Stories

Chips, cookies, sodas–and books–from a vending machine. Avon’s entertaining comic books—western, horror, romance, war, science fiction, and gangster titles, mostly—appealed to readers of all ages from 1945 through the mid-1950s. To help take advantage of this mass appeal and create an easy method of distribution, publisher Avon created the VendAvon, a coin-operated book vending machine, found in airports, hospitals, and ferry terminals.

Avon installed 210 machines, each containing 24 of the latest Avon titles, across several states.