Door to Door Royals
Yes, from their beginning and at least well into the 30's, and maybe beyond that. Philip A. Geier started the P.A. Geier Company in 1905, first as a job order machine shop, then making parts for punch presses, and eventually making his own line of punch presses. He built his first vacuum cleaner in 1910, named it the Royal, and they sold so well that he soon dropped out of the punch press business and devoted his full attention to producing vacuum cleaners. These were sold mostly in homes at the time so people could see how it performed in their own home environment. Then in 1928 he redesigned it, reversing the direction of the motor and fan and moving the bag outlet from one side to the other and eventually expanding the line to 3 models: the Standard, the Super, and the Purifier, which had a crystal chamber on the front of the fan case where the nozzle or hose connected, and here is where the Royal story and the beginning of Electro-Hygiene connect.
A young man named Art Frankenfeld began selling Royals for the P.A. Geier Company, and with his energy and charisma could sell the top-of-the-line Purifier like no other! Health and sanitation were a major part of his presentations and Philip A. Geier noticed his sales record. I don't know which one of them came up with the idea, but between the two of them it was decided to rename the Purifier, and in 1934 it became the Electro-Hygiene, with the company being a wholly owned subsidiary of the P.A. Geier Company, with Art Frankenfeld leading the division. As many of you know, I sold Electro-Hygienes in the 70's and had the opportunity to meet Mr. Frankenfeld at a sales convention in 1974. He was every bit as energetic and charismatic at 67 years old as he was when he first started selling for the P.A. Geier Company so many years before!
Jeff