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Bluebird Gum, 1¢ version

Bluebird Products Co., Kansas City, MO, c. 1918, 13". This is like the Bluebird Gum 1-2-3, except that it vends only one gumball for every penny you feed it. The midsection is shorter because it has only 1 wheel instead of the 3 wheels found on the 1-2-3, but other than that it's identical.

This is not listed in Silent Salesmen Too, and I have some doubt about whether it's a legitimate Bluebird model. It might have left the Bluebird factory like this, or it might have been assembled later from a Bluebird Gum 1-2-3 and a Bluebird Universal Products since Bluebird parts are largely interchangeable. The patina differs between the top of the base and the bottom of the tapered cylindrical piece that the globe sits on, but that difference could have developed because even though the parts are adjacent, they're angled differently and may have differed in the amount of sunlight and dirt they've been exposed to over the years. I bought this from an experienced and knowledgable collector who told me it was original and correct, which is why I'm giving the benefit of doubt to the model's existence, while also telling you that I'm not 100% convinced.

The example above has 100% original parts except for the decal, which is new. I no longer own this machine.

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