Initial Object Exploration-Intro to Design Studies

The Automat Vending Machine (1912)

The Automat Vending Machine (1912-New York City) was made up of steel, glass, nickel and chrome consisting of numerous grids. Each little lit up box contained an item of food available for purchase. The door itself was made out of glass so each individual could see the variety foods behind the door and make their selection. The automat was split up into sections depending on what was being served (ex. pies, sandwiches, etc).
The consumer purchases the food by placing a certain number of coins in the slot and opening the door to remove the food. It was fast, simple, quick, cheap, and efficient. It was very much a DIY ‘activity’, similar to how we purchase items from vending machines today, but with a large number of staff working in the back to ensure all food items were replaced after they had been bought. The simplicity and directness in the design of the automat itself (the clear “all-capital Moderne letterforms”1, the door handles, coin slots, etc) allowed for the consumers to easily understand how the machine functioned. While I cannot provide an emotional response to the object, as it is no longer in use, I can assume that those using the automat back in the 1900’s were excited to use it due to the DIY aspect (particularly younger individuals).
The company that began the chain of automat machines in the northeast had gotten their inspiration from traveling to Germany2-interestingly, these automats still exist in the Netherlands also serving fast food items. Furthermore, individuals from a wide variety of cultures, backgrounds, etc purchase these items without any worry of having to communicate in a certain language. Similar to back in the early 1900’s, the automats cater towards anyone who would like cheap cheap and quick fast food. There was also a clear selection in the placement of the vending machine (in Times Square) due to the wide variety of people who passed through, particularly with the development of the transit system at the time. 3
I am eager to discover how people interacted with the automat, particularly since there hadn’t been anything similar prior to this. How did the customers (from various backgrounds) interact with each other, particularly due to the fact there was surrounding seating.