1951 · Williams
Arcade
Flat turquoise-teal sky, thin radiating speed lines, large yellow starburst behind the figures, harlequin diamond pattern at upper right, chequered flag motif at right edge and red-and-white striped boat deck with black ship's wheel.
- Year
- 1951
- Maker
- Williams
- Type
- Electro-mechanical
- Display
- Backglass lights
- Players
- 1
Made by
- Design
- Harry Williams
- Art
- George Molentin
Vision analysis
On the backglass
Written by a machine from the photos, so details may be off.
Backglass
- turquoise
- red
- yellow
- white
Fingerprint: "CARNIVAL": five circus performers on red-and-white striped boat deck beneath title, black ship's wheel, clown in purple ruff with yellow starburst, showgirl in two-piece, harlequin pattern
A whole row of circus and seaside-pier characters standing on a red-and-white striped boat deck beneath a giant arching CARNIVAL title, with the score panel running as three stacked numbered bands across the very top. The most memorable single elements are the black ship's wheel on the striped hull at bottom centre and the clown in the purple ruff standing dead centre with a yellow starburst radiating behind him. The top-of-glass score ladder of MILLIONS, THOUSANDS and two rows of multiples of ten is unusually tall, taking up a quarter of the whole picture. Five distinct characters in circus costume span the width, flanked by a harlequin diamond pattern and a chequered flag.
Setting
- Flat turquoise-teal sky
- Thin radiating speed lines
- Large yellow starburst behind the figures
- Harlequin diamond pattern at upper right
- Chequered flag motif at right edge
- Red-and-white striped boat deck with black ship's wheel
Symbols
- Yellow starburst
- Black ship's wheel
- Harlequin diamond pattern
- Chequered flag
- Playing-card-suit style coloured numeral panels
- Red-and-white striped hull
- Radiating speed lines
Lettering
- Large slanted red-orange capitals with yellow-gold inner fill and heavy dark outline, arched across the upper middle; smaller widely letter-spaced white sans-serif capitals on dark bands for millions and thousands; white numerals on red-orange roundels
Themes
- Carnival
- Circus
- Clowns
- Showgirl
- Seaside pier
- Funfair
- Prize counter
Title on it
- Carnival
Text on it
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
- MILLIONS
- 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900
- 10
- 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
- THOUSANDS
- CARNIVAL
| Kind | Description |
|---|---|
| Woman | Far left, wearing a white dress covered in black polka dots with a wide skirt, and an oversized bright red wide-brimmed hat; pale skin, facing forward |
| Man | Left of centre, stout build, short dark hair, wearing a rust-red jacket over a lighter shirt and matching rust-red trousers, arms down at his sides |
| Other | Centre, full purple and white clown costume with a large pleated ruff collar, pointed cap, white face and dark hair, standing directly in front of the yellow starburst |
| Woman | Right of centre, long dark hair, wearing a pale cream two-piece showgirl costume, standing upright with arms at her sides |
| Other | Far right, yellow and white striped costume with a ruff, white face, both arms raised above shoulder height |
| Other | A ship's wheel, black with white spokes, mounted at bottom centre of the striped hull |
Translucent backglass with a carnival/funfair score panel stacked across the top and a painted clown-and-showgirl scene below. The top band is a rainbow of tall narrow panels, one per digit, reading 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 left to right in alternating colours; beneath it a dark strip carries MILLIONS in widely spaced white capitals. Below that a second dark strip is numbered 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 in white, and a third row shows 10, 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 in white on red-orange roundels, with the word THOUSANDS spaced out across the same band. THOUSANDS then arches over the main title CARNIVAL, in large slanted red-orange capitals with yellow-gold inner fill and a heavy dark outline. The background is a flat turquoise-teal sky with thin radiating lines and a large yellow starburst behind the figures. Five figures stand in a row on a red-and-white striped boat or barge deck with a black ship's wheel: at far left a woman in a white polka-dot dress with a huge red hat; left of centre a stout man in a rust-red coat and trousers; centre a clown in a purple and white ruffled costume; right of centre a woman in a pale two-piece costume; at far right a clown in yellow and white stripes with arms raised. A harlequin diamond pattern fills the upper right corner and a chequered flag motif sits at the right edge.