom man seen from behind in a dark blue and gold robe, head bare, facing right |
| Man | Left of the robed group, a man in a maroon robe with a white turban seen in profile, facing right |
| Other | Tiny background figure at lower left, a small pale figure in white standing on the tiled ground near the skyline |
Flat, brightly coloured painted backglass on a dark purple night sky scattered with tiny white stars. Centre-right is dominated by a huge yellow disc (a moon or sun) ringed with maroon and orange, over which a big white-and-pink arched title with a dark red drop shadow curves across the top. Inside the disc a large belly dancer in a red-and-pink beaded costume, red bobbed hair and headband, kneels on a pink-and-yellow patterned cushion with one leg up and both arms raised. To her right stand two more dancers, one in green and gold, one in orange and striped trousers, and lower right a green-faced figure in a red bodysuit with a crown of yellow flame hair. Lower centre, three long-robed men seen from behind, one turbaned and bearded, gather around a slatted table with a red goblet, hookah and smoking brazier. Lower left is a skyline of yellow and cream domed towers, minarets and onion domes, with a small seated musician playing a stringed instrument. A column of coloured lozenge score panels steps down the left edge from 900,000 to 30,000.