Today's Vacuum of the Day and Mme. Schumann-Heink

[mjhoshaw]

Greetings all,


 


I really enjoyed viewing this ad. I supposed that in order for Hoover to have Mme. Schumann-Heink as a sponsor, she must have been quite a celebrity in her day. So I went on YouTube looking for recordings of her singing Stille Nacht. I learned that she was an operatic singer, a contralto. For anyone who's interested, below is a link to her recording of Stille Nacht in German. The date of the recording is in question. The person who posted the video stated that it is c. 1908, but a viewer commented that the recording is too good, more like 1926 (the year in which electric recordings began.) I agree with the viewer, but in any case, it is lovely. If you do a YT search on "Schumann-Heink Stille Nacht" you will see links to other recordings, some in English.


 


Mme. Schumann-Heink had to be at least 66 when this ad was created, because NBC split into the Red and Blue networks on January 1, 1927, and the Red Network is mentioned in the ad. The cleaner in the ad looks like a late-1920s model to me. I would appreciate it if someone who knows more about this particular cleaner would add to this thread.


 


Joel

 

[dysonman1]

They are advertising the Sentinel Series, which is what Hoover called their 800, 450. and 925 lineup if I'm not mistaken. That would be just into the Great Depression about 1933 or so. The actual price of the machine doesn't seem to be mentioned, but just the monthly payments. During the depths of the depression that's probably a smart thing. That actual ad is mentioned in the 1933 Consumer Digest article on vacuum cleaners, if only to make fun of it.

 

[beevac]

Schumann Heink endorsing Hoover upright vacs

I am also a collector of 78 rpm operatic & classical vocal records amongst other genres & i have quite a few Schumann - Heink discs some operatic & some song records by her. The English ones were Onward Christian Soldiers, When the Boys Come Home, When The Roses Bloom, Sometime We'll Understand, In The Sweet Bye & Bye, Taps, plus a few others. Many of these probably are on youtube. Stille Nacht was recorded twice by her but not in 1908 that's a patent date for the Victor Talking Machine Co. One take was an acoustic & the later 1926 take was electric. I saw 2 years ago an advert from 1935 of her endorsing The Hoover Cleaner & she did that for several years before. I am a retired vac technician & have worked on these machines. They usually work indefinitely . My boss used to collect them.