At Prost Stage Productions, we have a certain affinity for potent potables and clever drinking culture, as well as the steampunk genre and quirky engineering. So, the tale of the Puss and Mew vending operation caught our attention. We hope you’ll enjoy this along with the cocktail or glass of your choice.
Rare and vintage bar machines have a certain attraction to them. Whether it’s a gleaming brass checkout register on a marble base or a spinning mixer that belongs in Warehouse 13, many of these retro decor items are found at bars and theaters around the country. But, have you ever come across a gin slinging stone cat?
The Puss and Mew predates modern mechanical vending machines and has a strange place in drinking history. As the old saying goes, necessity is the mother of invention. In the 17th century, London was dealing with a bout of public drunkenness and many barkeepers chose not to sell gin. Bootleggers flourished (literally selling from a flask hidden in their boot). So, Parliament passed severe restrictions on gin distribution which included the requirement to buy a very expensive license to sell the potent spirit. This legislation also put a bounty on the head of anyone selling gin without a license, which any customer could collect by identifying the person who sold to them.
A clever entrepreneur noticed something about the gin statute. It required the customer to be able to name the bartender who served him in order to collect the fine, but the law didn’t give police the power to break down the door of any establishment serving gin through the wall. So, he rented a building anonymously (using a lawyer sworn not to identify the tenant) and installed a pipe through which to pour gin. The outside of the pipe was decorated with a stone cat – the Puss in the Puss and Mew.
Customers dropped coins through a slot, and spoke to their server through a grill. A single meow meant a shot was desired. A chorus of meows meant someone was feeling quite thirsty. Presumably, there was also a hidden entrance/exit for the server to get to and from their establishment unseen.
So, that’s the story of the Puss and Mew, an automat for gin that predates the gumball machine by a few centuries (1888 for sticks, 1907 for gumballs, if you were wondering). Also, since we’re talking historical vending, did you know that early Greek and Roman designs were forgotten during the Dark Ages? Coin operated machines were known to the ancient world, but saw only limited use in shrines and other miraculous settings.
What are some of the strangest vending machines you’ve seen? I remember a hot cocoa machine halfway down a rustic ski run, built into a tree with no visible power or water lines. Maybe I imagined it? Japan has some vending machines that range from weird to downright X rated. But did you know that Book-O-Mat machines were once a thing? And book vending machines are making a comeback – our good friend Lauren Woods will have one operating shortly in Washington DC.
