Eureka Gold Crown

[packardmanken]

Just thought I would share a pic of my newest vacuum. This was a gift from a friend in Nashville TN recently. Neither he or I knew of the significance of this model #906. Has all the attachments except for the rug tool. Hose is shot. Still trying to figure out how to get the old one to come off the hose insert end!
It has all the normal dings, but overall intact. A very powerful vacuum! I have a NOS Vibrabeat in the box that will work with it. Gotta love the "vibra-Beat" attachment!!!
I also included a picture of the space-age lamp I bought while there. We live in a mid-century neighborhood, so it has already found its "forever" home!

 

[eurekaprince]

Lovely Roto-Matic!

The gold colour signifies Eureka's golden anniversary in 1957 (the company was first established in 1907).

When Eureka-Williams stopped making this Roto-Matic in the 1960's, they still held onto the trademark for the name. It was revived in 1973 for their first power nozzle.

"Matic" seems to be a phrase Eureka Williams used in many forms over the years. The companion upright to this canister was the Automatic (not very original!!!). It has it's roots in the Oil-a-Matic oil heater once produced by the "Williams" company in Illinois.

 

[kenkart]

I was always told

And thought Eureka was started in 1909, a year after Hoover, I have the same cleaner and the matching gold trimmed 260 upright, and I know it was made in 1959.

 

[suckolux]

When I see these I think of the budget Singer we had when I was born, related?

 

[eurekaprince]

Indeed, I stand corrected Hans! (Eurekaprince is developing early signs of senility!!!). Indeed, Eureka was established by Wardell in Detroit in 1909. The golden anniversary was in 1959, the year I was born. . So the gold and green Roto-Matic 960 canister and companion Automatic 260 upright were made in honour of the milestone in 1959. The colours changed to blue and silver a year later.

Eureka made several canisters for Singer, including the Singer version of the Roto-Matic called the Roll-a-Magic!

 

[eurekaprince]

I think what threw me off was the fact that these "Golden Anniversary" Eureka models were in fact available two years before the real anniversary - maybe in preparation for the anniversary. They were already being advertised in colour print ads in Life Magazine in 1957.

 

[packardmanken]

Suggestions for hose replacement?

Thanks Guys!!! I appreciate all the information. I was born in '58 so it looks very familiar to me.
Any suggestions on "re-hosing" (sic?) the hose? The machine end is plastic over the insert and this seems very delicate. Any help much appreciated.

 

[eurekaprince]

If the hose leaks air and is unusable, maybe buy a better vinyl replacement hose for use with the vac, but hold onto the original for nostalgic reasons. It's too bad that these braided Eureka Williams hoses begin to leak over the decades - they are such a classic, signature stylistic feature of these vintage cleaners! I used to love the smell of the blue hose in the tool set of our blue Eureka 260 upright!

 

[kirbyvertibles]

If you do buy a "new" hose and have trouble finding one that fits a swivel, try a new Thermax AF1 hose. It's the only hose I know of made today with an "elbow" at the end. I know this will work in the "canned ham" models of the 70's
I wish I had an easy suggestion of how to get the old hose off the original elbow.

 

[packardmanken]

Thank you guys! I will chase down the Thermax hose and see what happens. I appreciate the suggestions.

 

[paul]

Why the Eureka Golden Crown in 1957?

It could be that Eureka's advertising agency was abreast of two published works in 1957: a book by The Humanities Press (photo 1) and the Periodic Table of Elements in the Archimedean Spiral style by chemist Edward G. Marzurs (photo 2), which brought Archimedes' Principle to mind.

"Archimedes was a Greek mathematician, physicist, engineer, astronomer, and inventor from the ancient city of Syracuse in Sicily who lived from 287 B.C. to 212 B.C. He is regarded as one of the leading scientists in classical antiquity." (Wikipedia.com)

"In ancient Greece, wreaths were introduced as a reward for victory in athletic competitions, military endeavors and musical and poetic contests. Winners of the Olympic Games, which were first held in 776 B.C. and occurred every four years, were awarded a wreath made of olive leaves." (hellenic.org.au)

So it could be that the colors of the Eureka Model 960 canister and 1959 Model 260 upright vacuum were chosen to resemble olive leaf green and golden crown gold; along with white.

Dr. Bradley W. Carroll, Professor of Physics at Weber State University at Utah, researched, "In the first century BC the Roman architect Vitruvius related a story of how Archimedes uncovered a fraud in the manufacture of a golden [olive leaf] crown commissioned by Hiero II (photo 3 replica). Suspecting that the goldsmith might have replaced some of the gold given to him by an equal weight of silver, Hiero asked Archimedes to determine whether the wreath was pure gold. "[Archimedes] happened to go to the bath, and on getting into a tub observed that the more his body sank into it the more water ran out over the tub (*photo 4). As this pointed out the way to explain the case in question, he jumped out of the tub and rushed home naked, crying with a loud voice that he had found what he was seeking; for he as he ran he shouted repeatedly in Greek, 'Eureka, Eureka!' meaning 'I have found (it), I have found (it)!'" (photo 5, Oxford Languages)

That's likely what Mr. Wardell exclaimed when he designed his first vacuum cleaner and maybe others; as well as the Eureka executives' responses to the ad agency's "Golden Crown" moniker and colors of the new Model 960 Super Roto-Matic!

