Whiffle Bagatelle
About This Machine
The Whiffle Bagatelle, manufactured by Automatic Industries, Ltd. of Toronto, Canada in November 1931, is a pure mechanical home-model tabletop/counter game from the very early days of pinball's predecessors. According to the Encyclopedia of Pinball Vol. 2, it was designed by the Canadian branch of Automatic Industries specifically for the home market, with the Canadian operation assembling and marketing Whiffle games within Canada.
As a pure mechanical (PM) machine, the Whiffle Bagatelle's play relies entirely on gravity, springs, and manual operation rather than any electromechanical or electronic components -- typical of tabletop bagatelle-style games of the era, which predate coin-operated pinball as it's known today.
Little further detail survives about its specific playfield layout, artwork, or theme. Even so, as a Canadian-made home-market entry from 1931, the Whiffle Bagatelle offers a useful window into the earliest, pre-electromechanical roots of the pinball hobby.