Early 1900s Mystery Attachment

[coffeecanman]

I picked up a set of ancient Hoover dusting tools (as if I needed another) and came across this attachment I haven't seen before. I'm not entirely sure it's made by Hoover, it resembles the library brush, but that's not round. The brush ring is made of wood and held onto the metal body by 2 (missing) screws. Has anyone seen one of these before? I would date it somewhere around 1920.

 

[coffeecanman]

[No message]

 

[coffeecanman]

[No message]

 

[rugsucker]

attachment ?

This could be a library att to clean books while on the shelf from possibly an even earlier Hoover or central vac or early portable canister vacs such as Western Electric.
Probably as above 1920 or earlier when there was no radio or TV and few movie houses.Household entertainment would have been piano or other instruments,victrolas,books and magazines.Where the modern home might have rows or video tapes or discs the vintage home would have rows of books and would likely be near dirt and gravel roads and coal furnaces and the endless dust they produced.

 

[3rdgenvacguy]

Early attachment

The tool is similar to a tool from my Hoover Senior tool set, although has a different shape. The tool you have looks to be from a sand cast method. Look how rough it is on the inside like it has a sand texture, and the tools are really heavy and thick walled. I would guess before 1920 or so.

 

[coffeecanman]

It looked like a library brush to me as well, but as you noticed, the Hoover version is a different shape. It somehow ended up in the box of Hoover tools, perhaps the original owner upgraded to a Hoover from something else and kept this tool since The Hoover didn't come with one. The coupler has one end wrapped in old friction tape to make it fit on the hose, which is another reason I suspected it to be a non-Hoover part.

 

[caligula]

Early 1900's attachments.

Hi CoffeeCanMan:

I have stacks of papers on the early electrics, but the granddaddy of them all was a 'portable' called the Federal Electric. The picture shows the tools to this beast. Looks like the 'library' tool was a common part of the equipment, another company was the Thurmam of Saint Louis, 1899. I have the entire instruction books for both, but they are too many pages to post here.

Looks like Hoover was simply following the trend. And yes, Hoover did use sand-casting on the early models.

I'll see what other goodies I can find in my boxes of paperwork.

 

[caligula]

The Federal Electric.

Here's a picture of the beast. As to the price? Would you believe $140.00. In 1910 that was a chunk of money.