Page 4 - More Than Just a Game (Partial)

ROD WEAVER

Also note that this drawing was for a small scale model, whose
purpose was to illustrate its functionality for patenting. The actual
device was intended to extend across the length of a full sized bowling
lane, and from later reports, ended up being better suited for installation
in homes, as opposed to official bowling alleys. Constructing one of
these apparatuses for each lane in all the bowling establishments that
were in existence at the time would have been a “prohibitive cost”
project, and too much of a financial risk for a thriving business to
undertake. But the proprietors undoubtedly found it most intriguing and
worth taking a look at. For in-home use, however, the self-setting
pinsetter would have been a great aid for practice.
Later in 1861, a citizen of Newburyport, Massachusetts also
attempted to obtain a patent for his own version of a semi-automatic
pinsetter, which was intended to remove what was referred to as “the
nuisance of pinboys”. And in 1870-1871, “talk” of a spring-loaded pin
spotting variation was also described as a proposed innovation of the
times.
This unit by Shull was unquestionably the forerunner of the
string machine pinsetters used in the 20th and 21st centuries for Canada's
Five Pin and Rubberband Duckpin sports. There is even a sports venue
of the current day in Washington State that uses string machines for
resetting the small pins.
The public exhibition of this innovation for the developing game
of 1850s “Ten Pins” served as excellent promotion for the sport,
showcasing the small pin game in particular. Over the course of the
entire decade and into the 1860s, rolling with the small balls had a
definite public prominence. When bowling was depicted in books and
newspapers, more often than not, the illustrations represented the game
as players rolling with the small spheres, as seen in the image from 1864
below.

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