The Cailly Bros Slot Machine

01-05-2021
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The Detroit-based Caille Bros. Manufacturing Company along with Chicago-based Mills Novelty Company, were one of the most successful companies in the United States coin-operated machine industry during the 19th century and early 20th century.[1][2][3] They became popular releasing not only slot machines, but grew the company to encompass arcade games, weight scales, strength testers, gum machines and Bagatelle-style games.[4][5] They also produced a popular line of outboard motors.[6][7] Once penny arcades began to decline Caille even built coin-operated 'moving picture' machines, sometimes called nickelodeons. Following the death of company President A. Arthur Caille in 1916, the company continued to release mainly trade simulators and gambling machines, but with little variety in their mechanical game output, were overtaken by newer players such as A.B.T, Erie Machine co., Chester Pollard and Exhibit Supply, eventually leading Adolph A. Caille, the surviving brother, to sell the business to Fuller Johnson in 1932.[8]

Musical Double Upright Slot Machine. Oak case has 4 long turned corner columns on the front, oak bezels around the front glasses and iron plates and inset beveled side panels, signed with a decal which reads 'C.B. Co., Detroit, USA', all relief mounts in cast iron and having a brushed copper.

LIVE PLAY on Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Slot Machine with Bonuses. Up For Auction is one of My Slot Machines. This one is Caille Brothers Cadet. This machine looks good with some wear and tear from usage threw out the long years its been around.

History[edit]

The cailly bros slot machine game

The Cailly Bros Slot Machine Arcade

Caille Brothers Building in Detroit

The business had its inception in 1893, when Auguste Arthur Caille, often referred to as A. Arthur, at age 30 founded the Caille Company and began operations in the city of Saginaw, Michigan, where he maintained headquarters until 1896.[3][9] The Caille Company was incorporated under the laws of the state of Michigan in 1901,[3] when A. Arthur partnered with his older brother, Adolph Arthur Caille, and they relocated to Detroit, Michigan and laid the foundation for the Caille Bros. Manufacturing Company.[10] Their initial operations were based on a capital stock of three hundred thousand dollars,[3] which when adjusting for inflation, is about $8.5 million today. Both brothers were practical mechanics and skilled artisans, as both demonstrated a distinctive ability for the invention of mechanical devices.[3] The original factory in Detroit was a modest one and located at the corner of Woodward and Baltimore Avenues,[3] but later relocated when the Caille brothers took over the former Vanderbilt Match Co. factory on Second Avenue near Amsterdam Street in 1904. Located at 1300-1350 Second Avenue,[11] they established the Caille Brothers Building - the fine, modern plant utilized by the company as their world headquarters[11] until the business was sold in 1932.[8] The Caille Bros. headquarters was constructed of brick and stone, and the main building, one hundred and twenty by three hundred and fifty feet in dimensions, was three stories tall, not including the basement.[3] The factory proper, a single story, sat at the rear of the main building.[3] By 1904, they had become the largest employer in Detroit, Michigan.[12] The automobile industry, which started growing a few years later acquired a lot of employees from the Caille Bros. It was their coin-slot devices that ultimately led to the establishment of penny arcades, places where various coin operated machines could be played. The enormous sales volume of the coin slot machines produced by the Caille Bros. Manufacturing Company testify to their distinctive merit of having produced slot machines of the highest quality and design in their day, earning the Caille Bros. a reputation as the 'Rolls Royce' of floor machines.[8] They would eventually expand their product line to include other items such as marine motors, scales, and the conveyor belts used in grocery stores.[5][9][13][14][10] The Caille Bros. Manufacturing Company maintained branch offices in New York, Chicago and Paris.[10] The stock of the company was virtually controlled by the Caille brothers, of whom A. Arthur Caille served as President and General Manager, and Adolph A., Vice-President and Secretary.[3][9][10] The former had the general supervision of the finance and sales departments of the business, and the latter had charge of the manufacturing and the directing of the general accounting and office affairs.[3]

Patents[edit]

