Story dated
February 7, 2007
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Mention the words "pinball" and "museum" in the same sentence and your thoughts might turn to Tim Arnold's Pinball Hall of Fame in Las Vegas (which Pinball News will be visiting shortly for a full report).
But the city in the desert is now joined as home to a superb collection of classic pinball games by Paris.
This is the Pinball Museum located in Aubervilliers, just north of Paris in France and although not yet open to the general public, the collection can be viewed by appointment with the Museum's owner Raphael Lankar who welcomes visitors to his creation.
Raphael told Pinball News how he has been working towards this museum since the 1950's and has been getting the 200 pinball and 50 slot machine exhibits together over the past three years.
There are also several jukeboxes and an extensive collection of backglasses on display around the museum building.
The majority of the collection cover the years 1931-1975 with 90% being of American origin. It includes some rare European conversions of well known US games alongside some genuine classics from the era. All the games have been restored to the highest quality possible as you can see from these pictures.
It hasn't been easy either. Raphael said making his dream a reality took "a lot of money, a lot of people, a lot of organization and a lot of me."
But his search for games hasn't finished with the opening of the museum. He is still on the look out for rarer games and examples which are closer to perfection to compliment the existing collection.
Although it is intended to eventually open the doors for general admission, until then visitors wishing to experience this superb collection for themselves should contact the museum's owner at [email protected]
You can get more details at the museum's website pinball-gallery.com where you can also view images of each machine in the collection and all the backglasses.
Here is a complete list of the pinball games at the museum at the time of writing:
1931 BAFFLE BALL GOTTLIEB
1931 BALLY HOO BALLY
1931 BINGO GOTTLIEB
1931 BUSTER BALL GENCO
1932 CLOVERLEAF GOTTLIEB
1932 FAVORITE BUCKLEY
1932 LE REX BOULE BOULET
1932 RO-LAY WAL-BIL NOVELTY CO.
1932 ROLLS ROYCE A. M. WATZER CO
1932 ROUND BALLY
1932 WHIZZ-BANG GOTTLIEB
1932 WOW MILLS NOVELTY
1933 AIRWAY BALLY
1933 FIVE STAR FINAL GOTTLIEB
1933 SCORE BOARD GOTTLIEB
1933 SKIPPER BALLY
1933 WINGS ROCKOLA
1934 PONTIAC GENCO
1935 CHICAGO EXPRESS DAVAL MFG CO. INC
1935 TURN TABLE GOTTLIEB
1936 TOPLER CHICAGO - COIN
1936 TRICKS SENIOR GENCO
1937 ZEPHIR BALLY
1939 CHEVRON BALLY
1939 COMMODORE CHICAGO COIN
1939 SUPER CHARGER KEENEY
1940 JOLLY CHICAGO COIN
1941 BELLE HOP GOTTLIEB
1946 MIDGET RACER BALLY
1946 SEA BREEZE UNITED
1946 STAGE DOOR CANTEEN GOTTLIEB
1947 BALLY ROCKET BALLY
1947 HAWAII UNITED
1947 HUMPTY DUMPTY GOTTLIEB
1947 KILLROY CHICAGO COIN
1947 LUCKY STAR GOTTLIEB
1947 RANGER EXHIBIT
1947 ROLL DOWN CHICAGO COIN
1948 ALI BABA GOTTLIEB
1948 BARNACLE BILL GOTTLIEB
1948 BUCCANEER GOTTLIEB
1948 CINDERELLA GOTTLIEB
1948 CONTACT EXHIBIT
1948 EL PASO WILLIAMS
1948 JACK AND JILL GOTTLIEB
1948 LADY ROBIN HOOD GOTTLIEB
1948 OLDE KING COLE GOTTLIEB
1948 TENNESSEE WILLIAMS
1948 TRIPLE ACTION GENCO
1948 WISCONSIN UNITED
1949 PLAY TIME EXHIBIT
1949 SHARP SHOOTER GOTTLIEB
1949 ST LOUIS WILLIAMS
1949 UTAH UNITED
1950 BOWLETTE GOTTLIEB
1950 GEORGIA WILLIAMS
1950 HITS AND RUNS GENCO
1950 JUST 21 GOTTLIEB
1950 KNOCK OUT GOTTLIEB
1950 PUNCHY CHICAGO COIN
