Humpty Dumpty

Humpty Dumpty / IPD No. 1254 / October 25, 1947 / 1 Player

Manufacturer:D. Gottlieb & Company (1931-1977) [Trade Name: Gottlieb]

Date Of Manufacture:October 25, 1947

Model Number:1

Type:Electro-mechanical (EM) 

Production:6,500 units   (confirmed)

Serial Number Database:View at The Internet Pinball Serial Number Database (IPSND.net)  (External site)

Theme:Fictional Characters

Notable Features:Flippers (6), Passive bumpers (10), Kick-out holes (2). Backglass stop-motion light animation (Humpty Dumpty falls). Illuminated credit display on backglass.

Design by:Harry Mabs

Art by:Roy Parker

Notes:Flippers were already used on many games prior to 1947, but they were non-electrical, entirely mechanical. Some games had eight mechanical flippers, such as Ad-Lee Company's 1932 'Double-Shuffle'. Most were "manually-operated" bats used on baseball games, one to a playfield. 'Humpty Dumpty' is the first pinball machine manufactured with flippers that were electromechanical. According to the book Pinball 1, David Gottlieb wanted to name this game 'Flipper' but a legal check found a patented countertop game that had a manual bat, Smith Manufacturing Company's 1932 'Flipper'.