  • Caille, Auguste Arthur. Vending-machine. US 730232, United States Patent and Trademark Office, 9 June 1903.[15]
  • Caille, Auguste Arthur. Printing or Embossing Machine. US 783927, United States Patent and Trademark Office, 28 February 1905.[16]
  • Caille, Auguste Arthur. Casing for Coin-Actuated Machines. US 262686, United States Patent and Trademark Office, 11 July 1905.[17]
  • Caille, Auguste Arthur. Foldable Rudder. US 1107408, United States Patent and Trademark Office, 18 August 1914.[18]

Notable games[edit]

Cail-O-Scope, manufactured by the Caille Brothers, similar to Thomas Edison's Kinetoscope
  • Detroit Floor Wheel[19] (1898)
  • Multi Tester (1900s)
  • Forty-Five[20] (1900-1909)
  • Apollo Muscle Test[21] (1901-1910)
  • Black Cat[22] (1902)
  • Little Wonder Skill Mach.[23] (1902)
  • Log Cabin[24] (1902)
  • Caille-O-Scope[25] (1904)
  • Mickey Finn (a.k.a. Tug-Of-War)[26] (1904)
  • Tower Lifter[27] (1904)
  • Centaur[28] (1907)
  • Silver Cup[29] (1909-1915)
  • Rubber-Neck Blowing Machine[30] (1913)
  • Superior Jackpot[31] (1926-1932)
  • Silent Sphinx[32] (1931-1933)

References[edit]

The Cailly Bros Slot Machine Free Play

  1. ^'The Caille Brothers Building'. January 25, 2010. Retrieved August 8, 2015.
  2. ^Historical Interlude: The History of Coin-Op Part 3, Pinball Retrieved August 8, 2015.
  3. ^ abcdefghijHISTORY AND BIOGRAPHY. 1908.
  4. ^Manufacturer: Caille Bros. Co. The International Arcade Museum Retrieved August 8, 2015.
  5. ^ ab'Trade catalogs from Caille Brothers Co., Inc'. National Museum of American History. Retrieved 2018-10-21.
  6. ^'Caille and Martin: Birth of the Outboard Motor Industry'. Boothbay Register. Retrieved 2018-10-21.
  7. ^Magazines, Hearst (January 1913). Popular Mechanics. Hearst Magazines.
  8. ^ abc'Squires & Corrie Antique Slot Machines, Parts and Restoration'. squiresandcorrie.com. Retrieved 2018-10-21.
  9. ^ abcBurton, Clarence Monroe; Stocking, William; Miller, Gordon K. (1922). The City of Detroit, Michigan, 1701-1922. S. J. Clarke publishing Company.
  10. ^ abcdTHE BOOK DETROITERS. 1914.
  11. ^ ab'Caille Brothers Catalog'(PDF).
  12. ^Citation error. See inline comment how to fix.[verification needed]
  13. ^'Caille Brothers Company'. DetroitYES Forums. Retrieved 2018-10-21.
  14. ^Fogelman, Randall (2004-06-09). Detroit's New Center. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN9781439614938.
  15. ^Caille. 'US730232A Vending-machine'(PDF).
  16. ^Office, United States Patent (1905). Specifications and Drawings of Patents Issued from the United States Patent Office for ... U.S. Government Printing Office.
  17. ^Official Gazette of the United States Patent Office. The Office. 1906.
  18. ^'Caille Foldable Rudder patent'. cailleoutboards.com. Retrieved 2018-10-21.
  19. ^'Detroit Floor Wheel - Slot Machine by Caille Bros. Co'. www.arcade-museum.com. Retrieved 2018-10-21.
  20. ^'Forty-Five - Slot Machine by Caille Bros. Co'. www.arcade-museum.com. Retrieved 2018-10-21.
  21. ^'Apollo Muscle Test - Arcade by Caille Bros. Co'. www.arcade-museum.com. Retrieved 2018-10-21.
  22. ^'Black Cat - Slot Machine by Caille Bros. Co'. www.arcade-museum.com. Retrieved 2018-10-21.
  23. ^'Little Wonder Skill Mach. - Trade Stimulator by Caille Bros. Co'. www.arcade-museum.com. Retrieved 2018-10-21.
  24. ^'Log Cabin - Pinball by Caille Bros. Co'. www.arcade-museum.com. Retrieved 2018-10-21.
  25. ^'Cail-O-Scope - Arcade by Caille Bros. Co'. www.arcade-museum.com. Retrieved 2018-10-21.
  26. ^'Mickey Finn (a.k.a. Tug-Of-War) - Arcade by Caille Bros. Co'. www.arcade-museum.com. Retrieved 2018-10-21.
  27. ^'Tower Lifter - Arcade by Caille Bros. Co'. www.arcade-museum.com. Retrieved 2018-10-21.
  28. ^'Centaur - Slot Machine by Caille Bros. Co'. www.arcade-museum.com. Retrieved 2018-10-21.
  29. ^'Silver Cup - Slot Machine by Caille Bros. Co'. www.arcade-museum.com. Retrieved 2018-10-21.
  30. ^'Rubber-Neck Blowing Machine - Arcade by Caille Bros. Co'. www.arcade-museum.com. Retrieved 2018-10-21.
  31. ^'Superior Jackpot - Slot Machine by Caille Bros. Co'. www.arcade-museum.com. Retrieved 2018-10-21.
  32. ^'Silent Sphinx - Slot Machine by Caille Bros. Co'. www.arcade-museum.com. Retrieved 2018-10-21.
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Caille_Bros.&oldid=990242542'

