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J. & H. Cigarette Vendor

J. & H. Vending Machine Co., Elgin, IL, c. 1920, 9 ¹/₈". I got this from a friend who acquired it as part of a collection he bought. I don't remember ever seeing one before this, although my eagle eye isn't as sharply tuned to cigarette vendors as it is to some other types of vendors. I hemmed and hawwed about buying this because I generally eschew cigarette vendors, but this is such a small, cute machine with such an unusual design that I finally decided to pull the trigger on it. When it arrived it was smaller and cuter than I thought it would be, which is always a nice surprise.

It's a sweet piece. The vendor is the green part. The wide black base is actually part of a stand, to which is attached a vertical piece of steel. The vendor has 2 pieces that protrude from the bottom and fit through 2 slots in the base. The back of the vendor fits flat against the vertical part of the stand, and the machine and the stand are locked together at the top. If you want to get your money out or reload the machine, you remove the lock, pull the machine away from the base, and open the back. Two tags on the front tell you exactly how to operate the machine, and they're needed because working this thing is not intuitive.

The part at the top, which looks like a light socket, is a lighter. I'm not sure what the electric cord is for, but my money would be on the lighter since the cord enters the machine near the top, right behind the lighter.

This example is 100% original and is in very good condition. The cigarettes were in it when I got the machine, and may also be very old. Nonfilter Camels---do they still make those?