It’s important to define Vendo’s business from their conception in 1937 to 1959.
In 1936 they were ‘Vendo Sales Co.’ and had procured Patent Number 2099557 (see Page 03) from Frank de Mayo Jr., the inventor, for a rotating type of soda vending machine top. (Some side-line info I came upon - Frank de Mayo Sr. was a famous mobster in Kansas City during prohibition. In 1947 Jr. was sued by a Kansas City mechanic who claimed he was the actual inventor of the rotating top).
Westinghouse had acquired a contract with Coca-Cola in 1934 and Tennessee Furniture Corp. obtained a contract in 1935 to build the chest-type coolers per Coca-Cola specifications. Tennessee Furniture Corp. changed their refrigeration division name, in 1937, to Cavalier Corp.
In 1937 the Pierson brothers changed their company name to ‘The Vendo Co.’ Their business was based on the manufacturing of coin operated Tops and bottle baskets only for mounting on and in the 1,000’s of Coca-Cola coolers that were already out in the market place. Their products turned ‘honor-pay’ coolers into ‘pay-first’ vending machines, 5 to 10 cents, for a 6 oz. bottle of Coca-Cola.
Vendo’s customers were the Coca-Cola Bottling Companies. The bottling companies were providing the coolers and mounting the Vendo Tops and bottle baskets for their customers - the stores, gas stations, other businesses and organizations. This is why you may see on some machines a metal nameplate, or evidence that there was one, indicating that the unit was property of a Coca-Cola bottling company.
On a 1938 Vendo advertising brochure (see Page 04) it announces ‘The New 1938 VENDO for the exclusive use of BOTTLERS of Coca-Cola’. ‘Available For Any Standard Cooler – Ice or Electric (with flat coils only)’. This was a 29 bottle vending capacity (see Page 04a) Top and bottle basket assembly with a center mounted coin mechanism that fit on any Standard size cooler.
It's obvious that in 1938 Vendo had secured an exclusive contract with Coca-Cola to offer their tops for Coca-Cola coolers only.
An illustration of a 1939 Ford, a 1939 Master cooler and a 1938 Vendo Top was the feature cover of a 1971 Vendo brochure (see Page 04b).
In a 1939 and 1940 Service manual (see Page 05) they were offering their new 'Junior Vendo' (23 bottle vending capacity), 'Standard Vendo' (39 bottle vending capacity) & 'Master Vendo' (39 bottle vending capacity) Tops and bottle basket assemblies only (see Page 05a & 05b). These were nicknamed 'Red-Tops'. This manual did not include any '1938 Vendo'.
(In 1941 Vendo applied for a patent number D131007 (see Page 06). This was for a 35 bottle vending capacity basket. I don't yet know it's usage).
On an advertising brochure (see Page 06a) showing their new 1941 line of Tops it includes the 'Model 123 (Junior), 139 (Standard), 159 & Master'. Vendo states that their 'Tops will fit on any Junior, Standard or Master Coca-Cola cooler, ice or electric'. The ‘Specifications’ for each model gave dimensions if mounted on a ‘(Cooler)’ and ‘Weight, Vendo only’ for their Top and bottle basket assemblies. The illustrated Master is of a Vendo 139 Master.
In the Service Manual for these models it states that they changed from models 'Junior' and 'Standard' to these new model names in late 1940.
(These now became known as 'Spin-Tops').
In April 1942 the government had instructed Vendo to cease all of their standard business and produce nothing but war contracts. The US entered the war on Dec 8, 1941. It ended on Aug. 15, 1945.
In June of 1943 Vendo received a government contract to supply 5,000 Coca-Cola machines for the armed forces bases and ships. They completed this order in Sept. 1943.
In Oct. 1945 Vendo resumed the vending business but never restarted production of their model 123, 139 or 159 Top and basket assemblies.
(In late 1945 Vendo introduced their Coin Changer, which they had been developing during the war).
In 1946; - Vendo released its model number V-59 (see pages 07, 07a & 07b). These were again Tops & basket assemblies being offered to the bottlers.
-Vendo started offering the V-17 Top and basket assemblies to the bottlers (see Page 08). These would turn the Cavalier FD-2, Office Dry Cooler, into a pay first vending machine. (By 1949 Cavalier had modified their unit to a C-27 with it's own coin and vending mechanism).
-Vendo started calling any complete machine that they were offering a 'Cooler'.
-(Vendo introduced their first complete machine, the V-83 Cooler, which was their first 'Vertical' machine).
In 1948 Vendo introduced their first complete, chest-type, Coca-Cola vending machine known as the 'V-59 Dry Standard Cooler' using a Kelvinator cooling system. This unit utilized the 'Standard' size chest only. They discontinued this Cooler in 1951 (see Page 11). Vendo did not offer a V-59 Dry 'Master' Cooler nor any V-59 'Wet' Coolers.
You will notice that these Tops and basket assemblies were still in the market-place because Vendo was still offering them to the Coca-Cola bottlers.
During this time Westinghouse (Page 09) and Cavalier (Page 10) were not offering any 'Standard' size chests on the market. They were selling these to Vendo for their V-59 Dry Standard Coolers, less cooling systems and tops. Vendo installed the dry Kelvinator cooling system and Top and basket assemblies at their plant.
Westinghouse was selling a complete 'Wet' (water cooled) Master size, WE-6V, & Giant size, WE-10V (for a short limited time), machines with the Vendo V-59 tops and basket assemblies (see Page 09). They used their own Westinghouse cooling system.
Cavalier was selling a complete 'Wet' (water cooled) Master size, FE-6V, machine with the Vendo V-59 top and basket assemblies (see Page 10). Cavalier used a Frigidaire cooling system.
(In 1948 Vendo started offering their Model 6-CV [6 Case Vertical] Cooler).
In 1949 they offered the dry, junior size, chest-type, V-23 Standard Cooler. In 1950 the V-23 Deluxe Cooler. In 1954 the V-23A, V-23B & V-23E Coolers and in 1957 the V-23 Cooler.
(Also in 1949 they introduced the V-39 Vertical Cooler).
Vendo's serial number chart for complete coolers only, 1946 -1959, is on Page 11.
Present day Vendo company's own history (see Page 12).
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Clearing up some other misconceptions:
Vendo never offered a model # 39 or V-39 chest type 'Cooler' nor did they offer a model # 39 or V-39 Top and basket assemblies.
The name of 'Master' referred to the width of the chest. It was substantially wider than the Standard chest. The 39 and 59 vending capacity 'Spin-Tops' would fit on either. Because the Master was wider, Vendo also included a second top with accessories to be mounted over the open area of the Master. Therefore, Vendo offered to the bottlers their Standard in 1939 & 1940, the 139 in 1941 & 42 and 159 in 1941 - 1943 and the V-59 in 1946 - 1951 with a Master conversion top and accessories.
8 oz. Coca-Cola bottles weren’t introduced until the early 60’s. They were the same outside dimensions as the 6 or 6 1/2 oz. bottles, just thinner glass for more volume. The vending machine couldn't tell the difference, except maybe for the price the retailer charged. The 6 oz. bottles actually held 6 1/2 oz. In the mid-50's they started changing their labeling to 6 1/2 oz.
The dates I'm referring to are 'manufacturing dates', not 'sales dates' (which product history does not recognize). Therefore, a product may have been offered for sale a year or two after they had stopped manufacturing in-order to use up their inventory. This just made good business-sense.
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October, 2013