Just all my riveting tales of questing for vintage vacuum sweepers, the paper ephemera that informs their provenance and the serendipitous co-incidences that pulls threads together into the Whole Cloth of Historical Understanding, this will probably take a while but in the end I hope some here will be as thrilled and informed as I am now. If it's just me that all a-quiver in my eureka moment that works for me.
It all begins with the stamped lettering on this tattered box...
In the same vein as the wisdom enshrined in The Fable of the Little Red Hen that Charles posted, another phrase that comes to mind is The Early Bird Gets The Worm.
I wormed this little beauty off of Ebay. I already had one with a hose only in decent enough but faded and torn beauty but this one was in the carton with the full box of accessories. I figured it would make a perfect compliment for my GE TIDY tiny cylinder vacuum kit. These were heavily advertised and sold alongside their upright sisters for those cleaning chores above the floor and in tight places. Some Company's uprights did not choose to adopt Hoover's innovation of hose attachment by whatever means to it's upright models (although Hoover did offer a full range of vacuums including the handheld Dustette) for the complete Home Cleaning Solution. Perhaps the low suction available from an upright did not answer to the power and versitility provided by a handheld. It ain't easy to vacuum out the Family Automobile with an upright. It made sense to put the motor/fan unit from a handheld into the more modern form of a half-size cylinder equipped with hose, wands and the full compliment of tools and accesories, particularly for those living in close quarters in Apartments and minimal storage closets...
I must say it is rare to find a vintage vacuum set in such superb cosmetic condition - the Ebay ad could only hint and I took the gamble.
A shame the hose has been stepped on but I believe I can straighten out the two coil kinks with judicious bench vise application. I took this picture before sorting out the flattened cardboard divider and cleaning the chicken coop feathers out of the box and the crap off the straight wand.
Full size wand bore and super airflow, this li'l beastie puts out 30", more than enough for the spray attachment and sucking down cobwebs.
Very cute half-size glass and aluminum Moth Chryslator.
Vac-Kits, as you may know, use Premiere's favoured double cone cloth dust bag used on the full size cylinders. The bag compartment has a domed pole up the center that folds the bag back on itself that effectively doubles the cloth surface for air to pass through.
Can you guess where the sleuthing urges are heading yet?
Switching gears for a moment, one of the first vacuums I found over 30 years ago is a gorgeous one-piece aluminum cast Streamline Premiere two-speed upright. It has a pale green replacement cord and a bojack bag 'made for the GE/Premier' and the top has been shortened. Nonetheless, it is a fine and surprisingly quiet performer - the equal of a Hoover, I outfitted it with a Hoover paper bag liner and I used it for many years as the daily...er, monthly driver through various apartment loft moves and eventually my wee house.
I've posted pictures of it and always asked 'What year might this be from?' with no reply.
Similar to my GE TIDY kit, the Premier Vac-Kit came with an owner's manual for both the little cylinder and the full size upright, no doubt in hopes the new owner would consider purchasing both vacuums had they bought either and not the other. I can hear the partner cajoling now "Sweetums, my arms get tired running the Duplex up the drapes and it keeps falling off the stairs...".
These are the 1939 Owners Manual booklets for GE's portable TIDY and the upright model AVF-801.
It was the inclusion of both these manuals with the GE TIDY that set me on a quest for a 'matching GE upright of the period. Mine was brought back from the North Canton Convention by Pete, having been hauled there from like, Nebraska or Omaha - we all fondly remember Petek, eh?
Oddly, the manual makes mention of - and illustrates - only a curved wand. No wonder Milady is bending over so much. Once again "Honerybunch, I need the upright, dammit! or no snookumsnookey for you!"
Ergonomics may not been invented yet but straight wands had...and this Vac-Kit has both straight and curved, as I'm sure they all did. Another case of pre-production printing.
Btw, I love that 'leatherette' textured stucco wall treatment in the Livingroom. Fern Green, I think would contrast well with the shellacked woodwork. Or is that the housewife's name.....? That a home perm hairdo from being tied up in rag knots overnight, me thinks; certainly not an upscale Salon 'do. Snappy shoes, for sure.