1950 SOUTH PACIFIC GENCO
1951 NIAGARA GOTTLIEB
1951 SEA JOCKEYS WILLIAMS
1951 SELECT A CARD GOTTLIEB
1951 SHOO SHOO WILLIAMS
1951 SPARK PLUGS WILLIAMS
1951 TRI-SCORE GENCO
1952 CROSS ROAD GOTTLIEB
1952 DISK JOCKEY WILLIAMS
1952 HAPPY DAYS GOTTLIEB
1952 HONG KONG WILLIAMS
1952 QUEEN OF HEARTS GOTTLIEB
1952 SHOOTING MARCHAND
1952 SKILL POOL GOTTLIEB
1953 ARABIAN KNIGHTS GOTTLIEB
1953 FLYING HIGH GOTTLIEB
1953 GRAND SLAM GOTTLIEB
1953 GUYS AND DOLLS GOTTLIEB
1953 PIN WHEEL GOTTLIEB
1953 VOLLEY MARCHANT
1954 DIAMOND LILL GOTTLIEB
1954 GREEN PASTURES GOTTLIEB
1954 HAWAIIAN BEAUTY GOTTLIEB
1954 LADY LUCK GOTTLIEB
1954 STAGE COACH GOTTLIEB
1954 SUPER JUMBO GOTTLIEB
1955 GYPSY QUEEN GOTTLIEB
1955 SLUGGIN CHAMP GOTTLIEB
1955 SOUTHERN BELLE GOTTLIEB
1955 TWIN BILL GOTTLIEB
1955 WISHING WELL GOTTLIEB
1956 AUTO RACE GOTTLIEB
1956 BALLS A POPPIN BALLY
1956 CLASSY BOWLER GOTTLIEB
1956 DERBY DAY GOTTLIEB
1956 GLADIATOR DELUXE GOTTLIEB
1956 HARBOR LITES GOTTLIEB
1956 RAINBOW GOTTLIEB
1956 SCORE BOARD GOTTLIEB
1957 MAJESTIC GOTTLIEB
1957 ROYAL FLUSH GOTTLIEB
1957 SILVER GOTTLIEB
1957 SUPER CIRCUS GOTTLIEB
1957 SUPER JUMPING ALBEN
1957 WORLD CHAMP GOTTLIEB
1958 BRITE STAR GOTTLIEB
1958 CONTEST GOTTLIEB
1958 ROCKET SHIP GOTTLIEB
1958 ROTO POOL GOTTLIEB
1958 SITTIN PRETTY GOTTLIEB
1958 SUNSHINE GOTTLIEB
1958 WHIRL WIND GOTTLIEB
1959 AROUND THE WORLD GOTTLIEB
1959 ATLAS GOTTLIEB
1959 CROSSWORD WILLIAMS
1959 HI DIVER GOTTLIEB
1959 LIGHTNING BALL GOTTLIEB
1959 MISS ANNABELLE GOTTLIEB
1959 QUEEN OF DIAMONDS GOTTLIEB
1959 SEA ISLAND BALLY
1959 STRAIGHT SHOOTER GOTTLIEB
1959 SWEET SIOUX GOTTLIEB
1959 THE KING ALBEN
1959 TIC TAC TOE WILLIAMS
1959 UNIVERSE GOTTLIEB
1959 UNIVERSE GOTTLIEB
1960 BEACH QUEEN BALLY
1960 CAPTAIN KIDD GOTTLIEB
1960 DANCING DOLLS GOTTLIEB
1960 LITE A CARD GOTTLIEB
1960 MELODY LANE GOTTLIEB
1960 SERENADE WILLIAMS
1960 SPOT A CARD GOTTLIEB
1960 WAGON TRAIN GOTTLIEB
1960 WORLD BEAUTIES GOTTLIEB
1961 BIG CASINO GOTTLIEB
1961 BOWLING FLIPPER VICTOR SALMON
1961 CORRAL GOTTLIEB
1961 FOTO FINISH GOTTLIEB
1961 SHOW BOAT GOTTLIEB
1962 COVER GIRL GOTTLIEB
1962 LIBERTY BELLE GOTTLIEB
1962 OLYMPICS GOTTLIEB
1962 RACK A BALL GOTTLIEB
1962 TROPIC ISLE GOTTLIEB
1963 GAUCHO GOTTLIEB
1963 SLICK CHICK GOTTLIEB
1963 SWEET HEARTS GOTTLIEB
1964 HAPPY CLOWN GOTTLIEB
1964 NORTH STAR GOTTLIEB
1964 SHIP MATES GOTTLIEB
1964 WORLD FAIR GOTTLIEB
1965 BANK A BALL GOTTLIEB
1965 BIG CHIEF WILLIAMS
1965 BUCKAROO GOTTLIEB
1965 DODGE CITY GOTTLIEB
1965 HI DOLLY GOTTLIEB
1965 ICE REVUE GOTTLIEB
1965 POT O GOLD WILLIAMS
1965 SKY LINE GOTTLIEB
1966 A GO GO WILLIAMS
1966 CROSS TOWN GOTTLIEB
1966 HURDY GURDY GOTTLIEB
1966 MAYFAIR GOTTLIEB
1967 KING OF DIAMONDS GOTTLIEB
1967 SHANGRI-LA WILLIAMS
1968 HAYBURNERS II WILLIAMS
1968 ROYAL GUARD GOTTLIEB
1972 FLYING CARPET GOTTLIEB
1972 ORBIT GOTTLIEB
1972 TWIN JOKER BALLY
1972 WILD KINGDOM WILLIAMS
1973 HIGH HAND GOTTLIEB
1973 PRO FOOTBALL GOTTLIEB
1974 BOOMERANG BALLY
1975 ABRA CADA BRA GOTTLIEB
1975 ATLANTIS GOTTLIEB
1975 ELDORADO GOTTLIEB
1976 BUCCANEER GOTTLIEB
1976 CARD WHIZ EUROPLAY ITALIE
1976 SHIP AHOY GOTTLIEB
1976 SPIRIT OF 76 GOTTLIEB
1976 SURE SHOT GOTTLIEB
1976 SURF CHAMP GOTTLIEB
1977 CENTIGRADE 37 GOTTLIEB
1977 GOLDEN ARROW GOTTLIEB
1977 JET SPIN GOTTLIEB
1978 BLUE NOTE GOTTLIEB
1978 NEPTUNE GOTTLIEB
1978 QUEEN CASTLE ZACCARIA
1979 INCREDIBLE HULK GOTTLIEB
1979 ROCKY GIRL EMG
1980 ASTEROID ANNIE & THE ALIENS GOTTLIEB
1996 BARB WIRE GOTTLIEB
1997 MEDIEVAL MADNESS WILLIAMS
1998 CACTUS CANYON BALLY
1998 MONSTER BASH WILLIAMS |
