Williams pinball playfield design collection

Collection — map-case: 1

Identifier: 115.wms

Staff Only

The Williams pinball playfield design collection contains more than 200 large hand-drawn playfield sketches, as well as mechanical insert drawings and cabinet artwork. Digital images of playfields and insert drawings are also included. The materials range in date from 1946 through 2015, with the bulk of the materials from 1946-1975.

Dates

1946 - 1994

Creator

Williams Electronics, Inc. (Organization)

Conditions Governing Access

The donor has requested that digital files from this collection are not to be shared widely online; digital files are to be used for personal reference, research, educational, or museum purposes only.

Conditions Governing Use

This collection is open for research use by staff of The Strong and by users of its library and archives. Though the donors have not transferred intellectual property rights (including, but not limited to any copyright, trademark, and associated rights therein) to The Strong, they have given permission for The Strong to make copies in all media for museum, educational, and research purposes.

Extent

48.25 Linear Feet (12 flat file drawers)

22.8 Gigabytes (Digital files) : Accessible on-site at The Strong.

Additional Description

Historical Note

Harry E. Williams (1906-1983) was an American engineer, game designer, and entrepreneur who paved the way for the coin-operated pinball industry. Williams originally worked as a pinball operator in California during the early 1930s, but he soon began to design his own pinball games. He invented the tilt mechanism to prevent cheating in games, as well as the electronic action device which “kicked” the ball across the playfield. In 1943, he founded Williams Manufacturing Company in Chicago, Illinois—the American center for pinball production. His company rose to prominence as one of the most important arcade and pinball game manufacturers in the United States after World War II.

Williams pinball designers introduced many pinball innovations, including ramps, scoring reels, drop targets, and modern 3-inch flippers. The company was acquired and incorporated several times, resulting in company name changes (becoming Williams Electronics, Inc. in 1974 and WMS Industries in 1987). In 1988, WMS purchased competitor Bally/Midway. The pinball division of WMS closed in 1999, after more than 50 years of designing and manufacturing electro-mechanical and solid-state pinball machines.

System of Arrangement

Series I: Williams pinball playfield drawings, 1946-1994

Series II: Mechanical insert drawings, 1957-1994

Series III: Cabinet and playfield artwork, 1983-1993

Series IV: Digital files, 2015

Custodial History

The Williams pinball playfield design collection was donated to The Strong in November 2015 as a gift from Williams Electronic Games, Inc. The papers were accessioned by The Strong under Object ID 115.4166 and were received from Williams Electronic Games, Inc. in two hanging vertical file cabinets and one box. Digital scans were received separately from Duncan Brown in November 2015.