Clothing
+ Fashion
Jewelry +
Watches
Home +
Furniture
 Pottery 
+ Glass
Art +
 Photos 
Paper +
  Books  
Music +
Movies
Toys +
Games
Sports +
Outdoors
Ads +
  Signs  
Eras +
Themes

The first coin-operated phonograph made its debut at the Palais Royale in San Francisco in 1889. The brainchild of Louis Glass and William Arnold, it featured a coin slot that activated an Edison Class M Electric Phonograph. There were no speakers (customers held a tube to their ears) but despite this limitation, the contraption earned its entrepreneurs $1,000 in just six months, one nickel at a time.

The Glass/Arnold/Edison machine was not really a jukebox in the way we know them today, bu...

In 1927, the Automatic Music Instrument Corporation (AMI) introduced the first electronic jukebox. Suddenly every place where people gathered — be it a roadhouse, café, or house of ill repute — had to have its own “automatic phonograph,” as the devices were then called. During Prohibition, no self-respecting speakeasy would be without one.

After Prohibition, sales initially soared, but jukebox manufacturers had created a problem for themselves — their machines were too well built and the technology was not changing rapidly enough to justify their replacement. One company, Wurlitzer, tackled this dilemma by offering healthy trade-in credits to customers. Once an old model was turned in, it was destroyed, creating the scarcity that has made some of these early jukeboxes so valuable.

Seeburg was another early manufacturer, launching its jukebox division in 1935. To differentiate its products from AMI and Wurlitzer, Seeberg hired Nils Miller, who incorporated new, tough, moldable phenolic resins into Seeburg’s Art Deco era designs. Not to be outdone, Wurlitzer also created a string of eye-catching models. In 1939, its round-cornered, wood-and-metal trimmed Model 600 was the most popular jukebox in the country. Translucent Italian onyx was used on the Model 700. And the Model 850, known as the Peacock for the birds that adorned its ornate case, used spinning acetate Polaroid discs to create a mesmerizing mini light show for its listening customers.

Another important player in the pre-war era was David Rockola, who purchased the Gabel patents and started Rock-Ola, the only surviving independent manufacturer today. The Rock-Ola machines of the post-war era (particularly the MAGIC GLO boxes with their wooden grilles, molded plastic pilasters, and gleaming chrome) are some of the handsomest ever made, although fans of the iconic Wurlitzer Model 1015 would probably have something to say about that.

By the 1940s, jukeboxes had become elaborate, almost ceremonial public objects, altars to music, if you will. Outside, their wood, glass, and plastic forms frequently echoed the prevailing aesthetic of late Art Deco and Streamline Moderne. Inside, the machines were color blind to the racial inequities that plagued the public airwaves, playing such artists as Bessie Smith and Muddy Waters (or whomever its owner thought customers would like), who were largely excluded from the radio. Thus, jukeboxes were an important part of our social culture, as well as drop-dead gorgeous machines that made people want to get up and dance.

Key terms for Vintage Jukeboxes

Phenolic resin: The principle material in Bakelite and other high-density plastics.

Pilaster: A column built into, and projecting from, a wall. In the case of jukeboxes, the pilasters are the vertical elements, be they wood or plastic, at the corners of the box.

About our sources | Got something to add?

▼ Expand to read the full article ▼

Show & Tell - Share Your Stuff!

» See all jukeboxes Show & Tells

Interviews & Articles

Scopitone: '60s Music Videos You've Never Seen

Before MTV, and long before we could stream music videos on our cell phones, mid-1960s American hepcats gathered around 500-pound,… [more]

Why People Flip Over Vintage Pinball Machines

I didn’t really get into to pinball machine collecting until maybe 15 years ago, but when I was a freshman in college, video games… [more]



Best of the Web (“Hall of Fame”)

International Arcade Museum

International Arcade Museum

This site boasts more than 13,000 pages of educational content on arcade and coin-op collecting, including innumera… [read review or visit site]

Falvo Collectables Gallery

Falvo Collectables Gallery

Ralph and Carol Falvo's excellent collection of automobiles, petroliana, jukeboxes, soda, and general store items. … [read review or visit site]

PinballHQ.com

PinballHQ.com

An enormous database focusing on pinball machines and other arcade games from the 1930s and on, from a collector wh… [read review or visit site]

