There used to be an old coot here in L.A. who was a retired Compact dealer. He had a very bizarre canister vacuum cleaner that he said was from Russia. It was all polished metal and looked kinda like the very early Nilfisk (see link) but was squatter and much more ornate -- it had a series of concentric rings defining gradually narrower circumferences up to the top of the cleaner where the hose attached (probably with an L-connector) to the top. It really was a beautiful thing. The guy died several years ago and his house was cleared out and sold.