Compact Electra C6

[kirbyotronic]

And I know about the sticker, it's from the thrift shop that I got it from.

~Alex

 

[normvac]

New Compact. from the 60's

I remember our friends and neighbors across the street when I was growing up Traded a 517 (basicly new) Kirby in on that same Compact. She had an electrolux before and never liked the Kirby. So when buying one in those days, Kirby and Compact had you recomend friends, in writing that would see the demo and possibly buy one. Then you would get credit toward your payments. Don't remember how much money. So my Mom had the demo and I was completely sold. NO way after making payments on our Air Way 66 ( $75.00), she would pay $149.00 for a "new" vacuum !!
Norm

 

[methodistbill]

Model Name

Would anyone happen to know the history behind the model name "Electra"?

 

[compactelectra]

I Always Thought

That the Electra name came from the first power nozzle outlet. I don't see one on this machine.

 

[compactelectra]

I Guess Not

Here is the ad piece for the Compact Electra with no power nozzle. Does anyone know the story of that model?

 

[aeoliandave]

I love this picture. Her vacuuming style is sooo laid back and casual. If she had a few more wands she wouldn't even have to shift in her shift. Those polished floor tools have a blue tint added for this manual. My buddy Al in Winnipeg has those same floor nozzles in a matching crinkletone turquoise for his Compact - his Dad bought it for his Mom down in North Dakota years ago.

 

[methodistbill]

Is it me or does the model look just a little mad or even "liquored up" in that ad? LOL! That's a great ad BTW!

 

[crevicetool]

Fred....

Tell the story about the "lady" posing with the Compact!

I Love it!
Rick

 

[compactelectra]

The Story Goes

That they had this photo shot all set up and ready to go and the model they had scheduled didn't show. The advertising folks went out onto Santa Monica Blvd. and picked up this one. It turns out she is man (or so the story goes!)

 

[electroluxxxx]

WOW!!!!! you cannot even tell that she is a man

 

[briankirbyclass]

"She" sure has some LONG legs! Notice how long "her" legs are? Good grief "she" must be 7 feet 9 inches!

 

[kirbyotronic]

I'm going to have nightmares tonight!

I hope I can find more Compacts, they're one of my favorite canister vacuums!

Also, one of the wooden legs on the bottom of the hassock has a little chunk that got split off . Darn those idiots at the thrift shops! I could tell it was a "fresh" split when I got it, oh well. Does it affect the value/collectibility?

~Alex

 

[danemodsandy]

Bill:

"Would anyone happen to know the history behind the model name "Electra"?"

My understanding is that it goes back to Interstate Engineering Corporation's (IEC) roots in the aircraft component business. At the time IEC got into the vacuum business (1940), the Lockheed Electra L-10 (introduced in 1935) was a very famous, very highly thought-of airplane; it was Lockheed's first twin-engined, all-metal design. The Electra name (which Lockheed took from a star in the Pleiades, a cluster of stars in the Taurus Constellation) had very positive associations to people in the aircraft biz, even years after Lockheed's airplane went out of production (there was also an Electra passenger airliner, the L-188, introduced in '57). Naming IEC's own product "Electra" years later was probably the result of those associations; to IEC's people, "Electra" meant the finest, best-engineered product of its kind you could buy.

Here's a photo of a Lockheed Electra 10-E; this one was Amelia Earhart's:

 

[danemodsandy]

Vacuum Cleaners and Aircraft:

Bill:

If anyone's wondering what IEC was doing in the vacuum cleaner biz, it was to "smooth out" the financial ups and downs of the aircraft biz. When the economy is up or there's a war on, the aircraft biz is usually good, but peacetime and economic downturns can really hurt. Having a consumer product that people bought day in, day out was a pretty smart move for IEC at the time.

 

[methodistbill]

Electra Biggs

I was wondering if there was a Lockheed connection. Both the Lockheed Electra and the Buick Electra were named for a woman from my town -- Electra Waggoner Biggs. For those familiar with the art world, Electra was a famous sculptor. She sculpted the busts of Eisenhour, Bob Hope, Harry Truman, etc. In fact, the bust of Truman on the dime is modeled after her sculpture of him. Her most famous sculpture is of Will Rogers on horseback. The original sits in front of the Amon Carter Museum in Forth Worth. Another copy of that life-size sculpture sits on the campus of Texas Tech University. Anyway, she was quite the jet setter, coming from a wealthy ranching family. She spent time in New York but eventually came back to the family ranch here in Texas when she married a man named John Biggs. As I understand it, it was her husband who was friends with the engineer (whose name I don't know) at Lockheed who named the aircraft after Electra Biggs. Apparently, this guy drifted over to GMs Buick Motor Division where he was instrumental in designing and marketing a new luxury Buick called the Electra. Electra Biggs died in 2001, but her daughter still lives here and is a friend. I'll have to tell her that her Mom's name may have been lent to a vacuum cleaner too! LOL!

 

[methodistbill]

BTW

I don't know that all the detail of that story are correct. That's the story that floats around my town. I'll have to visit with her daughter to get the full scoop.

 

[methodistbill]

My Bad

Ok. My friend tells me that only the Buick was named for her Mom. Sorry about this drift. But you can see why I was curious about the origin of the model name. Again, sorry!