Antique Western Electric 9-Inch 4-Blade Tabletop Tilting Fan w/Cord and Base

Description

Fans are one of the unsung electric innovations of all time. They cool computers, lasers, lighting, all motorized vehicles, including electric. Modern homes and buildings would be uninhabitable without HVAC systems. First developed in 1886, the electric fan was patterned after water or steam turbines. Add an electric motor and a base and you were in business, especially on a hot summer afternoon. Oh, and a cage around the blades would be nice, to protect fingers.
From an inauspicious start, electric fans became important appliances in home, office, factory, and farm. The major players in the early 20
th
century were General Electric and Westinghouse, but AT&T's Western Electric subsidiary got into the market as well. Founded in 1869, Western Electric was better known for its telephones, telephone components and devices, vacuum tubes, and numerous other electrical products. It tried mightily to monopolize its market and did so with telephones. AT&T would not allow other manufacturer’s products to be used in their networks and charged rent rather than selling products like telephones. When you moved from one house to another, the phone stayed and was picked up by a Bell Telephone employee. Not yours.
That was not the case with fans. We think this model dates around the 1910s, when the company adopted a new italics logo. The four fan blades cut the air in an awkward way and made a lot more noise compared to modern models. Overlapping blades, which were introduced in the latter 1920s and are used in modern fans, quieted the noise and greatly increased performance without increasing energy consumption. That puts this fan sometime between 1914 and 1929. Its motor is alternating current and 60 hertz cycle, standard North American power specs. It is all black and comes with a cord and plug that are still in good condition. The cage is 9 inches in diameter and 1.5 inches wide. The fan stands 11 inches tall and 5.75 inches wide (22 x 28 x 15 cm). It is heavy, weighing in at 5.5 pounds (2.5 kg). As shown in the photographs, there is a scratch-like mark on one side of the motor, but it is otherwise in excellent shape with a nice patina on the motor, base, and blades.
The bottom felt pad has a couple of discolorations and scratches but is in very good condition as well. A must for fan and AT&T and Western Electric collectors. Not many of these around in this kind of condition. Would make an interesting fashion statement in a vintage office setting, as a desk accessory for a country, general, or vintage drug store, or a piece of beaux art or early art deco decor. Shipped free and insured in the US. Check out our other advertising collectibles at
www.ebay.com/str/agitpropshoppe
EE272007