American Beauty

American Beauty, produced by Gee Bee Manufacturing Company of Chicago in February 1934, is an early electro-mechanical (EM) pinball machine designed by Ralph Fletcher. It premiered at the February 1934 Chicago Exposition, at a time when Gee Bee had just moved to a larger facility at 14-16 North May Street to produce it.

As a 1934 machine, American Beauty predates the flipper by well over a decade, so play centered on guiding the ball through the layout via the cabinet's tilt and the table's own contours rather than player-controlled flippers. The cabinet was advertised as 36 inches long by 16 1/2 inches wide, a compact footprint typical of the period.

The game's history is tied to the rapid corporate changes of the era: on March 6, 1934, Gee-Bee Manufacturing Company changed its name to G.B. Daval Company as an intermediate step toward transitioning manufacturing and rights to Daval Manufacturing Company, which continued the line as 1934's 'American Beauty (Improved).' Little else is documented about designer Ralph Fletcher's other work, but American Beauty remains a tangible link to pinball's earliest commercial years.