Brighton Museum: The Gipsy Slot Machine

Manufactured in London by the Adelphi Manufacturing Company in the early 1930s[1], The ‘Gipsy’ Fortune-teller slot machine (fig. 1&2) was a popular wooden slot machine and tourist attraction on Brighton’s Palace Pier[2]. The machine worked “on receipt of a coin [where it] dispensed fortune-telling cards”[3]. Looking at the slots on the machine (fig. 2), it is shown to have separate coin insertion slots for women and men, suggesting that the fortunes given were gender-specific and varied depending on which slot was used by the viewer. Brighton had become a popular destination for day-trippers. This was due to the introduction of the railway, a new law that made employers give staff days off work, and many attractions such as an aquarium and electric railways[4].

This arguably prompted construction of the Palace Pier as its main purpose was to attract day-trippers, compared to the Chain and West piers which were for promenading and providing venues for shows and entertainers respectively[5]. The Gipsy is an example of a penny-in-the-slot machine which were popular on the Palace Pier as they, along with funfair rides, eventually replaced human entertainers[6]. This makes the object interesting to historians because it shows a history of Brighton tourism and how people in the first half of the 20th century interacted with the city and pier when on day-trips and holidays. The Gipsy also shows what appealed to people in different time periods in Brighton, and the UK, as the shift in interest from human entertainers to machines suggests a change in attitudes with the time as well as a change in interest with the development of different technologies.

Bibliography

“Resort” information plaque, Brighton Museum and Art Gallery.

“The ‘Gipsy’ Fortune-teller slot machine” information plaque, Brighton Museum and Art Gallery.

“The Gipsy” Royal Pavilion and Museums, Brighton and Hove. Brighton and Hove City Council [n.d]. Web. 18 October 2018. https://brightonmuseums.org.uk

Illustrations

Fig. 1 - Adelphi Manufacturing Company. The ‘Gipsy’ Fortune-teller Slot Machine. c. 1900 – 1930. Wood and metal mechanical slot machine. 2020 x 570 x 830 mm. Brighton Museum and Art Gallery. Personal Photograph. C. 2018

Fig. 2 – Adelphi Manufacturing Company. The ‘Gipsy’ Fortune-teller Slot Machine. c. 1900 – 1930. Wood and metal mechanical slot machine. 2020 x 570 x 830 mm. Brighton Museum and Art Gallery. Personal photograph. C. 2018

[1] “The Gipsy”, Royal Pavilion and Museums, Brighton and Hove, Brighton and Hove City Council [n.d]. [2] “The Gipsy”, Royal Pavilion and Museums, Brighton and Hove. [3] “The ‘Gipsy’ Fortune-teller slot machine” information plaque, Brighton Museum and Art Gallery. [4] “Resort” information plaque, Brighton Museum and Art Gallery. [5] “Resort” information plaque [6] “Resort” information plaque

First written October 2018 as a university assignment.