Hello Frank and Jeff,
Wow, so there really was a black Royal bag and it is not me having marbles in my head of a memory that went back to 1953. I don’t remember if the Royal had a headlight or not nor do I remember what the belt cover looked like. I remember the sound of that old Royal and the big black bag puffing up when it was turned on. I do not seem to remember pushing it around or using it. I do remember asking my mom and dad not to get rid of it, but then I also remember asking my dad not to get rid of his 1934 Ford Cabriolet when I was 4 or 5 also, that did not work out either. He bought a new 1954 Mercury and my mom got a new Eureka Roto Matic that was maroon and gray. Sorry, I digressed. I do have a second bottom rug plate thanks to Steve Henry of The Henry Company – VacPartsPlus, he is the best. I also bought a gray generic shake out Royal bag from him without a logo and I am thinking of dyeing it black. The kid next door does stenciling so I just might make it look like my memory. Did you notice the brush roll with brass over the wood? I never saw that before and all the Royal ones we sold at the shop were wooden without the metal. Speaking of Royal brush rolls Steve Henry found me one for the Royal 189 and new square rubber ends for the 129 brush roll. A question, were these early Royals buffed out like the Kirbys of the 40’s and 50’s? I do have a 2-wheel buffer and all the compounds but in a way I like the way it looks as a forgotten machine. If I buff it and paint it the belt cover plate will look out of place as I do not have a way to make it look new. Oh, yes I have looked all over Vacuumland and the Internet for a Royal 129 but could not find another one, the 65 and the 131 yes but no 129.
Thank you for looking and thank you to Frank and Jeff for their input and information also to Steve Henry for putting my order together,
Pete
