Private Label Royal Metal Uprights

[kirbyclassiciii]

How many of you here on this board have any private-label Royal metal uprights to show?

I have one, branded for Stark's Vacuum Cleaners of Portland, OR, built December 1987. On the bag, it says "STARK DELUXE." On the nameplate, it says STARK - MODEL NO. 5000NA - HOUSEHOLD TYPE - SERIAL L87B001599 - VAC (Volts AC) 120 - AMPS 6.0

Besides this and other Stark's-branded Royal uprights and canisters, I also happened upon some Panther-branded Royal commercial metal uprights. Those ones with the blue denim bags (Royal models 611, 608 and 618) were made from the mid '70s through the mid '80s; those with gray denim bags (Royal models 654, 660 and 680, for example) were produced from the late '80s up to the late '90s.

~Ben

 

[trebor]

Royal also produced machines labeled...

Silver Knight (or something) for Thompson, mfg of the Silver King,  Certified, mfg of The Pile Brush,   Reliable, a vac shop brand,


I am sure there must have been others, not to mention the famous Electro-Hygiene.


 


There was also a brand, Good Housekeeper, that was a Royal clone, but I don't know if it was actually made by Royal.

 

[rugsucker]

private labels

I have seen a Royal hand vac as a Hudson for a dept store(mid west?).I think at least part of what Good Housekeeper did was rebuild quality vacs such as Royal for vac shops and possibly their own DTD salesmen.

 

[hygiene903]

Here Are Some Of Mine

For starters, a Health-Mor Sanitation System. Health-Mor originally began as an agency selling the Scott & Fetzer Sanitation System. When they decided they wanted to sell a machine with their name on it, they contracted with P.A. Geier to build it for them. Here's mine. To my knowledge, it's all original except for the bag, which is a generic replacement that the previous owner had the Health-Mor logo embroidered on it.
Jeff

 

[hygiene903]

Good Housekeeper

Here's a Good Housekeeper model 189, identical to the Royal 189 except for the bag and front cover plate. It is all original except for the cord and brushroll. This and the Health-Mor were both part of last summer's large acquisition that I recently posted group pics.

 

[hygiene903]

Electro-Hygiene

The history of Electro-Hygiene begins with Royal. Although the P.A. Geier Co. (forerunner of Royal Appliance Mfg. Co.) was founded in 1905, they didn't start building vacuum cleaners until 1912. Over the years the Royal brand grew to 3 models, called the Standard, the Super, and the Sanitizor, which had a chamber on it for deodorizing/sanitizing crystals.
Along came a young salesman, Art Frankenfeld, who could sell the Sanitizor like no other. He eventually struck a deal with Phil Geier, that the Sanitizor would be re-branded as the Electro-Hygiene and be sold exclusively through his Electro-Hygiene Company, which he founded in March of 1934. From then until Electro-hygiene went out of business in 1983, the only vacs built by Royal with the crystal chamber built in was the Electro-Hygiene.
Here is my model 80, which I believe was the very first model of Electro-Hygiene, and also was my first restoration project. The bag and cord are both replacements, but I did put on the original in-line switch when I replaced the cord. Don't know how many of these were built each year, but from the serial # 80-8116 I'm guessing that this one may have been made in 1935 or 1936.

 

[hygiene903]

Model 94 Electro-Hygiene

This was the second pre-war model, possibly made from the late 30's until 1942. I had originally bought this one as a parts machine but when I saw how well it ran decided to restore it too. The 94 had a hammered finish (not hammertone, but actually hammered) and had the switch in the handle with a pigtail at the motor so the handle could be removed to convert it to a hand vac with the short handle and small bag. This one is all original except for the bag.

 

[hygiene903]

Model 2-230 Electro-Hygiene

The model 2-230 Electro-Hygiene was a slight variation of the model 230, which was the last straight suction model, built from 1945 to 1954. Other than bag color, I don't really see any difference between the 230 and the 2-230, and I think the 2-230 was probably built in the last few years of the run, 1953 and 54. Mine is all original and includes original attachments and attachment box. Unfortunately, I'm missing the wands, floor brush, and crevice tool.

 

[hygiene903]

Model 285 Electro-Hygiene

Although Royals were built with a revolving brush since the late 30's, Electro-Hygiene didn't have one until the 285 was introduced in 1955. The reason for this was they didn't know what to do with the crystal chamber. Then someone got the idea of making a crystal chamber that would snap on in place of the front cover, and EH could now have a revolving brush! This is one of the early 285's with the shake out bag and rubber handle grip, and is all original except for the cord and the brushroll.

