safe cleaning of my regina model A

[pgeorgeesq]

Hey Guys,
New vacuum collector, I just acquired my first old vacuum. I would like to clean it, but do not want to damage the finish. It is a Regina Model A pneumatic vacuum

Phil

 

[caligula]

Welcome to our club

Hi Phil, and Happy Thanksgiving:

As you will soon discover, there are some great people in this club ready to answer your questions, share their background, and let you see their collections.

Our club was formed in September 1982, when my fellow collector John Lucia and I met, and toured the Hoover Historical Center, and the Hoover factory. The director of the Historical Center, Stacy Krammes, gave us a list of five names; the people who were interested in old vacuum cleaners, and those people became the first members of the club. On January 2, 1983, I published our first newsletter, and the club was launched. On the weekend of May 5, 1985, we held our first meeting. This was when the rules of the club were adopted and traditions were set in place. Several of these still exist today, almost thirty year later!

If you have a Regina model A, that is a very old machine, so you must be interested in the non electric hand pumpers of the late 1800's. This is where I'm most comfortable, as I love those machines.

As for cleaning your Regina, I find products like International Silver polish, Brasso, and Mothers polish work great on ALL machines, regardless of the age. Also keep a can of WD-40 on hand to stop the squeaks, etc.

The Regina company was originally into music boxes, player pianos, and other items, and were located in Germany I believe. The vacuum cleaner was not a standard item. They made only a few vacuum cleaners before introducing the Electric Broom in the late 1940's.

If you have any questions on the really old machines you can reach me by email at [email protected].

By the way, the username, Caligula, was the name of my pet cat. He was our club mascot for 19 years.

Again, welcome to our club.

Alex Taber
Co-founder.

 

[kirbykid]

I once put wd40 on a stuck bolt over night and in the morning it was rusted. must have been iron or something but I try not to use wd40 on anything.

 

[pgeorgeesq]

Alex,
Thanks for the quick reply. I am still a little afraid of damaging the paint on the tank, but will proceed with caution. How hard is it to find a hose? Mine appears to have the original pump handle (it is reeded with a turned ball finial) and seems to work well but doesn't have a hose.I am enclsing some pics. I would appreciate your opinion as an expert on the subject.
I think you are right about my liking very old stuff as I bought rough Kalamazoo cast iron stove yesterday too.

Phil

 

[caligula]

Nice!

Hi Phil:

This is very easy. Since there is no chrome, a simple wipe down with dish detergent. I recomend Dawn, just a dab in a large container of warm water. Then I would give it a light coat of Mothers polish to bring out the color of the paint. As for the wood, go with a standard furniture polish.

I don't have a Regina in my collection, but I have a machine that dates back to 1890, it's called the 'Lakeside.'

The first tank style was the 'Hercules,' it was introduced by the father/son team of Peck & Peck of Rochester, New York, in 1875. There is quite a long history of the non electric machines, here are the first ones.

The Whirlwind. Invented by Ives W. Mc'Gaffy of Chicago, Illinois. Patent date is June 8, 1869. While it was invented by Mc'Gaffy, it was manufactured by the american Carpet Cleaning Company of Boston. The Whirlwind is an upright, made of light wood with an encased fan which is turned by a drive wheel at the top of the machine. And of course there is a bag to catch the dust. Aside from not having a motor, the Whirlwind looks and acts like a modern day vacuum cleaner. As far as we know, there are only 5 or 6 of them out there. And I'm lucky enough to have one in my collection.

The Agan. This was the first machine to use a brush roll. It was also an upright, but instead of a bag, there was a box to hold the dust. This time there were two drive belts, one to turn the fan, the other to drive the brush roll. This was introduced in Newark, New Jersey in 1870.

The third was the Herculese, 1875.

The rest of the early machines are mentioned is the article The History of the vacuum cleaner. - Non Electric. Which is an article I wrote way back in the early days of the club. I think I have a copy in my files, and will get it to you.

The first tank vacuum cleaner sold in the Sears/Robuck cataloug was the Dust Killer, which dates back to 1909. I have one of these too.

The first Electric was invented in 1899 by John S. Thurman, of St. Louis, Mo..
And James B. Kirby introduced his first vacuum cleaner, the Domestic Cyclone, in 1906.

Needless to say, my strongest interest in vacuum cleaners is the history of these machines and the companies that made them. Unfortunately, most of my files, patent books and other paperwork is in storage in northwest Indiana, and I'm in Benton, Pa.. The good thing is that most of this is in my memory, so I can share what I know without notes.

Please email me, and tell me your interests.

And as I said, welcome to the club.

Alex T.

 

[caligula]

WD-40

This is a product to stop squeaks, loosen nuts, and lubricate. I seriously doubt if it would cause rust! In fact, I've used it to free things that were rusted! A little WD-40 and an impact wench works wonders. If the back wheels of my Kirby 517 start to squeak, I get out the WD-40.

