opelgtkarl
Well-known member
I’m sure a lot, if not most of you saw the post with this picture in it (photo credit to HardlyFlick). Like many of you, I saw many amazing things in that post and as tempting as some of them seemed, one stood out to me more than any of them. When I heard that they had all been sold to Mr. Kyle Krichbaum, I had to see if there was any way that I could possibly purchase the legend that I’ve searched for since joining on here. Thankfully, he was kind enough to sell it to me as-is, which was awesome because I wanted to do the restoration myself. Then a few short weeks later it made it here safe and sound!
The vacuum that I am referencing is of course the 1936 Kenmore Imperial “Bugeye”! This elusive machine has appeared on Vacuumland several times over the years and always garners plenty of attention due to its striking design aspects. This particular Imperial is a bit of a celebrity (at least in my opinion because all of the machines in the collection that Kyle bought were all owned by the family who founded ESSCO (the popular parts resource for vacuum cleaner shops as well as us collectors). The collection was on display at their headquarters as sort of a show and tell type museum. As time progressed, the collection was moved to the family estate and there they sat until they were sold to Kyle. Well, during their time on display, ESSCO used some of the machines in their ads that they’d put in their parts catalogs. And, loe and behold, they used the Imperial in one!
So this is a very special vacuum in my collection. Not only because they are considered of the rare variety, but because it marks a very special place in my collection. It may not be 100% original, but the story means more to me. For a long time, I was told that I would never find one or I’d have to sell a kidney to pay for it. Thankfully, with the help of Kyle (Myvacsrock), I was able to make a dream come true. And another thank you to Kyle for telling me the story of the collection. Enjoy!
The vacuum that I am referencing is of course the 1936 Kenmore Imperial “Bugeye”! This elusive machine has appeared on Vacuumland several times over the years and always garners plenty of attention due to its striking design aspects. This particular Imperial is a bit of a celebrity (at least in my opinion because all of the machines in the collection that Kyle bought were all owned by the family who founded ESSCO (the popular parts resource for vacuum cleaner shops as well as us collectors). The collection was on display at their headquarters as sort of a show and tell type museum. As time progressed, the collection was moved to the family estate and there they sat until they were sold to Kyle. Well, during their time on display, ESSCO used some of the machines in their ads that they’d put in their parts catalogs. And, loe and behold, they used the Imperial in one!
So this is a very special vacuum in my collection. Not only because they are considered of the rare variety, but because it marks a very special place in my collection. It may not be 100% original, but the story means more to me. For a long time, I was told that I would never find one or I’d have to sell a kidney to pay for it. Thankfully, with the help of Kyle (Myvacsrock), I was able to make a dream come true. And another thank you to Kyle for telling me the story of the collection. Enjoy!