_____

*This illustration - revised with bolder text - is from a magazine advertisement for NBC, probably dating from the 1940s. It was found among the files of the Print and Picture Department of the Free Library of Philadelphia.

 

[eurekaprince]

Fascinating!!! I love ancient history in general and so now whenever I see those 50th anniversary Eurekas, I will think back to the ancient Greek gold crown of olive leaves!!!! Thank you!

 

[huskyvacs]

Didn't Hoover call back to ancient Rome as well with the "Servant Of The Home" slogan ?

Companies use to make products back in those days, and they all had a meaning, and something to be proud of. You made a purchase to last.

It also resembles a Roman helmet itself too.

 

[paul]

@ Brian You're welcome! I actually stumbled on that info. after doing a search for "Eureka Golden Crown". Today I scanned the database's 1959 & 1960 newspapers and found Eureka's Golden Anniversary mentioned only in 1960 ads - featuring the 910-B and the 1010 Vibra-Beat anniversary specials. So apparently the 960-A and 260-A (and matching-colored polisher-scrubber) were not specific anniversary models - or at least not nationwide, and the company observed its 50th anniversary of production in 1960 rather than its 50th anniversary of origin in 1959.

I noticed, too, as you've mentioned with Eureka's model names, that the "Mobile-Aire" moniker was used sporadically.

_____

@huskyvacs - I seem to recall Eureka's early ads referencing that same tagline. I agree that yesteryear's company products were often built with meaning and longevity as a result of manufacturing pride and a goal of customer satisfaction.

_____

1959 & 1960 Eureka Ads:

1) 1959 Feb. 2 - Roto-Matic & Vibra-Beat
2) 1959 Mar. 15 - Vibra-Beat 1010
3) 1959 June 19 - Vibra-Beat 1010 & Roto-Matic 805-B
4) 1959 Sep. 27 - Vibra-Beat campaign news release
5) 1959 Oct. 19 - 260 & 805-B
6) 1959 Dec. 6 - Roto-Matic 805
7) 1960 Feb. 22 - Roto-Matic 910-B
8) 1960 Mar. 6 - Roto-Matic 910-B
9) 1960 Mar. 20 - Vibra-Beat 1010
10) 1960 Apr. 10 - Vibra-Beat 1010
11) 1960 May 1 - Vibra-Beat 1010
12) 1960 May 16 - Vibra-Beat 1010 & Roto-Matic 805-B
13) 1960 May 25 - 860-A, 910-B, 1010
14) 1960 Dec. 16 - Roto-Matic & Polisher-Scrubber

 

[rugsucker]

Vibra-Beat

Great ads and information.
2-Should add "3 Times As Much Noise"
9,10,11-I have seen a lot of vac ads but never saw these.

 

[eurekaprince]

I always found it to be a mystery that Eureka Williams sold some canisters with braided hoses and other canisters with vinyl hoses. And there did not seem to be any logic to the decision to include one kind of hose instead of the other. Some Roto-Matic “tub vacs” came with a vinyl hose while others came with a braided hose. Never could understand why. And this happened with other models right through to the end of the 1960’s.

 

[paul]

Eureka didn't count on folks like us, now, did they?! haha

 

[paul]

960-B

Further research indicated that the 960-B was another Eureka Golden Anniversary model in 1960!

For the record, I also searched "Eureka 260 Golden Anniversary" along with general "Eureka 260" searches but located no ads. The only model numbers that appeared for the "Eureka Golden Anniversary" searches were the 910-B & 960-B.

From the February 10, 1960, SASKATOON STAR-PHOENIX newspaper:

 

[eurekaprince]

Hi Paul,

It’s kind of weird, but the only time I saw a print advertisement from EW that showed their Super Automatic 260 upright was an ad that placed most emphasis on their 960 Super Roto-Matic tub vac as the primary item being promoted. Throughout the late 1950’s and early 1960’s, the upright was added as a small part of Roto-Matic print ads at the very bottom - with some kind of text such as “and for homes with mostly wall-to-wall carpeting, Eureka offers the Super Automatic upright.”

There is more of a chance you will find something if you use “Super Automatic” in your search…without the model number….

There is a nice dealer brochure available on the internet for the 260 Super Automatic…I’ll try to find a link for you…. :-D