Aristocrat

The Aristocrat, manufactured by Birmingham Vending Company in June 1933, marks one of the earliest entries into the burgeoning world of pinball. As a Pure Mechanical (PM) game, it predates the electromechanical era that would soon follow, and its simplicity is both a testament to the ingenuity of early designers and a reflection of the technical limitations of its time. While details about its gameplay are scarce, it likely played similarly to other PM games of the period: players inserted a coin, launched the ball with a plunger, and aimed for scoring pockets and targets through purely mechanical means (flippers were still over a decade away from being invented).

Given the machine's age, it likely featured basic mechanical gameplay elements such as pins, pockets, and perhaps simple bumpers. Little information survives about its art or theme, but its significance lies in its historical context and its tangible connection to the pioneering days of pinball manufacturing.

The Aristocrat also holds a notable place in company history: the newly formed Chicago Coin Machine Company, together with Stoner Manufacturing, won an injunction against Birmingham Vending Company, claiming the game infringed on their own "Aristocrat" series. As a result, this was Birmingham's last pinball game — owners Max and Harry Hurvich subsequently left the pinball business and moved into coin-operated billiard tables.