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Re: Putting Coinslot archive online

Posted: Tue Nov 16, 2021 8:57 am
by brigham
In which case I suggest a less high-handed approach might be adopted.
Perhaps an apology if copyright has inadvertently been breached, rather than a disrespectful dismissal.

Re: Putting Coinslot archive online

Posted: Tue Nov 16, 2021 6:56 pm
by daleman
You may be interested to learn that Nic Costa, author of Automatic Pleasures, More Automatic Pleasures, and numerous articles in both the UK and US Coin Slot magazines has donated all his research materials (totalling some 16 banana boxes crammed with paper archives, photos, catalogues etc related to the coin op world from its inception through to the early 90s to the University of Canterbury Christchurch where over the coming months they will gradually be put online by the University. Anybody interested in the subject will be able to access it free of charge.
The establishment of the Nic Costa Archive will hopefully attract others to contribute items as well.
https://niccosta.org/

Re: Putting Coinslot archive online

Posted: Tue Nov 16, 2021 7:53 pm
by pennymachines
That's fantastic. Thanks for letting us know. !!THUMBSX2!!
I'm assuming it doesn’t include the World's Fair Coinslot archive.

Re: Putting Coinslot archive online

Posted: Tue Nov 16, 2021 8:49 pm
by 13rebel
Looking forward to it. :D

Re: Putting Coinslot archive online

Posted: Tue Nov 16, 2021 9:21 pm
by badpenny
What a superb decision.
I guess it preserves and protects his life's work from the misguided out there that think it's ok to rudely copy then present low grade quality versions.
As if they're doing everyone a favour.
Well done Nic.

BP !!THUMBSX2!!

Re: Putting Coinslot archive online

Posted: Wed Nov 17, 2021 4:10 pm
by daleman
Nic has asked me to thank you all for your complements. A state owned digital archive dedicated to our subject is long overdue
It doesn’t include the Coin slot digital archive- and apparently the existing World’s Fair digital archive also does not include the Coin slot section. The university does have a copy of the World’s Fair digital archive
The Nic Costa Archive amongst other things does contain a series handwritten notebooks with dates, listings and notes of salient coin op info published in the World’s Fair from its inception through to the 1960s as well as other coin op related journals as well as an interrelated card system listing and dating thousands of machines and hundreds of companies. It took a long time to compile and will all take a long time to upload –if ever-(this was in the pre computer days).
There are two salutary lessons in all of this:
1. Greed/ selfishness- a certain now dead well know collector had misappropriated for himself the wonderful document bequeathed to Sheffield by Dennison’s daughters, as a consequence Nic was unable to refer to this when writing his book and neither was anybody else. Luckily following publication of the story in Automatic Pleasures the rogue collector was shamed and the ‘missing’ work mysteriously reappeared and is now thankfully available for all.
2. Family/ accidents. Nic for decades had been lovingly keeping a tape-recording of an interview he did with Freddie Bolland many decades ago. A very rare treasure to hear the old man himself talking about his life. This too was donated to Canterbury...but horror sometime in the intervening years his young daughters secretly got hold of the recorder and recording and taped their mock interview over the top!!! There’s no guarantee that your family will have the same interest in the subject as yourself!!

However, at last there is now a public archive in the UK devoted to Coin Operated Machines which will be accessible to all free of charge. Hopefully others with donate and help it to grow.
And any of you who don’t have a copy just to remind you both of Nic’s books are still available from Amazon –happy reading!!!

Re: Putting Coinslot archive online

Posted: Wed Nov 17, 2021 4:44 pm
by arrgee
That is very good news, hopefully others will be able to add their own valuable information/research to the Archive as well.

Re: Putting Coinslot archive online

Posted: Wed Nov 17, 2021 4:52 pm
by treefrog
However, at last there is now a public archive in the UK devoted to Coin Operated Machines which will be accessible to all free of charge. Hopefully others with donate and help it to grow.[/quote]

As a matter of interest, where is this public archive in the U.K. !PUZZLED! or are you referring to this site? Did Nic Costa move to New Zealand for this to be in Christchurch?

Well it would be good if this information ever gets finished and made available. Over the years you hear of so many who say they have so much history and documents that they will make available. Freddie Bailey comes to mind, and I should think some of the long the tooth collectors out there are sitting on pilesof info that has never been shared. :#: As mentioned many times, the collectors world people put a value on “their” source…….

