I took a look in that thread and it does look similar in all aspects, just your Wards vacuum has a smaller headlight lens for some reason. Montgomery Ward did make things identical to other vacuums (or under license), but they cut corners here and there in the design to make it cheaper and more affordable. This is likely an explanation for the weird manual handle release and why it's made of plastic (Bakelite?) and not metal.
In any case, it's likely a pretty rare vacuum, as I can find no other photos, advertisements, or evidence of this vacuum existing. It was hard enough just trying to date that early Montgomery Ward logo. lol
You could have the only surviving one for all we know!
