Ad-Lee

Ad-Lee was a Chicago maker whose pinball activity ran from 1932 into the mid-1930s, producing a compact catalog of ten known models. Early games such as Greyhound, Joy Game, Thriller, and Zig Zag belong to the first generation of Pure Mechanical pin tables, while later entries such as Leap Frog, Zip, Piccadilly, and the payout-oriented Solo show a company adjusting to the industry’s fast-changing commercial demands. Double-Shuffle (1932), a private-label version of a Hercules Novelty Company, Incorporated flipper-batter game, and the undated Score-M-High round out the known catalog.

Ad-Lee’s catalog is historically useful because it sits close to the experimental edge of early Chicago pinball. Contemporary documentation connects the company to games and designs also associated with Hercules Novelty, and its surviving titles trace the same transition visible across the broader market: from simple countertop amusements toward more specialized, electrically assisted, and occasionally payout-centered pieces. Ad-Lee was not a giant manufacturer, but it was a genuine participant in the dense network of small Chicago firms that shaped pinball during its formative years.