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Sant-Kerchiefs Women's Sanitary Napkin Vendor

Maker unknown, c. 1913, 28". This model is not included in Silent Salesmen Too but it looks to be identical to the Mystery Cup Dispenser shown on page 276 of that masterpiece. I say they're identical but their innards differ because of the different shapes of their intended product. At the behest of the guy I bought this from, I looked at this one specifically to see if it'll vend cups, and it won't. The cup-dispensing version of this machine isn't shown in great detail in Silent Salesmen Too, but there's no doubt it's the same model except for the product difference. The model has a flat top on the glass column---can we call it a globe?---which I believe is unique.

This machine is cool on its surface but also has an innovative and well-designed aspect to it that's hidden completely inside. Keep reading because I show it in pictures below and walk you through it. The feature increased my interest in the machine when I was debating whether to buy it, and it's worth knowing if ever have the chance to buy one of these.

Here's a picture of the metal base of the globe (yeah, I'm calling it a globe!). This is the part that goes into the hole in the top of the body, which I'll call the collar. Note the recessed section around the base's perimeter---we'll come back to it in a minute.

Now here are two pictures of the inside of the machine's collar, in which the globe's metal base rests when the globe is installed. Note the pin that's retracted into the collar in the first picture and is extended in the second picture.

When the pin is extended it fits into the recessed section of the globe's metal base, thus locking the globe in place so it can't be removed. When the pin is retracted, the globe can be lifted off for refilling and then repositioned in place, ready to be locked down.

So what makes that pin go in and out, you ask? Below is a picture of the machine's bottom in the open position. See the rod that protrudes down? When the bottom of the machine is closing, near the end of the door's swing it pushes against that rod, which is pushed up and causes the pin that goes into the recessed section of the globe's base to protrude and lock the globe into place. I don't know what's inside the machine's body to change the direction of the rod's force from vertical to horizontal, but there's obviously something 'cause it happens.

With this design, a vendor needs only one key. When he services the machine, he unlocks the bottom and opens it, which causes dimes to fall out and the globe to be unlocked. The vendor then picks up the dimes from the ground---'cause you know it happened, right?---and then lifts the globe off and refills it with sanitary napkins. That done, he places the globe back on the machine and closes and locks the bottom door, which locks the globe in place with the same smooth motion. Is that clever, or what?

The machine above is 100% original. It's the only example of it or the Mystery Cup Dispenser that I know of other than the cup version pictured in Silent Salesmen Too.