Collector Value Est.
$1,000–$1,800
USD · Market estimate
Near-mint / restored. Worn or stored examples sell for 30–60% less.
Gottlieb · 1947
Humpty Dumpty
“Announcing... The Greatest Triumph in Pin Game History - Sensationally New Player Controlled Flipper Bumpers..The player will Laugh! The Spectator will Roar! The operator will be Thrilled!”
Notable Features
Flippers (6), Passive bumpers (10), Kick-out holes (2). Backglass stop-motion light animation (Humpty Dumpty falls). Illuminated credit display on backglass.
Historical Notes
Flippers were already used on many games prior to 1947, but they were non-electrical, entirely mechanical. Some games had eight mechanical flippers, such as Ad-Lee Company's 1932 'Double-Shuffle'. Most were "manually-operated" bats used on baseball games, one to a playfield. 'Humpty Dumpty' is the first pinball machine manufactured with flippers that were electromechanical. According to the book Pinball 1, David Gottlieb wanted to name this game 'Flipper' but a legal check found a patented countertop game that had a manual bat, Smith Manufacturing Company's 1932 'Flipper'. Teaser ads for this game began appearing in The Billboard starting with the Oct-11-1947 issue. Gottlieb announced this game in the Nov-1-1947 issue and where a distributor advertised they were "now delivering" it. Included in this listing is an image of a Billboard ad where a distributor enthusiastically thanks Gottlieb "for making the greatest improvement in the history of pin games". 'Humpty Dumpty' was out for less than a month at the time the ad was published, highlighting the immediate impact this game had on the industry. Harry Mabs, a Gottlieb employee, is credited with inventing the EM flipper. Jerry Koci, who worked for Chicago Coin, claimed to have invented it, for which he received a patent. See Chicago Coin's 1947 'Bermuda' for more information. A method of player-control other than flippers is found on Rock-ola's 1932 'Juggle Ball'.
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