Oldest Vacuums

[ultimatevacman]

Hi everyone,

I thought it would be interesting if people would share photo's of their oldest vacuums, my oldest vacuum is from 1981 which isn't very old, but I would love to see photo's of your classic machines!

Thanks,

- Joe

 

[nubz3760]

mine would be my 1925 Cleveland Suction Cleaner

 

[ultimatevacman]

Wow, that's really nice! If you don't mind me asking, where did you find it?

 

[caligula]

Hi ultimatevacman

The oldest known vacuum cleaner is the Whirlwind. It goes all the way back to 1869, and is of course a non electric. this one is a hand crank. I got it in 1987, and when the National Enquirer ran a contest to find the reader with the oldest working vacuum cleaner I entered, and won.

Pictured here is the Whirlwind, the article of me with the National Enquirer, and two pictures of the club back in 1994. The Whirlwind in the picture is the one at the Hoover Historical Center, which was the birthplace of our club.

An now the Whirlwind of 1869.

 

[nubz3760]

Cleveland

I bought the Cleveland along with 3 other machines from an older gentleman for only $10 for the lot. also included was a Kirby R, eureka model G, and a Kirby classic

 

[luxlover]

ELECTROLUX 86

Mine would be my 1961 model 86 ELUX

 

[luxlover]

Sorry here is a better photo,

 

[collector2]

Elux 86

Hey Dylan:

Your 86 was manufactured between 1957 and 1963. If you take a look at the serial number the first digit will tell you when it was made (eg 6 would be 1956). Incidentally the clip by the handle on yours is backwards - it should run paralled to the handle.

 

[collector2]

Tuec

My oldest machine is a 1912 Tuec Stationary Cleaner (Central vacuum)

 

[nubz3760]

tuec

wow! they had central vacs back then?

 

[collector2]

yep - first stationary cleaners were 1902

 

[caligula]

Hi collector 2

The oldest built-in vacuum cleaner was 1899! The inventor was John S. Thurman of St. Louis, Mo.. He was also the man who gave us the first Electric vacuum cleaner.

The year was 1901 when Cecil H. Booth perfected his vacuum cleaner in London, England. What we call the central vac, was known as the stationary vacuum cleaner back then. Several prominant homes like the Biltmor House in Ashville, No Carolina installed one in 1899.

John S. Thurman was the first giant in the vacuum cleaner industry, and because of him, people like James B. Kirby, Boss Hoover and countless others took the ball and ran with it.

One of the finest stationary vacuum cleaner I've ever seen was the Spencer, which is located in the Fox theater in St. Louis, Mo. and the man who showed it to me was my dear friend, our own, Stan Kann.

Another popular built in was one called the Arco wand. Back at the turn of the century (1900) the stationary, or built in were rare as hen's teeth, and only for the extremely welthy. I've heard that there was a central vac on the Titanic, but this has never been proven. In fact Robert Ballard who discovered the Titanic never responded to my letter asking that very question.

The Central vacuum cleaner has a very interesting past, one I know very little about.

 

[collector2]

Hi Alex:

Just a small correction. Booth made his first vacuum in 1901 but that was mounted on a carriage and taken door to door. He didnt make his first stationary cleaners till 1902. Booth was also the person that coined the term Vacuum Cleaner. I believe they called them things like suction sweepers before that.

I've never heard of Therman before.

I know of a number of buildings around here from between 1910-20 that had central vacuums. They seem to have been fairly common by then for larger homes and buildings.

Doug

 

[myvacsrock]

Hoover Model O

1908.

 

[cb123]

Myvacsrock

Could you post more pics of your model 1910-11 Hoover junior.

 

[nubz3760]

WOW! A Model O Hoover! does it run?

 

[cb123]

Cyclone

1890's Cyclone

 

[hygiene903]

My Oldest Vacuum Cleaner Could Be One Of Several

Could be my Hoover model 541, circa 1923-1926. Runs great and is all original except for the cord and the bag. Although not original, the bag is a genuine vintage Hoover bag.
Jeff

 

[hygiene903]

Or it could be my Rotarex, made by Apex. Have no idea when it was built, but I know that Apex started in 1918, so it couldn't be any older than that.

 

[hygiene903]

Or maybe my SweeperVac. I know nothing about the machine or the company, if anyone has info to share I would love to hear from you.

 

[caligula]

Hi Collector 2

Okay here's what I know about John S. Thurman. It was on October 3, 1899 that he patented his gasoline powered pneumatic Carpet Renovator. From that date till April 26, 1910 he recieved 32 U.S. patents for his Stationary vacuum cleaner.

You're right, Booth did start with a machine on back of a horse drawn cart, Thurman had one of those too, but both men also made built-in machines. The full history is to complex to go into here.

Tomorrow I'll share a lot more on the early vacuum cleaners.

Alex Taber.

 

[hygiene903]

This straight suction Royal is almost as old as my Hoover 541. It was built in April of 1926 according to the date stamped on the armature. This is how it looked when I got it. Restoration has since begun but is far from being finished.

 

[hygiene903]

And finally, this Eureka. Couldn't find a model # on it, but the serial # is G149232. I have no idea when it was built or the model # and would appreciate any info anyone has on this vac.

 

[cb123]

Eureka model 10

It's a Eureka model 10 (1927).

 

[cb123]

Eureka 10

The eureka's bag is a replacement bag from 1934, but a rare replacement bag. In the photo you can see my model 10 to the right of the eureka model 9. The sweeper-vac is made by the pneuvac co. in worcester, mass. round about 1920. It was the co. first motor driven brush.

 

[cb123]

Pneuvac Add

Here is an add from the Pneuvac co.(1921)

 

[ultimatevacman]

Thanks for all the replies everyone! And thanks for clearing that up about the whirlwind, as I was unsure of what was the first known vacuum.

- Joe

 

[1926700]

well,

as some of you know, most of my herd is from the 1960's and 1970's, but I do have a hand full of Antique, pre-war butties. this is my eldest, a 1919 Hoover model 102

 

[1926700]

and my second,

a 1920 Hoover Model 105