Original reference photography from the Cola Machines archive. Select any image to inspect the machine, mechanisms, identification plates, and restoration details.
This reference catalog documents 6 FL Jacobs machines. Surviving model records include production information spanning 1940 to 1953. Model-specific archive photography survives for 5 of the 6 entries.
This profile combines preserved company background with evidence from the individual machine records. Dates and model counts refer to documented examples in this collection, not an assertion that the catalog is complete.
FL Jacobs company history
Preserved background
Archive documentation notes that FL Jacobs began machine production for Coca-Cola and Pepsi in the 1940's while located in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Later, around 1950, they moved to Traverse City, Michigan before going out of business in late 1953. Jacobs machines have a unique shape that many collectors nicknamed the "mailbox". This design has become a trademark of styling for F. L. Jacobs. Below is an excerpt that supercedes my previous comment regarding F. L. Jacobs closing its doors in 1953: "In October 1954, F. L. Jacobs Company, a manufacturer of automobile parts based in Detroit, Michigan, announced that it had acquired both Mills Industries, Inc. and Selmix Dispensers, Inc. of Long Island City, Queens (another manufacturer of equipment in the vending and dispensing industries). At that time, the main products of Mills Industries were commercial ice cream freezers, frozen custard and milk shake machines and all types of vending machines. During 1953 and 1954, the company had added a new coin-operated coffee vending machine, a three-flavor beverage bottle vendor, a citrus fruit juice vendor, and an ice cream package vendor to its product line. The intention of F. L. Jacobs Company was to operate Mills Industries as an independent subsidiary. However, component parts for the equipment were to be produced in the factories of F. L. Jacobs in Detroit, Michigan, Traverse City, Michigan and Danville, Illinois. By September 1954, the controller of Mills Industries was James A. Pound. In November 1955, Mills Industries announced a project to consolidate, over a number of years, most of its operations in Traverse City, Michigan. "
What the machine archive shows
Evidence by model and date
The dated archive currently runs from FL Jacobs 108 (Late 1940's into the early 1950's) through FL Jacobs 56 (1952 – 1953). It contains 6 model records, 6 with recorded production dates and 5 with surviving model-specific photography.
The documented production footprint is distributed across 1940s (4), 1950s (2). These totals describe this archive—not necessarily the company’s complete output—and will change if additional period records are recovered.
FL Jacobs machines
6 model records
FL Jacobs photo archive
2 general collection photos
Research note: Profile scope is 6 archived machine records. Company background was independently restated from the site’s preserved manufacturer overview; view the archived source. Dates, photographs, and model counts come from the linked records. Where the preserved evidence is incomplete, the page says so instead of filling gaps with conjecture.