Hudson hand vac

[dustin]

I just got this today at an estate sale, and I would like to know more about it. 1. how old is it? 2. is it rare? and 3. what can i use for a belt? i tried a dirt devil hand vac belt but it was too long. This is not how I found it, it has had a serious cleaning. the entire vacuum was caked in sticky dirt, and the bag was filthy. I did hand wash the bag and it came out much better and none of the lettering peeled off (yay!) THANK YOU!!

 

[dustin]

by the way, it does run!

 

[dustin]

front...

 

[electrolux~137]

That looks very much like a Kenmore hand-vac that I have stored away somewhere. The Kenmore, from the mid 1930s, has a black cloth bag.

Just googled, and, ah yes... see link.

 

[kirbyclassiciii]

There Was a Royal 501 Branded as Hudson

Very old VacuumLand threads about the Royal 501 and its many badge-engineered clones can be found in the archives, among them one branded as Hudson (probably Dayton-Hudson Corporation).

Thread #1448 depicts the many faces of the 501.

The 501 was also sold by Montgomery Ward through the early 1960s. Even Electro-Hygiene had its version of the 501.

~Ben

 

[joe22]

i think the royal hand vac 501 shows up under more names/brands than the upright does

 

[electrolux~137]

I have a Royal 501 branded as "Regal." It is painted gray hammertone, with gray trim, a dark blue bag and a black Belden cord.

 

[dustin]

sorry, I found some pics of a royal 501, and it looks nothing like mine. I found a small rubber band that works as a belt for now!

 

[midcenturymike]

It's likely from Detroit's legendary J.L.Hudson dept

I have a Hudson branded Royal hand vac that I picked up in the Detroit area. I've also seen electronics and fertilizer spreaders branded with the Hudson logo. Nice find!