I also love the smell. A mug of coffee, a rag with WD-40, and a vacuum cleaner on the work bench, now that makes my day!

Alex T.

 

[caligula]

Hose and attachments.

Hi Phil:

The early vacuum clears were designed for cleaning area rugs, which were very thin. As for general house cleaning, it was still the broom, and a carpet beater. There were no attachments to speak of, just a hose, long tube and nozzle to clean the rug. Bare floor, and other tools were still many years away. The hose was very thin, and very long, about 12 feet.

These vacuum cleaners were known as the 'two person pumpers' because it took one person to pump the bellows that are inside the canister, and another person to move the nozzle over the rug.

As you may notice, there is not a lot of suction. None of these machines did a very good job, and without an electric motor, how could they? But then, plush wall to wall carpeting didn't exist!

These vacuum cleaners were also quite expensive. The Whirlwind cost $25.00 in 1869, that is equivelant to a Kirby today! Therefore, only the very rich could afford one. And these machines were operated by two household servants.

From 1869 to 1907, vacuum cleaners simply didn't work! Only the built in systems, or what we know as the central vac really worked. These started out as a monster motor on the back of a horse drawn truck, with a 20, or 30 foot hose put through the front door, or a window, and snaked through the house. (Like a professional carpet washing company today!) The very wealthy had these motors placed in basements with pipes in the walls, and a monster hose plugged into the wall.

An upright machine was designed by John S. Thurman in 1905, this was electric, and was also used professtonally. The only known model of these is the Chapman and Skinner. Unfortunately, the Chappman and Skinner company was located in San Francisco, and was lost in the earthquake of 1906. Only one of these machines still exists.

As I understand it, the Regina model A looks a lot like the Herculese of 1875, and my Lakeside.

Regina did design a canister vacuum cleaner with a moter around 1912, and made a few upright models in the 1920-30's.

The only vacuum cleaner that I know of to feature a full set of cleaning tools was the Federal Electric. It was sold in Chicago around 1910, but they priced themselves right out of business. The cost of this vacuum cleaner was $140.00. That's several thousand in today's money.

While you may not be a collector, you have stumbled on an increadible find, and as I know exactly what you have, I am more than happy to share the back story on this machine.

I have over 12 non electric machines in my collection and know the history of every one. I also have several very old electric vacuum cleaners. Aside from my interest in the non-electric, is my love of Kirby and Electrolux.

I would love to see other pictures of this wonderful machine.

Alex Taber.

 

[pgeorgeesq]

Alex,
and the rest of the group are very supportive, thanks. I have done a little research on it myself but am always open to learn from those who are very knowledgable about a subject. I do have some other pictures. I did not get a hose with mine and was wondering how hard they are to find. Mine does have the bag (with some vintage dirt) in side and even has the warantee on the bottom of the base. see pic.
You are right that I am not quite a collector but I do appreciate old things and their place in history. Like Mike Wolf says " telling Americas' history one piece at a time.
After some research and time to enjoy this vacuum, I may sell it to someone that may enjoy it even more than me.
phil

 

[caligula]

History lesson

Hi Phil:

Thank you for giving me the chance to go into a little vacuum cleaner history. As most of our old timers already know this, I rarely get to share the information of the really old stuff.

The nice thing was that it was all from memory, and that proves that I still know this stuff. When you reach 60, you start questioning you abilities. I just turned 62, and thankfully, my memory is still crisp and clear.

The really old vacuum cleaners that began in 1869 were the trailblazers for todays machines. Todays vacuum cleaners do a great job, and look nice, but they can't compare to the really great vacuums of the 1920's, - the 50's. Regina was a part of that small group that made the tranition from non electric to electric, and did it effortlessly. Royal, and Kirby did this too. Regina, like Hoover made the switch from other products, and made a big name in the vacuum cleaner industry. As I said before, Regina was into music boxes. I doubt if you knew that Hoover started out as a leather company. In the mid 1800's Boss Hoover took over the little company that made horse collars, saddles, and other gear for the tack room. In 1908, they got into the vacuum cleaner business when Boss Hoover took over the Electric Suction Sweeper company. As for Electrolux, that was derived from a lighting firm in Stockholm, Sweden around 1910. The first Electrolux machine sold in this country was the model V (5) in 1924. By 1935, everything was in place, all the major companies were up and running, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Should you ever decide to sell your model A, I'm sure there will be club members eager to get it. However, you have an inportant piece of history, and a great item for conversation. At the moment most of my vacuum cleaners, and assorted paperwork is in storage in Indiana, while I'm here in Benton, Pa. However, all of my non electric's are in my mothers apartment. She lives in a retirement community, and I fixed up a nice display of my upright pumpers, as well as the tanks like the Dust Killer. My Whirlwind is hanging on a wall in her living room. She just loves to tell people about her son's hobby. The really nice thing is that these machines are in the right environment, where people can enjoy them.

