The Mills Novelty Company of Chicago was a leading manufacturer many coin-operated machines, including slot machines, arcade machines, vending machines and jukeboxes. The company's products also included the Mills Violano Virtuoso, a celebrated machine that automatically played a violin and, after about 1909, a piano. In 1897, the company launched the Mills Owl, which was the first mechanical upright cabinet slot machine. The machine's design included a circle of owls perched on a lithographed tin wheel. The machine was a great success, and the company would later adopt an owl motif as its trademark. In the early years of Mills Novelty, they developed incredible gambling machines and equally incredible were their arcade amusement games. Some of the most popular were the 1901 Mills Quartoscope Peep Show, 1904 Mills Electricity is life, 1905 Mills Owl Lifter and the 1920s Mills Bag Puncher just to name a few. In 1926, due to strong growth, the company moved into a huge manufacturing plant of 375,000 square feet comprising a factory and an office administrative building. By May 1935, the company was run by the four sons of Herbert Stephen Mills: Fred L. Mills was President, Ralph J. Mills was Vice President in Charge of Sales, Herbert S. Mills, Jr. was Treasurer and manager of the plant, and Hayden Mills was the Corporate Secretary. By January 1948, the company was financially troubled and had petitioned the federal court for time to pay its debts. In December 1948, the company sold all of its phonography inventory to H. C. Evans of Chicago. Through the 1960s Mills was still a top slot machine producer. However, by the 1980s the company had begun to fail to compete successfully with the electro/mechanical models produced by Bally and also suffered because it had not protected its intellectual property rights in Japan. The name "The Mills Novelty Company" still survives today, in the form of a business that installs digital player systems in the Mills Violano Virtuoso.
Mills Novelty Co. released 671 machines. (1896 - present)​ - Below are some examples from The Torrence Collection.

1900S MILLS VIOLANO VIRTUOSO

The Mills Violano Virtuoso in museum quality condition. It is a magnificent antique featuring one interior light, a four-panel front glass divider, all in a gorgeous mahogany cabinet. There are forty-four inner piano keys with the viola beautifully presented in the center. Designated by the U.S. Government as one of the "Eight Greatest Inventions" of the decade. This restored machine comes with multiple original Violano music rolls. Thankfully the incredible midi system has also been installed with over 60 discs of music containing 600 songs. Overall, in very first-class condition.

1900S MILLS TWO BITS DEWEY UPRIGHT SLOT MACHINE

Patented in 1898. The Mills Two Bits Dewey is no doubt one of the most mechanically reliable and attractive of the Mills upright slot machines. A quarter, or up to six quarters, con be played. If all six slots were selected, you were guaranteed a winner. Payout would be anywhere from fifty cents to five dollars. Overall, a gorgeous, all original Mills Dewey with the early style cabinet. The quarter sawn cabinet retains its original finish, and the iron castings retain their original blackened copper finish as well. It works fantastic, it has just the right original patina.

​1900S MILLS AUTOMATIC 5c SLOT MACHINE GUM VENDOR

​Rare! Early 1900s perfect working example in mint condition. plays on a nickel with the super rare gun vendor bottom. Beautiful oak cabinet with glass front that allows patrons to view the confections. Gorgeous antique copper castings. Very few in existence and fewer in this type of condition.

1904 MILLS ELECTRICITY IS LIFE

Extremely rare and a fantastic piece of arcade history. A mild shock is produced when the handles are grasped and moved apart to increase the current. The hand on the dial measures player stamina. Embossed on the iron plate is Ben Franklin holding a kite with colonial buildings in the background and lightning bolts striking down at his kite.

​1905 MILLS OWL STRENGTH LIFTER

1905 Mills Owl Lifter strength machine. Functional and operational in every way. Known as the "Perfect Muscle Developer". Insert a penny, the patron uses the lift bar to beat the previous score on the scale. As read on the marquee, "Try to Beat the Last Lift". Housed in rich cabinetry featuring ornate cast iron details throughout with nice patina and an emerald, green base. An elegant piece of arcade history!

​1905 MILLS AUTO STEREOSCOPE

1905 Mills Auto Stereoscope in the outstanding condition. This is also the rare bow front model. These gorgeous original cast iron legs weigh almost five pounds apiece. Ornate plated castings, handles and hand crank. Original flip cards. This auto stereoscope is in perfect working order and is absolutely correct. 

​1926 MILLS WIZARD FORTUNE TELLER

Another rare, nice working fortune teller trade stimulator. The patron would select one of six questions, such as "What will my future wife/husband look like", "How can I get rich", etc. You insert a penny, pushed the plunger, and your answer is revealed in the open window. 

1939 MILLS PANORAM

A very scarce and beautiful machine. Made by the Mills Novelty Company, Perhaps the absolute best-known example in existence. This machine plays original soundies motion pictures projected to the screen. The large endless reel holds 8 or 9 soundies so you can see multiple films without changing the reel. Soundies films are still available and can be spliced together to fit on a single reel. This Mills Panoram is fully operational and restored to the highest caliber. Plays on a dime. Beautiful machine!