Hell's Bells

Hell, manufactured by Western Equipment & Supply Company of Chicago in August 1934, is an early electro-mechanical payout machine with a memorably blunt name. According to the Encyclopedia of Pinball, the game was a copy of Bally's 1934 'New Improved Rocket' and 'Champion', and Western priced it so aggressively low that the company reportedly lost money on it, a telling glimpse into the cutthroat coin-op business of the mid-1930s.

The playfield features 11 trap holes and two free play holes, and an optional buy-back attachment, available to operators at extra cost, let players buy back balls at 5 cents apiece. The playfield is maple, and the cabinet is metallic silver gray, mounted on black legs with a graceful red stripe running their full length. The game was advertised as measuring 42 inches long by 19 inches wide.

For enthusiasts of pre-flipper pinball, Hell offers a rare look at both the payout-game format and the imitative business practices that flourished during the game's earliest boom years.