This site deals with anything related to popcorn machines or popcorn poppers made by Manley Inc. from the 1940s through the 1990s.
Try the following links for various Manley Popcorn Machine Models:
The Merchandise page features information related to products that Manley offered to its popcorn machine owners. Manley Inc. provided all of the supplies and advertising material that you would need to run you popcorn popper. Supplies available from Manley included the popcorn itself, the bags and boxes for selling the popcorn, the seasoning oil, and the salt, as well as advertising material.
There are a variety of different Manley Popcorn machines. They start with the 1939 model, which would have been the standard during the early 1940s. Next are the early Premier models and the M-Line, which would have been the standard models for the late 1940s. The Premier models are smaller than the M-Line, with a smaller kettle and operate on standard electrical outlets. The Aristocrat models would be representative of the 1950s. The Aristocrat models feature the Cascade Kettle (see the description of the kettle below), as compared to the traditional kettles of the earlier models. The 1960s saw the introduction of the Vista Pop models. These models used a Vista Pop kettle that used Pyrex for part of the kettle. This allowed the customer to see the popcorn popping.
Please use the following photos to help identify your Manley Popcorn machine model. Clicking the following photos will take you to the corresponding web page. Please note that not all Manley popcorn models are shown, but these represent the more common models. Also, many of the models were available in a counter top version.
It appears that three different types of kettles were used by Manley--The traditional, Cascade, and the Vista Pop.
Traditional Kettle Cascade Kettle Vista Pop Kettle
Many of the earlier machines resembled patent 2,232,954 granted to Charles T. Manley, assigned to Burch Manufacturing Company. Application date of October 20, 1939, granted on February 25, 1941. You can search for patents at the U.S. Patents and Trademarks Office at http://www.uspto.gov/patft/.
(work in progress).
The company originated in 1921 or 1922 when Julian Burch started making popcorn machines under the name--Burch Manufacturing Company. Shortly thereafter Charles T. Manley joined Julian Burch. Burch then left and started a new company, which is still operating today, Star Manufacturing.
Charles T. Manley continued to use the Burch Manufacturing name until 1940. According to Manley Inc records from the 1950s, the name changed from Burch Manufacturing to Manley on September 18, 1940.
Cantrell International, a division of A. C. Horn, purchased the Manley, Inc. Food Machinery Division in 1993 (A.C. Horn & Company).
Manley was officially incorporated in Missouri in 1947, charter #14450.
Manley Inc was served by the CB&Q Railroad http://www.burlingtonroute.com/docs/route/industries.html
If you have any questions, feel free to e-mail me at rf@bradley.edu.