D. Gottlieb & Co.

D. Gottlieb & Co., founded in 1927 by David Gottlieb in Chicago, rose to prominence with Baffle Ball (1931) and famously revolutionized gameplay with Humpty Dumpty (1947), the first pinball to feature player-controlled flippers that shifted pinball from a luck-based pastime to a skill-oriented arcade attraction. Renowned as a leading American pinball manufacturer, Gottlieb earned a reputation for quality engineering, iconic backglass artwork and user-friendly designs—often dubbed the “Cadillac of Pinball”—and produced a vast catalog of electromechanical and later solid-state pinball machines, including landmark titles such as Black Hole, that helped define pinball mechanics and arcade culture. Following acquisition by Columbia Pictures in 1977 and subsequent corporate iterations (including Mylstar and Premier Technology), the company continued innovating through the 1980s and 1990s before ceasing operations in 1996, with Barb Wire among the final Gottlieb-branded releases; today Gottlieb machines remain highly sought by collectors, restorers and arcade operators for their durable construction, classic play features and lasting influence on pinball history.