Let me know if you want to read my history of the vacuum cleaner. If so, I will try and locate it.

And thanks again for letting me share my knowledge of the early days of the vacuum cleaner.

Alex T.

 

[caligula]

Phil, I also recconend these sites.

Look up the Vac Hunter. Bob Kautzman is a former member of our club and a good friend of mine. He has a site that tells the history in pictures. He is also the other person who has a Whirlwind.

For the history of Electrolux, Hoover, Kirby, and others, check out the Cyber Vacuum Cleaner Museum. Charles Richard Lester took over as the editor, and publisher of the Vacuum Cleaner Collector's Club in the early 1990's. A lot of his info on both Electrolux and Kirby came from our research, and my notes. I'm glad that I was able to provide him with that information. Charles Richard also has seperate sites devoted to Electrolux, and Kirby that go into great detail, check it out. And drop him a line letting him know that I reccomended the site.

You state that you are in Metro D.C., I'm in D.C. several times a year. I have a friend that lives near the National Cathedrial.

Have a very happy holiday season.

Enjoy the various sites.

Alex T.

 

[caligula]

Phil:

The museum you want to check out is cyber site 137. "The Vintage Vacuum Cleaner Museum." Charles Richard Lester is a very good friend of mine.

A word of caution here. The Vacuum Cleaner museum in St. Louis, Mo. is run by an and ousted member of our club. There is some very bad blood between him and me, so I doubt the authenticity of this site as I've never seen it. So view at your own risk.

If you check out the Vac Hunter, tell Bob Kautsman I'm now in Benton, Pa.. He is a great guy and I know he'd love to share his info on the Regina models with you, and yes, I believe he has a model A in his collection. Allentown, Pa. is about a 3 hour drive from D.C., it's well worth seeing in person.

Enjoy.

Alex T.

 

[floor-a-matic]

I wonder when Charles Lester will return to VacuumLand?

I LOVE VacuumLand & the VCCC!

After a while of being on hiatus, I decided to return here; I hope to upgrade my membership around New Years 2013.

 

[caligula]

Great, just in time for our 30 year anniversary.

I've been away from the club too, but not due to any problems, I simply live in a part of the country where there is no cell phone, or internet service. Fortunately, there was a hub that opened in our area around the middle of September, and I was able to get a satilite hook-up. Now I'm in touch with the world again!

I have no idea where Charles Richard is, but he was the man who helped jump start this club in 1992 0r 93. I also appointed him editor, and publisher. While the club was down for a year or so, John Lucia and I still turned out newsletters.

Our first newsletter was mailed out on January 2, 1983, and there were four members besides John and myself. Then in the fall of 1984 a member named Mike Pupek suggested a get together of the members. My responce was "nobody wants to travel across the country to see some old vacuum cleaners." Mikes answer to that was "put the question in the newsletter!" Result, we held our first meeting at my mothers house in northwest Inaiana on the weekend of May 5, 1985. Months later I bought a house in Naperville, Illinois, and that became club headquarters. My spare room which housed my vacuum cleaner collection became the club museum, and my pet cat was our mascot. He was a white cat with gold on all four feet, so I named him 'Caligula' which means 'little boots.'

Due to a series of personal problems, I have been away from this club for many years, but it has nothing to do with the people who are now in control. Life and its myriad of problems have robbed me of precious time with the club, and the people I deeply admire.

So that in a nutshell is the history of our club. I'm glad you are a part of it.

Alex Taber
co-founder.

 

[blizz01]

Regina Upright from the 20's?

Hi - I've recently acquired an old Regina upright with a 1925 Patent ID on it. It fires up, has suction, & the bag expands. While the metal and bag show vintage aging, it appears complete, in good shape, & in working order. The handle is wood at the top. The Regina emblem on the front plaque reads "Motor Manufactured by Westinghouse". The bag has an ornate gold logo. Any idea as to what I'm working with and/or the approximate value? I'll try to get a photo asap.

Thanks!

 

[caligula]

Hi blizz01.

Regina made several uprights starting with the model K, which I don't have any data on. Type 24, introduced in 1925 had a G.E motor according to my paperwork. however, types 22, 23, 29, and 35 are in a print-out I got from Regina back in the 1970's, but furnish no info on motors other than the #24. Most likely, Regina switched from G.E. to Westinghouse for types 29 and 35, but that is just a guess.


 


I'll see what I can find out, but don't be surprised if I hit a brick wall, data like this is rarer than hens teeth.


 


Alex Taber.

 

[blizz01]

Thanks Alex - I posted a photo in another thread (sorry). Would you consider it a collectible piece - or, should I throw it up on ebay to see what I could recover? Maybe there are some treasure still in the bag (ha).