Automatic Vacuum Company

VacuumLand – Vintage & Modern Vacuum Enthusiasts

Help Support VacuumLand:

M

MAKER

New member
Joined
May 27, 2016
Messages
3
I was cleaning out my parents place and came across this. It made by the American Vacuum Cleaner Company of Bloomington Illinois. Are better hoses available or is it best to keep it original. I am missing the handle and extension wand also. The more I look at it the more I like it. Is it worth anything, just curious at this point. Thanks in advance for your help.

maker-2016052820163703562_1.jpg
 
I never knew that Bloomington, Illinois was home to another maker of vacuum cleaners before Eureka Williams set up shop there. Very interesting. I know that Williams Oil-a-Matic was based there, and that when Eureka merged with Williams they moved there from Detroit after WWII. I wonder if there was some very early connection with Williams and this ancient vac from
Bloomington. Hmmmmm......
 
The vacuum contraption we see in the first post actually does not say American Vacuum Cleaner Company. It says Automatic Vacuum Cleaner Company....which is very different. The word "automatic" has a long history with Eureka Williams in Bloomington, Illinois. The original company was called Williams Oil-a-Matic which referred to their unique home heating device which used cooking oil. When Williams merged with Eureka of Detroit, the company continued to use the "matic" theme with the Roto-Matic canister and "Automatic" upright of the late 1950's. So I wonder if this "Automatic" vacuum device is a very early attempt at making vacuum cleaners by the Williams company in Bloomington. This demands lots more research..... :-)
 
The American Vacuum Cleaner Company.

Hi eurekaprince:

Yes there was a company by that name and it was founded by David T. Kenny who was the main patent holder of numerous non electric vacuum cleaners. There were countless designs by him and many other people that go back to Ives W. Mc'Gaffy (June 5, 1869,) and most were far from perfect. Fact is, without an electric motor most were useless! The Ideal was one of the few that worked, and as you see it was available with or without the electric motor. I happen to own several of these two person pumpers.

Starting in September of 1980 I wrote several articles on the history of the non electric after doing extensive research at the Chicago public Library and ammassed several scrapbooks of patents. But prior to the founding of the V.C.C.C.(January 2, 1983) there was no data abailable so this material was the basis for our newsletters.

Chicago played a huge roll in the manufacturing of vacuum cleaners and related devices both electric and non electric.

caligula++5-29-2016-18-56-16.jpg
 
Hi guys! Thank you for contributing to this interesting discussion!

But we still need to find out who was the Automatic Vacuum Cleaner Company in Bloomington, Illinois? And was it related to the original Williams company in that town? Did the American Vacuum Cleaner Company have a branch in Bloomington, too?
 
The Automatic Vacuum Cleaner Company

was a company which produced several models of non electric vacuum cleaners, and was based out of Bloomington, Illinois. It was of no relation to either the American Vacuum Cleaner Company or Eureka.

In the early 1900's the non electrics were a dime a dozen, and very few of them worked.
 
Thanks for that Alex. Indeed, after a bit more net-surfing, I was able to find two advertisements for vacuum cleaner makers based in Bloomington, Illinois in the 1920's (Automatic and Just-Rite). This would have been in the same era that Williams Oil-o-Matic was making their home heaters there. It seems Bloomington was an attractive location for setting up factories in that era, and it was not far from Chicago which was booming at the time....probably a few hours away by train or truck.
 
Would be nice for this year's convention attendees to make a short side-trip to Bloomington, Illinois to see the famed Eureka Williams plant on East Bell Street. The name is engraved in stone on the front of the building!
 
No...sadly I won't be able to attend this summer. I have a lot on my plate as I am the primary caregiver for my elderly mom...

Maybe some other time...would love to meet the gang at VLand one of these days!
 
Hi eurkaprince.

Welcome to my world, my mom, pictured below, just turned 91 and is doing great, but I still have to keep my eyes on her.

And yes, she is attending the convention this year. That should be very interesting, but then she was the woman who created all the paperwork. From letters to the membership (all 6 of them) registration forms, to final editing of the newsletters.

And what's interesting, she's never been to a convention.

Alex Taber.

P.s. Caligula was the cat resting in my lap.

caligula++5-30-2016-19-11-47.jpg
 
Eureka Williams

I also have a Automatic pump vacuum. I will have to pull it out and add a picture tomorrow. They are very heavy, and because they are on a sled, hard to move around. Lots of cast iron parts. I have the handle and the wand, as well. Now to the offshoot. I was watching chasing classic cars tonight (car guy), and they were talking about a Renault Dauphine, and then Wayne (the host), said no its a Henney. He then proceeded to read a tag on the firewall or fender that mentioned the Eureka Williams company of Bloomington, Illinois. The Henney Kilowatt was an electric car introduced in 1959. Eureka Williams designed the electric propulsion system for the car.

http://https//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henney_Kilowatt
 

Similar threads

human
Finally got a power head for my Eureka
2
Replies
35
Views
129
rugsucker
R
amtraksebo1997
Won the 90s vacuum lottery!!!
Replies
16
Views
20
panasonicvac
panasonicvac
human
Discovery Plus Gets a New Lease on Life
Replies
7
Views
152
panasonicvac
panasonicvac
amtraksebo1997
Weird Kirby Mattress cleaning contraptions
Replies
14
Views
55
tolivac
T
K
Need advice on which vacuum to purchase next
Replies
6
Views
21
kirbyman65
kirbyman65

Latest posts

Back
Top