By Christopher D. Salyers
We are living in the age of the vending machine. Be it water, hot pasta, used underwear, gold bars or hypodermic needles, nearly anything can be purchased with the right amount of change. Vending Machines: Coined Consumerism traces the history of vending machines, following them from their beginnings as mere snack receptacles to the present, where they offer high-end goods, gadgets and things that needn’t be automatically dispensed. Salyers tells their history through pictures from all over the world, essays and interviews featuring people like on-the-go machine enthusiast-turned-artist Clark Whittington, creator of the Art-O-Mat.