Over the last quarter century we have managed to collect quite a few odd and interesting antique vacuums. We were amazed as we grew in this business to discover the amount of vacuums made by different vacuum companies over the years. We were also intrigued to discover that some of the first vacuums had no electricity. Some were pumped by hand. Some of the best vacuums made today were started a long time ago with humble beginnings.

Compact-Tristar, Kirby, Filter Queen, Rainbow and Electrolux are still doing a booming business today. Mostly because they were and still are extremely high quality. These door to door brands which started decades ago are the ones people desire from us the most. Of course, these are not available in any store.

Our collection started with just one vacuum and over the years it mushroomed into a signifigant collection which never seems to end. Some of these machines such as the 1940 Compact complete with the original hose & tools etc. are very difficult to acquire. We have never seen one before or after this one, especially in such excellent condition.

We also were lucky enough to find two brand new in the box antique Compacts in the attic when we were cleaning. Somehow these 1971 and 1973 (both pictured) pristine little beauties had been hiding under a pile of boxes under some shelving.

To our knowledge there is no one else in the world who has possession of two brand new Compacts of this memorable era.

Also a lot of the old magazine ads bring a nostalgic cozy feeling of bygone days to HILLYBILLY VAC SHACK's gallery. They too, as well as some very old vacuum manuals, were painstakingly collected over the years and no price tag can be put on them.

When one peruses these it is interesting to see how people thought back then. In some ways differently. In some ways the same.

One thing for sure, everyone wanted a good vacuum for a good price that: 1) had extremely good suction power. 2) would last a long, long time. 3) had no fine dust blowing back out the other end.

From our experience repairing vacuums over the years we have found that the best vacuums for a person's dollar are the door to door types.

Their quality and durabilty still amazes us...