Imperial

The Imperial pinball machine, manufactured by International Mutoscope Reel Company of New York in May 1936, is an early example of electro-mechanical (EM) pinball design. It was produced near the end of International Mutoscope's run as a pinball manufacturer, which operated from 1932 to 1936.

Little is documented about Imperial's specific gameplay, rules, or scoring mechanisms. As an EM machine from this period, it would have used electrical components such as relays and solenoids to control scoring, though — unlike later pinball machines — it predates the invention of the flipper by more than a decade.

Beyond its basic specifications, few records survive describing Imperial's theme or artwork. It stands as a modest but genuine artifact of one of the many short-lived companies experimenting with pinball design in the mid-1930s.