Welcome to the Bootleg artwork gallery, a place to view all the fun and interesting artwork produced during the arcade industry boom.  What is bootleg artwork you ask? In slang, bootleg means fake, unauthorized, illegal, or of low quality. Basically it was artwork that was produced without the original manufacturer’s authorization or licensing.  The 1980’s were like the wild west for the booming arcade industry. Everyone wanted to cash in, and it was impossible to police all the pirated or bootleg product. The internet didn’t exist and most of it was sold in catalogs, at tradeshows, or by word of mouth. It is difficult to know who was making some of this artwork, but it was most likely 1) shady overseas or US manufacturer’s making pirated pcbs and artwork to sell as kits to operators at a lower cost. 2) made by the operators themselves because it was cheaper than buying OEM replacement parts, especially if they were operating hundreds of games. 3) game part distributors looking to offer cheaper products to sell 4) small print shops looking to cash in on the arcade industry explosion.  Or all of these, plus a variety of other possibilities. It is this bit of unknown that causes some difficulty with identification.  This won’t be a comprehensive list as I imagine there are hundreds or even thousands more examples out there.  If you have a cool bootleg piece of art you’d like to share, drop me a line and let’s get it posted, or if you recognize something as legit, or if you’ve seen it on a game or in a kit, please let me know!