Re: Putting Coinslot archive online

Posted: Wed Nov 17, 2021 6:36 pm
by bryans fan
!!YIPPEE!!
Wonderful news!

Re: Putting Coinslot archive online

Posted: Wed Nov 17, 2021 7:06 pm
by moonriver
daleman wrote: Wed Nov 17, 2021 4:10 pm
1. Greed/ selfishness- a certain now dead well know collector had misappropriated for himself the wonderful document bequeathed to Sheffield by Dennison’s daughters, as a consequence Nic was unable to refer to this when writing his book and neither was anybody else. Luckily following publication of the story in Automatic Pleasures the rogue collector was shamed and the ‘missing’ work mysteriously reappeared and is now thankfully available for all.
The Dennison diary was bequeathed to Leeds Museums by the daughters and is still held at Abbey House Museum where it is not on public display.
The diary is quite small and unassuming from the outside and easy to see how it could have been overlooked in plain sight within bookcases for a time. The Museum's line is that the diary has always been there.
Abbey House Museum has some of the daughter's best working models on operational display.

Re: Putting Coinslot archive online

Posted: Thu Nov 18, 2021 2:05 pm
by daleman
We stand corrected re location of the work. It was however 'missing' for a number of years and only reappeared in its rightful place after publication of the book. Of course no museum curator will admit this but it was definitely the case back then.
As 'unassuming' as the Dennison book is it is a rare example of somebody in the trade bequeathing something for the greater good. Its actually a very interesting document.

The Nic Costa Archive is located at the University in Canterbury in the south of England.

Re: Putting Coinslot archive online

Posted: Thu Nov 18, 2021 9:44 pm
by moonriver
daleman wrote: Thu Nov 18, 2021 2:05 pm We stand corrected re location of the work. It was however 'missing' for a number of years and only reappeared in its rightful place after publication of the book. Of course no museum curator will admit this but it was definitely the case back then.
As 'unassuming' as the Dennison book is it is a rare example of somebody in the trade bequeathing something for the greater good. Its actually a very interesting document.

I agree bequeathing the diary to the Museum was a fantastic thing for them to have done. I have a copy of it, it is quite spectacular in its content and the information and original photographs of most of the models in the note book the daughters Alice and Eveline kept.

Right down to their added written comments showing how different models were performing and which were the best ones and how they updated models to make them more popular and increase the cash box take.
For example in 1926 with their 'Eugene Aram Murder' model, the diary entry shows by adding a skeleton outside the raising and lowering curtain in front of the cave scene, and adding the word 'MURDER' across the black curtain this increased its popularity with the public.
They would also add comments underneath certain models in the diary such as "this was a winner", and "one of our cleverest models".

At the back of the diary is a fascinating insight into the accounts, annual takings figures listed from 1921 to 1944 during a period the models were exhibited at Blackpool Tower.

Re: Putting Coinslot archive online

Posted: Wed Nov 24, 2021 7:06 pm
by cait001
daleman wrote: Tue Nov 16, 2021 6:56 pm You may be interested to learn that Nic Costa, author of Automatic Pleasures, More Automatic Pleasures, and numerous articles in both the UK and US Coin Slot magazines has donated all his research materials (totalling some 16 banana boxes crammed with paper archives, photos, catalogues etc related to the coin op world from its inception through to the early 90s to the University of Canterbury Christchurch where over the coming months they will gradually be put online by the University. Anybody interested in the subject will be able to access it free of charge.
The establishment of the Nic Costa Archive will hopefully attract others to contribute items as well.
https://niccosta.org/
OH HELL YES THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!
We can't take it with us.

