Electrolux vacuum cleaner demonstration, c1932

Educational value

• This asset shows a 1930s Electrolux vacuum cleaner in operation - a vacuum cleaner uses an air pump to create a vacuum to suck up dust and dirt through a filtering system, usually from carpeted floors.
• It illustrates an upright vacuum cleaner - the pump is mounted directly above the suction outlet and the bag is mounted on the handle; modern versions of the upright design usually use motor-driven mechanical beaters to disturb the dust.
• It shows an in-home demonstration - as housewives were the target market of vacuum cleaner manufacturers, demonstrations of this kind (linked to door-to-door sales) were a common event and Electrolux was one of the companies that pioneered direct sales in the home.
• It shows a rug being cleaned by a vacuum cleaner - before the vacuum cleaner, rugs were cleaned by hanging them over a fence or washing line and beating them (with what was called a rug-beater) until the dirt particles dislodged and fell to the ground.
• It depicts wall-to-wall fitted carpet in a domestic setting - carpets permanently attached to the floor were not possible until the invention of the vacuum cleaner.
• It shows a vacuum cleaner that was manufactured outside New Zealand - Electrolux, a Swedish company, was formed in the early 20th century and began manufacturing vacuum cleaners in 1912; it opened manufacturing plants in Australia in 1936 and in New Zealand in 1940.
• It is an example of the work of Gordon Burt, a Wellington photographer who began his career taking portraits in the 1920s but later shifted to commercial photography as the increase in the availability of consumer goods made advertising a lucrative industry.

Year level

10

Topics Vacuum cleaning