1951 · Gottlieb
Minstrel Man
Brown gradient sky with black musical notes and a treble clef, dark wooded backdrop, tree-trunk archway forming a stage proscenium, black silhouetted audience inside the stage opening and dark brown flat field behind the left-hand value panels.
- Year
- 1951
- Maker
- Gottlieb
- Type
- Electro-mechanical
- Display
- Backglass lights
- Players
- 1
Made by
- Design
- Harry Mabs
- Art
- Roy Parker
Vision analysis
On the playfield
Written by a machine from the photos, so details may be off.
Playfield
- blue
- cream
- red
- white
Fingerprint: Minstrel Man, huge grinning clown head in tall striped top hat with red polka-dot ruff surrounded by ring of cream discs bearing oversized red numerals 1 to 5, two brass-blue starburst rosettes flanking reading 100000 WHEN LIT, row of painted clown acrobats dancing on cream cloud bank beneath four white bumpers
The centrepiece is a huge grinning clown head in a tall striped top hat with a red polka-dot ruff, surrounded by a ring of cream discs each bearing an oversized red numeral from 1 to 5. Two brass-blue starburst rosettes flanking him read 100,000 WHEN LIT, and small ribbon banners say CLOSES GATE WHEN LIT and LITES WHEN 'B' IS HIT. A row of painted clown acrobats dancing on a cream cloud bank fills the upper third beneath four white bumpers numbered 2, 3, 4 and 5. Oversized curved FLIPPER lettering dominates both lower corners, mirrored left and right.
Setting
- Flat slate blue-grey field covering the lower two thirds
- Cream and tan cloud or smoke bank across the upper third behind the bumpers
- Painted bare branches or a stylized horizon band along the very top arc
- Cream-coloured apron instruction card across the bottom
Symbols
- Five numbered cream discs (1 to 5) in a red-outlined arc
- Three red arrow ribbons reading 100,000
- Two long cream value strips reading 200,000 down each side
- Three treble clefs printed between the cream point lozenges
- A seven-pointed star / compass-rose emblem below the clown's ribbon
- Two starburst rosettes reading 100,000 when lit
- Lettered circles a, b and c for the two upper lanes
- Scroll-shaped instruction banners
- A qr code sticker on the lower right apron
Notable shapes
- Arc of five overlapping cream discs carrying red numerals
- Fan-shaped cream cloud bank across the upper third
- Two long blue starburst rosette medallions set diagonally left and right
- A row of five chrome balls visible in a trough behind the apron
- Arrow-ended red ribbon scrolls
- A shield or compass-rose star emblem at the very centre below the clown
Art motifs
- Circus and carnival performer imagery
- Red and cream concentric target rings on the bumpers
- Curved banner lettering following the top arc of the playfield
- Red condensed block capitals with cream and black drop shadows
Themes
- Circus
- Clown
- Minstrel show
- Score multipliers
- Single-level electro-mechanical
Title on it
- Minstrel man
Text on it
- SPECIAL WHEN LIT
- 200,000
- Bonus
- POINT AND 50000 WHEN LIT
- A
- B
- C
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- CLOSES GATE WHEN LIT
- LITES WHEN 'B' IS HIT
- LITES WHEN 'C' IS HIT
- 100,000 WHEN LIT
- FLIPPER
- NO WIGGLING NO RIZES
- MIRRORS NOT PERMITTED TO PLAY THIS GAME
- BUTTONS ON SIDE OF CABINET
- A PRODUCT OF
- D. Gottlieb & Co.
- CHICAGO, ILL.
- MINSTREL MAN
- 5 BALLS
- 5¢ PLAY
- D. GOTTLIEB & CO.
- CHICAGO 51, ILL.
- 1951 Gottlieb Minstrel Man
| Kind | Description |
|---|---|
| Other | Enormous grinning clown head, black and white face paint, wide open smiling mouth, tall striped top hat, red polka-dot ruff, painted on the central lower playfield and used as the gate mechanism |
| Other | Small painted clown acrobats in blue and yellow costumes posed dancing and doing handstands along the cream cloud bank in the upper third, between the bumpers |
| Other | A further small painted figure in blue near the left upper bumper group and another to the right of the number 4 bumper |
| Other | Two faint marching-band style silhouettes printed on the very top arc behind the bumpers |
Electro-mechanical playfield seen from above under glass in a wooden cabinet, tapering toward the top. Ground colour is slate blue-grey, with a cream cloud bank across the upper third and bright red, white and yellow accents. The lower centre is dominated by a grinning black-and-white clown head in a tall striped top hat and red polka-dot ruff, framed by five cream discs bearing large red numerals 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 in an arc above him, plus a sixth disc with a red '1' at his left. Two light-blue lanes read LITES WHEN 'B' IS HIT and LITES WHEN 'C' IS HIT, each backed by a blue rosette reading 100,000 WHEN LIT, and a ribbon across the clown's chest reads CLOSES GATE WHEN LIT. Vertical strips read 200,000 down both edges and 100,000 on red arrow ribbons. The upper third holds four white bumpers with red rings numbered 2, 3, 4 and 5, a glowing round centre lamp, and small painted clowns in blue and yellow dancing among them. A cream apron card below carries small red rules text.
