Electrolux Corp. Model L - 1962 Sales Receipt

[ronni]

As I was searching for information in Vacuumland on the Electrolux Corporation Model L I found this sales receipt dated "6-62" (posted by 1926700).

This should end the ambiguity of its debut (Aerus's Product History Chart indicates that it was introduced in 1967, and I've read in other Vacuumland posts that it was 1963).

This means that the Model R was sold from 1960-1962, and that the Model L debuted with the Model GH (which shared the same original color--ivory), Model CA (same aquamarine green color as the first Gs and the first B-8s). 1962 sure was a busy year for Electrolux Corporation!

 

[rugsucker]

Mo L contract

The above is good information and history.I don't mean to complicate this but if we look further we see "10-63" at the bottom edge and 2 mentions of Tulsa Zip Code "74102".The Zip(zone improvement)Code was not in regular use until 1963.I would imagine that people might have been notified at some point of their future Zip to update any forms that would normally be ordered and printed.Basic info above is good but may need a second look.

 

[electrolux137]

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I'm inclined to agree with Rugsucker, because the date of 1963 for the Model L was given to me by two different Electrolux salesmen, both of whom worked for the company during that time and neither of which knew the other.

I don't know how to account for the 1962 date in the receipt above, especially since it was in the middle of the year. Electrolux did "pre-release" some machines in certain areas of the country and that may have been the case. It's kinda odd that the "62" part of the date was circled, as if to make a point of it.

Granted, we who have researched Electrolux history know that their historical information can only be trusted so far, indeed, even as to their mistaken run-dates for the R & L models in so many different corporate-published documents. But I think those salesmen who were "in the trenches" at that time would know.

One of the gents I know went to work just when the Model F was introduced. The Model E was still being offered at the time as the economy model and he said he sold many of them.

I had many long and interesting chats with him about the company history at that time. I asked him one day if he recalled when the power nozzle came out. He exclaimed, "Oh my God! That was the most fantastic thing in the world! We'd sell them so fast we couldn't keep them in stock! They went with most of the new Fs that we sold, and many people were asking if they could be fitted to older models. Before long, Electrolux came out with upgrade kits for the early F and EA, and then not too long after that for the Model E. They never did offer them with models older than that. Their thinking was that customers with those old machines really needed to trade-in for new machines, and I can't tell you how many of them did so, just to get the power nozzle!"

(I'm surely paraphrasing a bit but that =is= the gist of his remarks.)

 

[kirbysthebest]

PSST

In these days of identity theft, though I know no one on this site would do so, outsiders can access this site. I would suggest blurring the Rep's SS#. I know its from 50 some years ago, just don't want to tempt anyone.

 

[ronni]

Thanks for your comments.

First of all, good point re: the #. If the webmaster wants to delete this thread for that reason that's fine. Believe it or not, I didn't even notice it. I don't recall the original thread on which the slip was uploaded, but it seems that it was several years old; so it has been displayed for a while already. Just sayin'.

Regarding the '10-63' I did notice that and almost didn't post this thread as a result; but then got to thinking if it stood for 'October 1963' it's even more intriguing that Electrolux would pre-date its forms (if the sale were in fact June of '63). Had the code been '5-63' or earlier I would have taken for granted that it was a salesperson's quickness error.

Another reason I decided to post this thread is the result of the serial #--figuring that '30309' means that the machine was the 30,309th off the assembly line. Perhaps I'm mistaken. By the way, does anyone know the average number of machines made in a model's run?

I have also heard of "pre-release" sales, but I wonder if they were ever that early. I'd always thought they'd be a month or maybe even two ahead of the widespread availability (e. g. February for an April release; or August for an October release). Now that you mention it, though, I wonder if pre-release sales account for the differing years of introduction stated in corporate documents?

Anyway, in my enthusiasm of discovering a piece of information that I thought solved a mystery it seems I jumped the gun. After all, one piece of evidence--perhaps written in error or even someone's practice slip--by itself can't provide certainty. Now, if somewhere in some attic, cellar, or some other forgotten location someone finds a carton or more of old sales slip carbons then there would be conclusiveness.

I enjoyed the conversation just the same. Thanks again.