Piggy Banks and Famous Potteries

Piggy Banks and Famous Potteries

Roger Owen's showcase of over 180 beautiful 20th century British and European piggy banks, with background on their… [read review or visit site]



Other Great Reference Sites: Coin Operated

Top eBay Auctions

Showing 60. See all 95 by  highest bidmost watchedcompleted
Wurlitzer Jukebox 1700hf Restored To Grade 1Original 1947 1015 Wurlitzer Jukebox -Wurlitzer 1015 100 Cd Bubble Jukebox 2007 Model Excellent Condition Full Size1948 Mills Jukebox Model 951-w1939 Wurlitzer Model 500a Jukebox 1930's Mills Studio Jukebox, Antique, Vintage1951 M100b Seeburg Jukebox - RestoredInternet Digital Jukebox- Nsm IconVintage Seeburg C 100 Jukebox Original Complete Condition Wurlitzer Coin OpNsm Digital Thunder Cd JukeboxRare Wurlitzer 120 Catalin Plastic Jukebox Wallbox 700 750 780 800 850 950Seeburg 3w1 Wall Box Wallbox Near Mint ChromeWurlitzer JukeboxAmi Stepper Cca-ccb Relay AssemblyAmi Cca Stepper AssemblyHuge Lot Of Jukeboxes !!!!!!, 19 Units + Various Parts....low Reserve !!!!!!!!Rockola Wallette Commercial Wallbox Model Bbcd-01 Cd Remote Jukebox NosOriginal Seeburg 100 3w1 Wall-o-matic Jukebox Wall UnitSeeburg Cartridge Stereo Model 222 On Up New Stereo RedheadJukebox Ami Rowe Cd100 Jukebox Very NiceWurlitzer 1100 Jukebox Coin Grinder And BracketSeeburg 345-03d Pickering Cartridge Replacement NeedlesNsm Jukebox Model Digital Thunder...no ReserveWurlitzer Jukebox Wallbox #5200 1950`sVintage Wurlitzer Model 5220 With Wall Stand And Wallbox To Cd Changer AdapterAmi Jukebox Wallbox #w120 1950`sJukemaster 100Touchtunes Maestro Digital Jukebox Lcd Touch Screen Wurlitzer Jukebox Wallbox #3045 1940`sRockola Model 1625 Stereo Wall SpeakersMills Dancemaster 12 Selection Jukebox Dial With Fancy Flower Knob Not Wurlitzer46 Pla Mor Jukebox Wallbox #143087 By Packard Manufacturing Corporation. Nsm Or Rowe Cd Pro PlayerWurlitzer 700-800 Coin Slide Yoke Assembly. JukeboxSeeburg 200 Wall-o-matic Jukebox Very Nice ConditionSeeburg M100-c Jukebox Dome Glass & Frame Juke BoxSeeburg Jukebox "g" Mechanism Cover Brand New (blue)Seeburg Jukebox Control Box. Rare.. VintageSeeburg Cartridge Model B And C 100 Select ModelsSeeburg Replacement Sapphire Needles Mono Machines Model B To VTube Amp From Rowe Ami R-3390-a Tested And Working, All TubesSeeburg Jukebox Mechanism "b" Cover Brand New (beige Color)Seeburg Brand New Remote Volume ControlSeeburg Model M100c Interior Side Mirror Panels - Pair - Good ConditionRock-ola Trilogy Great ShapeRowe Cd 100 Cdm12 Pro Player WorkingSeeburg M100-c Jukebox Mech Mechanism No Reserve Juke BoxSeeburg Background Cartridge And NeedlesSeeburg Background Unit NeedlesWurlitzer 1015 Jukebox Original Side Red Plastic Set Nsm Jukebox - City ModelWurlitzer 1100 Jukebox Cash Box And HousingSeeburg C Jukebox 15" Speaker Original Excellent ConditionWurlitzer 1015 Jukebox Original Top Red Plastic Nsm Cd Fire Control UnitRock-ola Rockola Jukebox 1530 Wallbox New Mint Button Set 1422 1426 1428 Golden Tee Complete MarqueeSeeburg Jukebox Model Bl Mirror SetWurlitzer 850 Jukebox Selection Button Assembly And Wiring Harness
»» Get our weekly Jukeboxes email
Right now on eBay