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Pepsin Gum

Automatic Sales Co., Lansing, MI, c. 1903, 10". This is a 2-column machine with a clockwork mechanism that sold a tab of gum for a penny. Machines with clockwork mechanisms seemed to be popular around the turn of the 20^th century, with the Buffalo Gum, Colgan's Taffy Tolu, wood Zenos and porcelain Zenos, early Pulvers such as the Wood Pulver and tin-litho Pulver, Enterprise Peanuts, and the Knapsack Matches vendor being good examples. This model is deeper than it is wide, and as you can see above, that depth is needed to pack everything in.

The machine above is 100% original except for maybe the decal, which I can't verify one way or the other. What attracted me to this machine initially was the wood top and base---had they been steel or cast iron I'm not sure I'd have been as interested, not because I don't like steel and cast iron but the wood struck me as different for this type of vendor. I first saw it at the November 2019 Chicagoland show and didn't jump right on it because I was too distracted by other stellar machines in the same seller's booth, several of which I bought. After the show I thought about this one a bit more and its esteem grew in my mind. I called the seller and he still had it, so I told him I'd buy it. It's a rare model; I'm not sure how many exist but I'd guess it's no more than a handful.