Lightning (44, First Style)

Lightning (44, First Style) is a rare and significant electro-mechanical pinball machine produced by Exhibit Supply Company (ESCO) in April 1934, designed by Harry Williams. It was Exhibit's very first pin table and their first EM game. According to pinball history, the game was originally slated to be released as 'Contact', made under contract with Pacific Amusement Company to help meet demand for PAMCO's popular game of the same name (also designed by Williams); a royalty dispute between the two manufacturers led Williams to rename the Exhibit version 'Lightning' instead.

Notably, Lightning features a cabinet measuring 44 inches long and 22 inches wide. As a 1934 machine, it predates the invention of the flipper by over a decade; gameplay instead relied on a spring-launched steel ball navigating a fixed field of pins, targets, and obstacles toward scoring positions, in the tradition of pre-flipper pinball. Its playfield layout was the same as 'Contact', which soon became a marketing problem and led Williams to redesign the game with a new upper playfield and cabinet -- a version now known as 'Lightning (44, New Style)'.

As one of the earliest surviving ESCO machines, Lightning holds real historical significance for enthusiasts and collectors, serving as a tangible connection to the pioneering, pre-flipper era of pinball and to Exhibit Supply's entry into electromechanical game production.