 

[hygiene903]

Late Model 285 Electro-Hygiene

This one was built in 1979, and is all original except for maybe the brushroll, which is spiral.

 

[hygiene903]

Model 777 Electro-Hygiene

As you can see, there's not much difference between the 777 and the 285, except the nozzle is a bit plainer, the headlight is sheet metal instead of cast, and the motor case (unseen in the pic) is hammertone blue. This one was built in 1972.

 

[kirbyclassiciii]

Jeff,

I also remember "Regal" as a private label Royal. "Eatonia," for the Eaton's catalog stores in Canada, was another private label Royal.

~Ben

 

[hygiene903]

Model 880 Electro-Hygiene

When the model 880 came out in 1966, it was one of the few models where Royal and Electro-Hygiene shared the same model number. The swing-up headlight made it now possible for the crystal chamber to be placed under the headlight, and this was one of the few differences between the Electro-Hygiene version and the Royal version. The Royal 880 did not have the crystal chamber until Electro-Hygiene went out of business. The other differences were bag graphics and trim color, and the EH version was only made a couple years, being replaced by the 890 in 1969.

 

[hygiene903]

Electro-Hygiene 890

The Electro-Hygiene 890 replaced the 880 in 1969. Not much difference between the two other than the model number. I do believe however, that the bags on both the 880 and 890 have been replaced, as I think the original outer bag on both of these models was cloth, but in the same color scheme as these. This 890 also has a replacement cord on it, but I have replaced it with an original one off another 890 after this pic was taken.

 

[hygiene903]

Electro-Hygiene 903

The 903 replaced the 890 in 1973, and was the current model when I was selling them in 1974 and again in 1976. The one pictured here was built in 1983, making it one of the last Electro-Hygiene 903's. It's frequently the daily driver at our house.
I bought it at a thrift store in 2006. It was the deal of the day, as it had a $55 price tag on it. I took it to the counter and pointed out the adjust-o-rite cover, crystal chamber cover, and belt were missing, and one wheel and the light bulb were broken and offered them $10 for it. They said "could you go $15?" and I said "SOLD!" Eventually I was fortunate to add the attachments and extra accessories kit to it. Now all I need is the instruction book to make it complete.

 

[hygiene903]

And Last But Not Least, Electro-Hygiene 980

This model, like the Royal 888 and Galaxy Prestige 990, is a rare one, with the removable nozzle similar to a Kirby. This one was built in 1973 and is in immaculate condition. Hoping to find the hose adapter for it, anyone have an extra one?
I'd also like to mention here that all the Electro-Hygienes shown here, except for the model 80, 94, and 903, were part of last summer's acquisition that I mentioned before. Thanks again, my annonymous friend!
Jeff

 

[hygiene903]

Ben,

I also remember the Regal, but have only seen the canister version, never a tank or upright, although I'm sure they made those as well. And Dave has posted pics of the Etonia upright before.
The Good Housekeeper I've only seen in the upright and hand vac versions, but I'm sure there was a tank also.
Trebor, I've also seen the Reliable! It was a rebadged Royal 880 that was sold through the Electro-Hygiene dealerships to hotels, restaurants, etc. But I didn't know they made the Silver Knight, thought Thompson built that themselves.
Then there was Electro-Grand, sold by the Electro-Hygiene organization. The tank was identical to the EH 966 except that it had Electro-Grand on the side trim instead of Electro-Hygiene, and if I remember right the upright was identical to the 903, except it was trimmed in blue and had a blue bag with Electro-Grand in red.
Jeff

 

[vacman1961]

In the 60's and 70's they were private labeled for Macy's department stores, the bag used to say "Supreme Macy" or "Supremacy" . I haven't seen one in years, but they were around.

 

[kirbyclassiciii]

Imperial Prestige A880

Jeff,

Another rare private-label oddity that deserves mention here is the mustard/gold-colored Imperial Prestige A880 sold during the early part of the '70s (I remember one from both 1973 as well as one from 1971). These were likely sold by Electro-Hygiene dealerships alongside the 890, 903 and 990.

It was similar to the regular Royal 880 in every regards except the mustard gold color is used in place of the medium blue. Even the Adjust-O-Rite has gold speckles on it.

~Ben