Edmund continued in his father's footsteps as far as designing and selling coin-operated machines but was never involved with gambling machines.

Edmund Fey had three sons, Edmund Jr., Franklin, and Marshall. The sons, besides helping their father with his business, operated a 1890s-style beer parlor called the Swinging Door in a San Francisco suburb. In 1958, however, Franklin and Marshall decided to move to Reno, Nevada and open their own business; Edmund Jr. took over the Swinging Door. Since 1958 until it closed, Frank and Marshall operated the Liberty Belle Saloon and Restaurant at 4250 South Virginia Street in Reno, Nevada. It was an establishment that was decorated to look like a turn of the century San Francisco business and displayed many of the old gambling machines of that period including, of course, their grandfather's Liberty Bell.

There was another unique feature to the Liberty Belle. The brothers, Marshall in particular, started buying up old slot machines that they thought had historical value, restored them, and housed them in the restaurant as well as an attic above; a museum if you will. I had the pleasure of seeing this collection when I visited the restaurant in 1997 and it was impressive. Moreover, during this collecting period, Marshall wrote and published a beautiful book entitled Slot Machines: A Pictorial History of the First 100 Years. The book has evolved into a 6th edition entitled Slot Machines: America's Favorite Gaming Device. It is a book anyone interested in gaming history should own.

Edmund continued in his father's footsteps as far as designing and selling coin-operated machines but was never involved with gambling machines.

Edmund Fey had three sons, Edmund Jr., Franklin, and Marshall. The sons, besides helping their father with his business, operated a 1890s-style beer parlor called the Swinging Door in a San Francisco suburb. In 1958, however, Franklin and Marshall decided to move to Reno, Nevada and open their own business; Edmund Jr. took over the Swinging Door. Since 1958 until it closed, Frank and Marshall operated the Liberty Belle Saloon and Restaurant at 4250 South Virginia Street in Reno, Nevada. It was an establishment that was decorated to look like a turn of the century San Francisco business and displayed many of the old gambling machines of that period including, of course, their grandfather's Liberty Bell.

There was another unique feature to the Liberty Belle. The brothers, Marshall in particular, started buying up old slot machines that they thought had historical value, restored them, and housed them in the restaurant as well as an attic above; a museum if you will. I had the pleasure of seeing this collection when I visited the restaurant in 1997 and it was impressive. Moreover, during this collecting period, Marshall wrote and published a beautiful book entitled Slot Machines: A Pictorial History of the First 100 Years. The book has evolved into a 6th edition entitled Slot Machines: America's Favorite Gaming Device. It is a book anyone interested in gaming history should own.

Bio by: Lester Letson