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Electrolux Model V 1925 |
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This is the very first Electrolux. This machine was originally imported from the Aktiebolaget Elektrolux factory in Stockholm, Sweden.
In 1933, during the depths of the Great Depression, a new Electrolux factory was founded in Old Greenwich, Connecticut. Electrolux has enjoyed enormous success in the U.S. since that time. Sadly, Electrolux chose to abandon its flagship Old Greenwich plant in the mid-1980s. |
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Electrolux Model LXI 1955 |
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The model LX, 1952-1955 (LXI was the latest version, with slight design modifications), was the first “automatic” Electrolux that, according to advertising, “you never have to empty.” This was the first Electrolux to feature disposable paper bags; when the bag was full it set off an incredible chain-reaction: The motor shut off; the front cover popped open; and a spring-loaded metal lever ejected the bag out of the cleaner and onto the floor, sometimes at a distance of several feet! |
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Electrolux Model E 1954 |
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This Electrolux was advertised as “feather-light,” perhaps to address criticisms that the Model LX, which weighed in at about 35 pounds, was too heavy! The Model E is a marvelous little sweeper; quiet; indeed lightweight, and very powerful. I remember seeing quite a few of these when I was a kid. |
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Electrolux Model AE 1956 |
| This is the Electrolux model I grew up with, the Automatic-E. The machine still had a full-bag warning system; however, it was now simplified such that the machine would shut off and front cover pop open, without ejecting the bag out onto the floor. The complicated ejection system of the LX had proven to be problematic. |  |
 Electrolux Air-Powered Floor Polisher & Scrubber (Models XXX-E), 1947 |
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 Electrolux Air-Powered “Turb-O-Tool” (Model AE-AF), 1956 |
| Here are the two earliest versions of the marvelous Electrolux suction-powered floor polisher attachment (sold from 1947 to 1956), without a doubt my favorite vacuum cleaner object of them all!
They look — and sound — like flying saucers (especially the one on the left), emitting a piercing, warbling wail when in operation; and the rapidly rotating star-shaped brush does a nice job of polishing, although it is too small (about seven inches in diameter) for heavy-duty polishing. I was so obsessed with this device that my parents had to keep hiding it from me — however, I always ferreted it out with joyous glee. Now I have about 50 of them, placed in little nooks and crannies throughout my house. It looks as if an invasion of miniature Electrolux-aliens has taken place... |
| Regina | Electrolux | Airway |
| Hoover | Scott & Fetzer / Kirby | Eureka |
| Sears-Kenmore | Universal | Westinghouse |
| Miscellaneous | Exhibits Entranceway | Museum Foyer |
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