The Cailly Bros Slot Machine Game

From my childhood, one of the things I remember was playing an old slot machine in my grandparents garage. A nickel slot machine, I really knew nothing much about the machine, other than my grandpa had bought it from a place he once worked at, repairing pinball, slot, and jukebox machines. It didn't turn me into some chronic gambler and ruin my life, and at the time, I didn't even have a clue what gambling was.
My grandpa would pass away in 1992, and the slot machine would sit in my grandma's garage for many years, until one day she asked whether I wanted it. Sure, it was a piece that I always thought was cool, and no way I was turning it down. Instead of hauling it up to Detroit, to my apartment, I took it next door to my parents, where it would sit for at least another 10 years or so.
Yesterday, I finally figured it was time to bring it home. I put it in the back of our truck, and to Detroit it went. I knew it needed some work, as it had quit working later on in my childhood, so I knew I'd have to drop some coin to get it fixed.
Today, I emailed a repair shop in Chelsea, MI, ironically, not too far from where I grew up. I was surprised to learn that the slot machine was a 1936 Caille Cadet, manufactured by the Caille Brothers Company in Detroit. The company was originally in Saginaw Michigan, and relocated to Detroit. In addition to my slot machine, the company built 223 machines dating back to 1897. They also built outboard boat motors, which they would later sell off to Sears and Roebuck. At it's peak, the company employed some 500 employees.
I was curious where they were in Detroit, and more importantly, whether the building was still there. I was shocked to find that the building has not only survived, is mere blocks from where my wife works, and blocks from where I patrol at work. In addition, it's probably about 1 mile from where we now live.
From the cornfields outside of Adrian, Michigan, back to within a mile from where it was built, it made an already sentimental piece to me that much more significant. I had estimated the machine to be from the 1950's, judging by the style, and was somewhat surprised to discover it was in fact a 1936.
The older I get, the more I appreciate the older things in life. My milk shakes at home are still mixed by a 1942 Hamilton Beach milkshake mixer, and it works as good as ever, ways a ton, and screams American ingenuity with long lasting quality.
I love watching Pawn Stars, American Pickers, and American Restoration, more than anything, because they take pieces of Americana save them, and often times, restore them.
I often wonder, what will we treasure 25,50, or even 100 years from now? I find it hard to believe that anybody will see value in items bought at Home Depot, made in China, or whoever the next cheap 3rd world country sweat shop that makes the junk we buy for pennies on the dollor. It's sad really, as the collectibility of items made today is basically non-existant, as we've become such a throw-away/recycle it society.