Royal model 297 Hand Vacuum

[swampymarsh]

I just recently bought a pretty neat little antique Royal model 297 hand vacuum on eBay. I've been trying to do some more research on these little vacuums, however i haven't found much on the older ones. I believe it was made between the late 1930s and 1940s but i could be wrong, i haven't been able to find anything on this particular model. Any possible info would be greatly appreciated.

 

[hygiene903]

Congrats on a nice find! I'm not really familiar with the model 297, but do have several Royal hand vacs, including a model 157 and four model 501's. A picture would be helpful, and here's one of my 501's.
Jeff

 

[swampymarsh]

Thanks for the reply Jeff. There's currently a 157 on eBay for something like $70 but i haven't payed it
much attention yet. The only noticeable difference between the 297 and 157 that i can tell from pictures is the Royal brand goes the width of the bag while the 297's brand goes the length of the bag. I will include some detailed pictures. Looking a little closer at it there's a date stamped on the back of the motor housing 1943, so i was a little surprised to assume this was made during the war, but i could be wrong. As far as condition goes it's in pretty fair shape, runs smooth and has great power for a 175 watt motor. the bags in good shape too just some chipping of the lettering. It even seems to have the original cord which i thought was surprising. anyway, i'll put some pictures for more detail.

Thanks
Marshall

 

[hygiene903]

You're Right Marshall!

Not much difference between the 157 and the 297. Besides the bag, possibly the fan case. On my 157 it is black, but on yours it looks like polished chrome. And I'm thinking that the number you found on the back of the motor housing might be a sequence number and not a date, for two reasons. First, virtually all manufacturers in the United States switched over to producing products for the war in early 1942, and second, is that before 1970, serial numbers on all Royal products were the model number then a hyphen, then a sequence number. So, 297-1943 would be the serial number going by the old system. Hope this helps,
Jeff

 

[swampymarsh]

Ah that does make more sense as i was wondering myself why they would be making vacuums during a world war haha! Anyway I wonder how old that makes it, if its post war or possibly pre war, who knows, i'm not sure how long they continued to make this style and if they made them into the early 50s? I also noticed the difference in fan casing as well, like you said otherwise very similar. Well I'll be sure to hang on to it as i don't believe there's too many of these around any more lol.

Thanks for the info
Marshall