Rare US G-Es: Prestige Model CM Swivel-Top & Mark II line

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paul

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I have been unable to find any advertisements or other information on the Prestige so far. My research indicates that the Swivel-Top's pn port was first added to some of the models in 1976, so it was made between then and the early 1980s. The photo's are from a Texas estate sales website.

The Mark II cleaners all appear to be the economy models and were marketed briefly in 1971 at Zayre discount department stores located in the eastern US from 1956 to 1990; the photo scans were faint except for the Swivel-Top's.
 

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  • Prestige by Premier canister vacuum model CM - front 1 of 2.png
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  • Prestige by Premier canister vacuum model CM - top.png
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  • Prestige by Premier canister vacuum model CM - pn port.png
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  • Prestige by Premier canister vacuum model CM - bottom.png
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  • 1971 Apr 18 SARASOTA HERALD-TRIBUNE Zayre ad - G-E Mark II upright, portable, Swivel-Top list...png
    1971 Apr 18 SARASOTA HERALD-TRIBUNE Zayre ad - G-E Mark II upright, portable, Swivel-Top list...png
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  • 1971 Sep 19 SARASOTA HERALD-TRIBUNE - G- E Mark II Swivel-Top.png
    1971 Sep 19 SARASOTA HERALD-TRIBUNE - G- E Mark II Swivel-Top.png
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I'd be curious if the hose is original or something a vac shop put together to replace a cracked open original. Never saw a GE hose that color and especially with a blue canister body.
 
I'm less familiar with the Premier Swivel-Tops, but to me it looks like a replacement. One would think that the original were either white or blue to match the canister colors; the colors work together much like a white T shirt, a silver necklace, blue jeans and brown loafers would go together; but I tend to agree with Elliot's opinion in this case.
 
I think we had at least one Canadian General Electric Swivel Top cleaner with a power nozzle in the mid 1970’s. Pretty sure they were sold at our Consumers Distributing catalogue stores….maybe even at our Canadian Tire hardware stores.
 
eurekaprince said:
I think we had at least one Canadian General Electric Swivel Top cleaner with a power nozzle in the mid 1970’s. Pretty sure they were sold at our Consumers Distributing catalogue stores….maybe even at our Canadian Tire hardware stores.
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Yes ! The Swiveltop with the power nozzle is way way up there on my Holy Grail list. You can't hardly find images of them much less the actual equipment.
 
eurekaprince said:
I think we had at least one Canadian General Electric Swivel Top cleaner with a power nozzle in the mid 1970’s. Pretty sure they were sold at our Consumers Distributing catalogue stores….maybe even at our Canadian Tire hardware stores.
Click to expand...
Indeed you did, Brian!

Catalog photo posted by petek in a 2008 thread.
 

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  • 1980 Apr 15 CALGARY HERALD - G-E Powerhead Swivel-Top - ad photo.png
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Hi everyone and thank you for the kind words. I try to provide what ever information I can.

Re the Regina style GE machines - that goes into the history of Switson Industries in Canada.

Switson Industries, of Welland, Ontario, was the largest manufacturer of vacuum cleaners in Canada from the mid 1950's on. As well as making machines of their own design, which were sold by many different companies including Eatons, Simpson Sears, Canadian Tire, Fairbanks Morse etc, they also made machines under contract for various brands like Regina and Kirby. Around 1967 or 1968 the company was taken over by General Signal Appliances (Regina) but continued to produce machines for many companies. In 1981 the design for the Regina vacuums was sold to General Electric who started producing them under the GE name with the GE powerhead. This only lasted till 1986, when that division of GE was bought out by Black and Decker - who continued to produce this style of machine under the B & D name until about 1990
 
collector2 said:
Hi everyone and thank you for the kind words. I try to provide what ever information I can.

Re the Regina style GE machines - that goes into the history of Switson Industries in Canada.

Switson Industries, of Welland, Ontario, was the largest manufacturer of vacuum cleaners in Canada from the mid 1950's on. As well as making machines of their own design, which were sold by many different companies including Eatons, Simpson Sears, Canadian Tire, Fairbanks Morse etc, they also made machines under contract for various brands like Regina and Kirby. Around 1967 or 1968 the company was taken over by General Signal Appliances (Regina) but continued to produce machines for many companies. In 1981 the design for the Regina vacuums was sold to General Electric who started producing them under the GE name with the GE powerhead. This only lasted till 1986, when that division of GE was bought out by Black and Decker - who continued to produce this style of machine under the B & D name until about 1990
Click to expand...
It is amazing to me that something produced into the 1990s never turns up on ebay. Those canisters turn up very occasionally as Reginas but I have never seen them under any other brand name. Interesting. In the 1990s Black & Decker was selling a big canister vacuum made by Samsung, the CA1440, that came with a Samsung PH90 power nozzle. The PH90 was based on the old GE power nozzle but in a different width so none of the GE/Filter Queen brush rolls fit the PH90. And of course they have the irregularly sized upside down Samsung style wands.

Also surprised to see vacuums sold with Fairbanks-Morse branding ! When I think of Fairbanks-Morse I think of big opposed piston two stroke diesel engines used in WWII vintage US Navy submarines, ALCO railroad locomotives and stationary power generation.
 
cheesewonton said:
It is amazing to me that something produced into the 1990s never turns up on ebay. Those canisters turn up very occasionally as Reginas but I have never seen them under any other brand name. Interesting. In the 1990s Black & Decker was selling a big canister vacuum made by Samsung, the CA1440, that came with a Samsung PH90 power nozzle. The PH90 was based on the old GE power nozzle but in a different width so none of the GE/Filter Queen brush rolls fit the PH90. And of course they have the irregularly sized upside down Samsung style wands.

Also surprised to see vacuums sold with Fairbanks-Morse branding ! When I think of Fairbanks-Morse I think of big opposed piston two stroke diesel engines used in WWII vintage US Navy submarines, ALCO railroad locomotives and stationary power generation.
Click to expand...
I have a spare Black and Decker to trade lol - Picked it up for another collector two years ago and havent heard from him since.

Fairbanks Morse, Firestone and several other well known farm dealers had full lines of household goods as well. The idea was, when the farmer sold his crop and came in to get new farm equipment (or repairs) his wife would be occupied seeing the household stuff and they could sell that to him as well.
 

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