The first page of my, History Of The Electric Vacuum Cleaner
Here's the article I wrote on the central vac several years ago.
Most people have no idea when the first electric vacuum cleaner was introduced. The general contention is that this was the Electric Suction Sweeper, introduced by Murray J. Spangler in 1907. However, as most of us know that while it was perfected in 1908 and became the now famous Hoover Model O, it was by no means the first.
The change from non-electric to early electric has been a slow one. Actually, it was a three part process, because sandwiched in between the non electric and electric was the industrial vacuum cleaner, or what we call the central vac.
The man who should get the credit for this is John S. Thurman, of Saint Louis, Missouri. He patented his gasoline powered Pneumactic Carpet Renovator on October 3, 1899. His suction machine was massive in size, as were the stationary units he also designed. These were built for use in mansions and office buildings. The pipes were snaked through the walls, with suction ports in the floor. The hoses were often 75-100 feet long and quite heavy. Much like the hoses of a fire truck today. Thurman realized that this was not practical for the general public and turned his sights on a portable system. In 1903 he went back to the gasoline powered unit that was mounted on the back of a horse drawn cart. The heavy hoses were snaked through the front door, and windows of the second floor. It's interesting to note that he was the first person to clean carpets professionally. He charged the whopping sum of $4.00 per visit
In 1901, American industrialist Cecil H. Boothwas in London, England when he perfected his electric suction machine. He showed it to Queen Victoria who was so impressed that she had all the grand houses outfitted with Booth's machine.
Back in America, Thurman had made a name for himself by perfecting the electric vacuum cleaner. From October 3, 1899 to April 26, 1910 Thurman recieved 32 U.S. government patents for his 'stationary' vacuum cleaner. However, most historians fail to recognize Thurman as the inventor of the electric vacuum cleaner.
The idea of vacuum cleaning homes professionally caught on, and I'm sure there are dozens of success stories based upon Thurman's gasoline and electricvacuum cleaners, but there's only one known story, that of the San Francisco firm, The Chapman and Skinner Home Renovating Company. They used a Thurman designed machine to clean the fancy homes on Nob Hill. The only drawback was it's being on the back of a horse drawn truck, often frightening the horses, causing them to break free to get away from the noise. Realizing that if they switched to a more practicle machine thet could raise the cost and strike it rich. Thay were right! And whatthey switched to was a Thurman designed upright.
The cleaning power of this machine was fantastic! Morevoer, it cleaned carpets in a fraction of the time. What they used was considered 'portable,' however, it weighed 92 pounds, and had a fan 18" in diameter. Within three months they were able to double their orders. Money was so good that they quickly outgrw the drab office and moved into the fashionable Monadonock building on Market street.
To be continued.
As for the rest of this I'll post it later this week. However, the Chapman/Skinner company was lost in the great earthquake of 1906, and the only known Chapman/Skinner used to be at the Hoover Historical Center, at least it was in 1994 when the club had it's anual meeting there. The history I got on Cecil H. Booth came from sources compiled over 20 years ago. There's only one red flag for me, and that's Queen Victoria. As she died in 1901, Booth may well have been the last inventor she saw, and if she did give the order to have all grand buildings outfitted with his machine, then she wouldn't have lived to see it. The only other possible answer is that she met with Booth in 1900. As for Thurnan, every enclyopedia I've read about the vacuum cleaner states that he did indeed invent the first electric in 1899. As for the motor unit on the horse drawn truck, Booth, Thurman, Chapman& Skinner and many others went with it. Certainly I welcome corrections. All my records are based on the research of othere, and yes, they could be wrong!!
i turned it around on purpous on purpous lol i was useing it for my cord when i was having troubles with my cord winder and just never put it back lol 
