Electrolux Thrift Model Instruction Leaflet!

[electrolux137]

~
~

You may know there was recently a really nice -- 100% original and complete -- Electrolux Model T -- "Thrift Model" on eBay. I was stunned to see that even the instruction leaflet was included.

I have a nearly mint Model T myself but have never had -- or even seen -- the instruction leaflet for it. So I contacted the seller and asked if she would be willing to scan the leaflet for me. She did better than that -- she took it to a print service bureau where they made a high-quality brochure that is as clear and vibrant as the original! I just got it today, and here are some photos.

I also included a couple of photos of the instruction leaflet for the Model S -- "Special Model" -- that came right after the Model T. You'll see that it's the same leaflet with the new model inserted. This was back in the good old days of printing when doing this would have been a very tedious job for a layout artist. No such thing as scanners and laser printers!

 

[hygiene903]

Great Brochures, Charles!

Thank you for sharing them. And I know what you mean about the procedure to update it by switching the pics. The new ones would have to be sized just right, trimmed perfectly, then pasted in on the layout. Back in the days when cut & paste actually meant to physically cut and paste!
Jeff

 

[rugsucker]

Model T (Electrolux,not Ford)

I have only seen one mo T with a 'real' original owner,a very few with collectors and like you NO instructions.Great information and it shows switch in the down position!Of the few I've seen some have switches replaced with a standard generic and others are in both up & down positions as covers can be removed for service/repair.Thanks for showing.

 

[dysonman1]

I have a very mint model T (thrift model) in the Museum's collection. The switch is at the top position. I do not believe the machine has ever seen enough use to be repaired, and would conclude that the switch was "up" when installed at the factory.

 

[electrolux137]

~
~

I remember a lady named Ida Lankford who had one when I was a little boy -- she kept it in the front closet across from the front door. One day Mama and I drove over there to pick her up to take her to choir rehearsal -- Mama was the choir director and Mrs. Lankford was the organist. I wanted to go in to see her "sweeper" but it was pouring-down rain and Mama wouldn't let me get out of the car. I had a tantrum and then pouted all day!!

That switch was in the down position. Many later years when I saw another one for the first time since Mrs. Lankford's machine, the switch was also down. And when I saw the thing, I thought it was something that someone at the company had made as a prank -- it looked so cheap and plain that I couldn't imagine it was a real product! Since I'd not seen one since I was four years old I'd forgotten how crummy it was!

A couple of years after that I met an Electrolux oldtimer and told him about it. He said it was a real product, that the company came out with it as a last-gasp offer to stubborn customers. It came out in 1956 when the Model E and E-Automatic were being sold. The Model E cost $69.75, the E-Automatic cost $79.75, and the Model T cost $49.75. (And the LXI, about to be discontinued, sold for $136.35!!!) [I have sales receipts for all these models, and many others.]

I have since found two more Thrift Models. One switch was down and one was up. The one that was up had a rubber tip on it from the Model E-style switch. (The Model T in fact has the same identical switch, just mounted differently.) It's hard to imagine that the company was SO cheap that they couldn't have put that rubber tip on the switch! But there you have it. The one I still have is the one with the switch in the up position and the rubber tip.

And by the way, all the ones I've seen came with cloth Model E-style hoses. Some of them had a hammertone blue coupler (including Mrs. Lankford's) and some of them had chrome couplers. The machine on the instruction leaflet clearly has a hammertone blue coupler.

Although the Thrift Model is funky and 100% utilitarian with little to commend itself in terms of appearance, it's among my favorite Electroluxes. I've always had a soft spot for the company's economy models -- E, T, S, R, L -- because so many households had them when I was a kid. And Mrs. Lankford was a really sweet lady who always gave me milk and cookies with pink icing when Mama and I would visit her.

Here's a web page about my Model T.

http://1377731.com/thrift

 

[tolivac]

I have a Lux "thrift" model that looks like a G.The bag lid is not hinged-no bag fill indicator or ejector,or bag full shut off-just a vac.Got it from the dump out of the electronics dumpster-blue in color.Someone used it without a bag-so had to clean it out with the M1.It only had a hose and a floor tool.Looked in the dumpster but couldn;t find any other parts for it.Could these machines also be used as a deal closer-the salesman would offer them to a customer to use as a second vac or upstairs vac during the sale of a more deluxe model.Also mine doesn't have a cord rewind-manual wind.

 

[dysonman1]

I think the salesmen presented the top of the line, then moved to the middle of the line if that was too expensive, and as a last ditch effort to get a sale, the economy model. How much commission would a fifty dollar sale generate to a salesman anyway? Thee were no 'add ons' like the cord winder to help make more commission. I can't imagine many salesmen would have even talked about it.

 

[electrolux137]

Lux "thrift" model that looks like a G

~
~

Rex, I'd love to see photos of your Lux "thrift" model that looks like a G. I've never seen such a beast!

 

[dysonman1]

The way he described it, it sounds like an R with a cord winder.

 

[tolivac]

Mine Doesn't have a cordwinder.You wrapped it by hand on the flange on the back.Right now I can't put my hands on the thing--its buried behind dozens of other vacuums,and sewing machines and other stuff.Of all the DTD vacuum companies seems like its only 'Lux that offered customers a choice of more than one model machine.The machine looks like a G maybe it is some other model.