On the backglass
Written by a machine from the photos, so details may be off.
Backglass
- gold
- brown
- pink
- blue
Fingerprint: Brown tree-trunk archway forming proscenium stage with black silhouetted audience inside. Two dancing showgirls—pale-skinned with side buns in cream bodice and pink shorts; magenta one-piece with yellow sleeves kicking. Tall pale man in black top hat and brown coat profile right edge. "MINSTREL MAN" curved gold lettering. Coloured value panels with tiny top-hatted faces.
A giant brown tree-trunk archway forming a stage opening, with two showgirls dancing inside against a black silhouetted crowd. A staircase of green numbered panels curves up the left side of the arch. A vertical white TILT wordmark beside a stack of brightly coloured value banners, each crowned by a tiny top-hatted grinning face. A pale man in a black top hat and brown coat lurks at the right edge in profile.
Setting
- Brown gradient sky with black musical notes and a treble clef
- Dark wooded backdrop
- Tree-trunk archway forming a stage proscenium
- Black silhouetted audience inside the stage opening
- Dark brown flat field behind the left-hand value panels
Symbols
- Black musical notes in both top corners
- Treble clef at upper left
- Row of small black theatrical masks or top-hatted faces
- Oval numbered medallions 1-7 across the top
- Green stepped numbered ladder
- Curtain valance
Lettering
- Large curved gold block capitals with red drop shadow for the title; red hand-painted script for million; white sans-serif capitals stacked vertically for tilt; white numerals on coloured panels
Themes
- Variety-stage performance
- Dancing showgirls
- Woodland stage
- Musical show
- Scoring ladder
Title on it
- Minstrel man
Text on it
- MINSTREL MAN
- MILLION
- TILT
- 900000
- 800000
- 700000
- 600000
- 500000
- 400000
- 300000
- 200000
- 100000
- 10 20
- 8 9
- 6 7
- 4 5
- 2 3
- 1
- 10.00
- 20.00
- 30.00
- 40
- 50
- 60
- 70
- 80
- 90
| Kind | Description |
|---|---|
| Woman | Front dancer, pale skin, dark hair in two side buns, cream bodice with long yellow sleeves, pink shorts, pink ballet shoes, legs crossed, arms flung wide, holding a pale blue card aloft, smiling open-mouthed |
| Woman | Second dancer behind and right, magenta one-piece with long yellow sleeves, dark hair, one leg kicked back and toe pointed, right arm raised holding a small yellow prop |
| Man | Tall man at right edge in profile facing left, pale grey face, black top hat, brown coat, hands together at his chest |
| Other | Roughly nine tiny grinning faces wearing brown top hats, each peering over the top of a coloured value banner on the left field |
| Other | Black silhouette crowd of heads and raised arms filling the stage opening |
A hand-painted cartoon backglass with a woodland-and-stage theme. Across the top, curved block lettering in gold with a red shadow reads MINSTREL MAN on a brown gradient sky, flanked by black musical notes and a treble clef. Below it an arc of coloured oval medallions carries the numerals 1 through 7 in pink, yellow, blue and green. The right two-thirds is dominated by a rough brown tree-trunk archway forming a proscenium stage; a black silhouetted audience fills the opening, and MILLION is painted in red script across the upper curtain. Two showgirls dance inside the arch: the front woman, pale-skinned with dark hair in side buns, wears a cream bodice with yellow sleeves and pink shorts and pink shoes, legs crossed in a ballet pose, both arms flung wide, a pale blue card or sheet held aloft in her raised right hand. Behind her a second woman in a magenta leotard with yellow sleeves kicks one leg back, arm raised holding a small yellow prop. At the right edge a tall pale-faced man in a brown coat and black top hat stands in profile facing left. The left third is a dark brown field of brightly coloured value panels: a vertical stack of 900000 down to 100000 in orange, green, pink and blue banner shapes, each topped by a tiny grinning top-hatted face, plus red 80, green 70, blue 60, yellow 50 and pink 40 discs. White TILT lettering runs vertically, and a green stepped ladder of numbered panels climbs the arch. Dominant colours are gold, brown, pink and blue.