Re: Putting Coinslot archive online

Posted: Wed Nov 24, 2021 7:09 pm
by cait001
daleman wrote: Wed Nov 17, 2021 4:10 pm Nic has asked me to thank you all for your complements. A state owned digital archive dedicated to our subject is long overdue
It doesn’t include the Coin slot digital archive- and apparently the existing World’s Fair digital archive also does not include the Coin slot section. The university does have a copy of the World’s Fair digital archive
The Nic Costa Archive amongst other things does contain a series handwritten notebooks with dates, listings and notes of salient coin op info published in the World’s Fair from its inception through to the 1960s as well as other coin op related journals as well as an interrelated card system listing and dating thousands of machines and hundreds of companies. It took a long time to compile and will all take a long time to upload –if ever-(this was in the pre computer days).
There are two salutary lessons in all of this:
1. Greed/ selfishness- a certain now dead well know collector had misappropriated for himself the wonderful document bequeathed to Sheffield by Dennison’s daughters, as a consequence Nic was unable to refer to this when writing his book and neither was anybody else. Luckily following publication of the story in Automatic Pleasures the rogue collector was shamed and the ‘missing’ work mysteriously reappeared and is now thankfully available for all.
2. Family/ accidents. Nic for decades had been lovingly keeping a tape-recording of an interview he did with Freddie Bolland many decades ago. A very rare treasure to hear the old man himself talking about his life. This too was donated to Canterbury...but horror sometime in the intervening years his young daughters secretly got hold of the recorder and recording and taped their mock interview over the top!!! There’s no guarantee that your family will have the same interest in the subject as yourself!!

However, at last there is now a public archive in the UK devoted to Coin Operated Machines which will be accessible to all free of charge. Hopefully others with donate and help it to grow.
And any of you who don’t have a copy just to remind you both of Nic’s books are still available from Amazon –happy reading!!!

This is all so lovely. Do you know how to access the university's World's Fair digital archive? Is it available through university transfer programs, I wonder?

Re: Putting Coinslot archive online

Posted: Wed Nov 24, 2021 7:12 pm
by cait001
is there a contact email for Nic Costa and/or anyone administering the Nic Costa Archive?
Are they in need of resources, funding, etc?

Re: Putting Coinslot archive online

Posted: Wed Nov 24, 2021 7:32 pm
by cait001
:didact:
This is also a good reminder that whatever your passions are, you can't expect your family to give a crap about them when you die.
So if you have an unwieldly physical collection, make arrangements for disbursement while you're still alive. Make it a regular thing to revisit as you do your will.
If you have a collection of knowledge and/or ephemera, do you best to ensure it doesn't pass with you. !SAINT!

Re: Putting Coinslot archive online

Posted: Thu Nov 25, 2021 9:46 am
by daleman
Great remarks. The person to thank is professor Alan Meades of Canterbury University. He has undertaken the hard work of instigating and setting the archive up. Yes if anybody feels they can positively contribute in terms of helping put the archive online or contributing to it they can contact him directly through the university: alan.meades@canterbury.ac.uk

But please be patient hopefully it will be fully up and running by the summer, and of course any contributions will be fully credited.

Re: Putting Coinslot archive online

Posted: Fri Nov 26, 2021 4:54 am
by cait001
daleman wrote: Thu Nov 25, 2021 9:46 am Great remarks. The person to thank is professor Alan Meades of Canterbury University. He has undertaken the hard work of instigating and setting the archive up. Yes if anybody feels they can positively contribute in terms of helping put the archive online or contributing to it they can contact him directly through the university: alan.meades@canterbury.ac.uk

But please be patient hopefully it will be fully up and running by the summer, and of course any contributions will be fully credited.
Wonderful, sent them an email!

Re: Putting Coinslot archive online

Posted: Fri Nov 26, 2021 11:52 pm
by cait001
dickywink wrote: Tue Nov 09, 2021 11:35 am World's Fair being available online is something I would like to see also, just like what has been done with Billboard.

The coin slot section I believe first became part of the World's Fair newspaper publication in the early fifties.

I understand there is an archive of World's Fair papers at Sheffield University, in the National Fairground and circus archive: https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/nfca
Not sure if they have kept the coin slot sections though.
https://archiveshub.jisc.ac.uk/search/a ... 0adcd50e25

All we need is a large format scanner and a lot of time :)

all the best ... Dicky
Hello, did Coin Slot exist before the early 1950s? Or was it born as part of World's Fair in the early 1950s?
I don't want to get confused.


Does anyone here have copies of Coin Slot from before 1966? Any at all?
If so please do get in touch. Thank you!
(66-99 are apparently accounted for currently and will hopefully be digitized eventually.)

As was mentioned in another post here, and confirmed externally, Sheffield doesn't seem to have any of the coin slot inserts in their archive.

Re: Putting Coinslot archive online

Posted: Sat Nov 27, 2021 8:39 am
by cheeky
Does anyone here have copies of Coin Slot from before 1966? Any at all?
If so please do get in touch. Thank you!
(66-99 are apparently accounted for currently and will hopefully be digitized eventually.)
Sadly no but that’s great news. !!THUMBSX2!!