Esquire

The Esquire is one of the more enigmatic pinball machines produced by the Stoner Manufacturing Company of Aurora, Illinois. Released in November 1934, it dates from the early years of coin-operated pinball, an experimental period when manufacturers across the American Midwest were rapidly iterating on the young game's format. Stoner itself operated from 1933 to 1941, and the Esquire is a single-player, electro-mechanical product of that first wave.

As a mid-1930s machine, the Esquire predates flippers by more than a decade; like its contemporaries, play would have revolved around launching balls onto the playfield and letting gravity and nudging guide them toward scoring positions. No theme, designer, or feature list has been documented for this title, which makes it one of the lesser-documented relics from the early days of pinball history.

For enthusiasts, the appeal of a machine like the Esquire lies precisely in that obscurity: it offers a glimpse into the game's humble beginnings, before standardized features and licensed themes, when each new model was another small experiment in what pinball could be.