Page 1 - More Than Just a Game (Partial)

SEMI-AUTOMATIC PINSETTER

The introduction of the Poney Pins in America was a ground-
breaker, of sorts, that accelerated certain aspects in the maturation of the
sport. As the small pin game progressed, it wasn’t long before an
inspired and innovative concept would be introduced to the public by a
clever disciple of the small ball variation of Ten Pins.
In 1851, Thomas E. Shull of Lewistown, Pennsylvania, proposed
a device that was in the midst of the official “patent process”, with the
intent of removing pinboys from the equation of bowling – an idea that
was about 100 years ahead of its time. As we see in the following
illustration from the publication “The Scientific American”, the operating
principle for such a "machine" enlisted the use of strings or cords,
threaded through the heads of each pin. The skittles were to be hoisted
by a pulley above the pin deck. The pulley was to be controlled by the
player at the other end of the lane with the use of a crank for remotely
lifting and lowering the pins into position. The images on the following
page give the reader an idea of the overall concept, along with a closer
perspective of how the pins are lifted into a standing position.

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