Sweetheart

Gottlieb's 'Sweetheart' pinball machine, released in 1947, emerged during the post-World War II boom in American coin-operated entertainment. This period marked a significant expansion in pinball manufacturing as materials and production capacity returned to civilian use, and Americans sought affordable entertainment options.

The machine featured classic 1940s romantic artwork and theming, which was popular during this optimistic post-war era. Like other machines of its time, Sweetheart utilized electro-mechanical components including score wheels, stepper units, and relay-based scoring. The playfield likely featured the standard elements of the era: bumpers, kick-out holes, and likely a set of pop bumpers which had been introduced just a few years earlier in 1947 by Gottlieb's 'Humpty Dumpty'.

As a product of the late 1940s, Sweetheart would have been manufactured before the widespread adoption of flippers, which Gottlieb introduced in 1947 with 'Humpty Dumpty'. This places the machine in an interesting transitional period in pinball history, representing the tail end of the pre-flipper era or possibly one of the early flipper games. The romantic theme and artwork would have appealed to both male and female players, making it a good choice for locations trying to attract a broader audience.