My "new" Good Housekeeper

[davevac]

A local vacuum store called me Saturday with a trade in they received.
It's a Good Housekeeper that appears to be from the 20s or 30s...if I'm not
mistaken, it was made by the PA Geier Co. which was Royal.
I included a pic of my Good Housekeeper from ( I think ) the early 40s..
I also have my new one...it is painted with wrinkle paint in a kind of olive drab
...not sure if the handle is original because it has a rubber hand grip..
not sure if the bag is original because the printing on it does not match the
style of my older vacs...it runs perfectly and is built almost exactly like my
older Royals..
anyone have any info. ?
thanks
dave

 

[hoover300]

WOW
I have no info, in fact i have never even seen one before. It is very cool looking! BTW what kind is the duplex in the pic? There is a very rare one with a peanut shape headlight on Youtube I have been looking for more pics of.
~K

 

[vacuumdevil]

I wonder if it still carries the good housekeeper seal of approval.

 

[lesinutah]

Ingo

This post is recalling article I read sometime ago.
The bag looks correccb. Electro hygiene, Stark and others build a royal under. Private label.
I think good housekeeping made vacuum for 3 years. I believe the years were z1957-1961.
This is all I can remember.
Les

 

[davevac]

Premier

The Premier was built by the Electric Vacuum Cleaner Co., Inc. in Cleveland.
The Company was established in 1934 and sold model 19 around then. Not sure if
mine is model 19...still looking for pics. I have a Premier Spic and Span also
built by the Elect. Vacuum Cleaner Co.

Since I posted this, I did find a Good Housekeeper Appliances, Inc. in Akron, Ohio.
They did sell vacuums and sewing machines decades ago. The original owner's son took
over the business and is still in operation. I'm going to contact him and send a
picture to see if he has any further info.
For now, I'm assuming Royal built it for them.


He's a veteran so I'll be sure to thank him today.
dave

 

[tolivac]

HMMMM-Wonder if This "Good Housekeeper" company could revive the metal Royal vacuums discontinued by TTI.A thought for us vacuum fans.

 

[dysonman1]

That's a Royal Super, built for a sales company (just like Royal built Health-Mor's and Electro-Hygiene's - later they would built Modern Hygiene). The sales company didn't make anything they just employed salesmen to sell the vacuums. Royal didn't build motor-driven brush models until the 1930's - long after Hoover's patent on the MDB was up.

 

[RugPileDial]

Neat pics...thanks! An older Royal with diagonal red/black bag is on my wish list. When I was a kid, in the seventies, we borrowed the neighbors. Your photo of the black handle grip brought back memories of the black rubber leaving black marks on my hands! I eventually was gifted that vac and had it in my first apartment. I believe I put a wrong size belt on it which caused the motor to start smoking. I’m sorry to say that I threw it in the dumpster. I would never do that today. I’ve often wondered, though: were those old Royals prone to motor burn out? I don’t see them around much.

 

[davevac]

Thanks

Thank you all for your input....
RugPileDial, I do see a lot of Kirbys, Royals here because I'm near Cleveland...
all my Royals run great..I didn't do anything but oil them
They are all straight suction

 

[lesinutah]

Davevac

How often does 1970s straight suction ro6als come up?
les

 

[davevac]

Finished

Just an update for anyone interested or for the archives...
I finished the "clean up" and had to rewire the switch to the motor..
attached a pic of the finished product. I love this vacuum...runs perfectly and
is very easy to use. I know it's the same as my other Royals but for some reason,
I like it better. I do now believe that the handle and bag are original.

I called a United Good housekeeper shop in Akron..very nice guy owns it..
he said back in the 30's the company had over 150 stores across the U.S.
They sold vacuums made by PA Geier / Royal that were labeled as the Good
Housekeeper. He said the company went bankrupt in the 50's and each store manager
had the option to purchase their store. His uncle did and he later took it over.

They are still recognized as United Good Housekeeper today but do not sell
vacuums under that name.
dave

 

[frkirby560]

"Good Housekeeper" was sold at least during the mid to late 40's because my Aunt had one for some time before she purchased her Kirby 517.

It looked like a Royal as the first one above with revolving brush; but it was hammertone red with a red bag.

 

[hygiene903]

Good Housekeeper

Congratulations Dave, on a nice find! I've never seen a straight suction Good Housekeeper before, so I'm assuming it's a rare one! Rest assured that your handle and rubber grip are original. The rubber grip was used on all Royal built machines from the early 30's until they switched to vinyl around 1960. I'm pretty sure your bag is original too.
I have the same revolving brush model as the one in your first picture, but yours has a nicer bag. The printing on mine is somewhat faded. Think your nozzle guard may have been replaced, would have been black originally. Is that a model 94 Electro-Hygiene on the left? They were the only one with the hammered finish. Here's a pic of my model 189 Good Housekeeper.
Jeff

 

[davevac]

Jeff

Yes, I believe the nozzle guard was replaced on my newer Good Housekeeper
because it is screwed on...I think the original would have been riveted on.
Just guessing though.
and
yes, that is a hammered Electro-Hygiene in the left....not the original bag and it runs a little rough....I didn't pay a lot for it and hope to upgrade someday.
BTW - my wife and I passed through Galion a few weeks ago....about 1 hour or 1 1/2
hours from where I live.
dave

 

[hygiene903]

Dave,

Yes, the original guard would have been riveted on. If yours is a model 189, it would have been built between 1945 and 1954, when they were replaced with the 801.
Your hammered Electro-Hygiene is a model 94, the only one with the true hammered finish. It is a pre-war model, built from approx. 1938 to 1942, when production was switched over to products for the war effort.
Jeff