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Tefft's Pepsin Gum

Peerless Gum Vendor Co., Geneva, NY, c. 1906, 27 ¹/₂". This machine appeared at an auction in 2002 and was bought by a friend who then sold it to me. The machine's provenance prior to the auction is unknown. This model is not listed in Silent Salesmen Too and to my knowledge and the knowledge of many other experienced collectors this is the only example known.

It's a wall-mounted 2-column vendor made of wood. There are two coin slots on the front panel, one on the left and one on the right. The handles twist inward to release the gum into the center pocket. The 2 flavors of gum are listed as wintergreen and peppermint on labels above each mechanism lever.

The wood on this is curved on the sides, which I imagine added significantly to the production cost and is unusual. Other wood vendors I can think of may have curved cuts in straight boards, but the boards themselves were straight. In my opinion that extra touch makes this much more than just a box and gives it an appeal that most other wood vendors don't have.

The front sign lists the product as Tefft's Pepsin Chewing Gum, and the maker of either the gum or the machine is listed as the Peerless Gum Vendor Co. at the bottom of the front sign. I'm not sure either actually produced the machine, but it seems far more likely that Peerless did than Tefft's.

This machine is 100% original except for a few pieces of hardware in the mechanism. It's missing the tin stacks that held product.