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Mo-Jo / Roth and Langley

Roth and Langley, Brooklyn NY, c. 1915, 10". It's not a Mo-Jo, but it's called that in Silent Salesmen Too. The story there is that the example of this model that's pictured in the book has a Mo-Jo decal, so....you know. I suspect it'll be forever called a Mo-Jo as long as Silent Salesmen Too remains the vending bible. Mine doesn't have a decal so I guess it's a plain ol' Roth and Langley; does that make it more or less special?

The example shown in Silent Salesmen Too also has tiger-striped paint---very cool tiger-striped paint! When I first saw the one pictured above I thought it had an old vendor repaint, and factored that into my interest/price evaluation. I say "evaluation" like it's a methodical, scientific assessment---very objective without a hint of emotion. It's actually the opposite. How much do I like it compared to how much does it cost? Well, I own this so my interest-to-price ratio (normalized to their respective baseline reference levels, of course) was obviously favorable. After I bought it I realized in a "duh!"-type moment that just 'cause the paint on the machine in the book is tiger-striped, that doesn't mean all Roth and Langleys are tiger-striped. It was a rookie mistake on my part and maybe I should take that secret to my grave, but it's too late now. It's original paint, just like others told me it was at the time, and it's exactly the kind of original paint I like: Old, all there, and a little scuffed and a little crusty, which all together produce Just the Right Look. The story of tiger-striped-versus-non-tiger-striped-so-is-it-original, by the way, is consistent with about 900 other models that came in various paint colors and other finishes such as porcelain, nickel, and chrome, so that the one in the book represents one option but is not the only option. Just one example of this is the Columbus Model M, which came not only in different colors but at least three different finishes: Porcelain, which is the most common; painted, which is less common; and plated, which is pretty uncommon. Among painted Columbus M's I've seen red and I've seen green, and among porcelain M's almost all are green but I've seen at least one orange example. Among plated M's....well, they're all silver.

But back to the Mo-Jo Roth and Langley, 'cause after all this is its page. Not "it's" page, mind you; note the correct use of "its" and let it be a lesson to you! But I digress again....

The Mo-Jo Roth and Langley feels like it's made of thick sheet metal. It's hefty, which is always a good feature. Mr. Enes said he's amazed that any of the globes survived because they're put on upside down and are held in place by a steel tension rod. I've removed and reinstalled the globe on this one and don't recall the details but I do remember thinking it was a bit tricky and not really trusting that it was attached well until I set the intact machine rightside up and tested the globe's connection. It was solid so I must have done it correctly, but I'm always gonna be careful with this machine when handling it.

This example is 100% original except the globe, which is a repro. In this case Mr. Enes was prescient.