Louis World’s Fair, the young startup had already made enough of a name for itself in the arcade industry that it was drafted to provide an exhibit for the big event. The company branched out to introduce its first slot machine in 1897 and in 1898 Mortimer’s eldest son, Herbert, took the helm from his father and the company was renamed the Mills Novelty Company, Inc. He named his new business MBM Cigar Vending Company based on his patented method of delivering the desired product to the customer from a vending machine. The company was founded in the early 1890’s by Mortimer Birdsul Mills, a Canadian immigrant and inventor. Although these divisions of the once powerful corporation are now defunct, the company was also well-known for their widely celebrated automatic music machines and that aspect of the business is still alive and well in Chicago, Illinois to this day. The Mills Novelty Company had a long and storied run that had a significant impact not only the slot machine manufacturing industry, but which also affected the development of vending machine and arcade games for decades.
Mills Novelty Company Gaming and Slot Machines – The First Slots Manufacturer