The Reeves Suction Sweeper,

Status: Available for Loan Consideration for exhibition, institutional study, research, or approved placement.

The Reeves Suction Sweeper,

United States Milford, Connecticut c. 1910–1914

metal, wood

Dating & Attributions

The Reeves Vacuum Cleaner Company, based in Milford, Connecticut, was active in the production of hand-powered suction sweepers between approximately 1904 and 1916, with peak manufacturing and marketing occurring around 1910–1914. During this period, Reeves specialized specifically in manual, pump-action vacuum devices, intentionally positioned as practical alternatives to electric vacuum cleaners at a time when household electrification remained inconsistent across the United States.

The object’s defining features align closely with Reeves models documented from this window:

• Manual pump-action mechanism, activated by a vertical plunging motion

• Turned wooden handle, consistent with early-20th-century domestic tool design

• Tall cylindrical metal body housing a bellows-based suction system

• Absence of electrical components, confirming pre-electrification intent

  
  

Unlike earlier experimental carpet cleaners of the 1880s–1890s, Reeves sweepers were marketed as finished consumer appliances, reflecting a transitional moment when mechanical efficiency, hygiene, and domestic modernization converged.

Historical Significance

By the 1910s, electric vacuum cleaners existed but remained expensive, unreliable, and inaccessible for many households. Reeves suction sweepers filled this gap, offering:

• Improved carpet hygiene without electricity

• A reusable, repairable household appliance

• A mechanized alternative to rug beating and sweeping

This object therefore represents a late-stage manual vacuum technology, produced just before electric vacuums became dominant after World War I. It marks the end of the hand-powered era in domestic cleaning rather than its beginning.

Revised Interpretation Summary

With this additional context, the Reeves Suction Sweeper should be understood not as a Victorian artifact, but as an early 20th-century, turn-of-the-century domestic technology, firmly situated in the Edwardian / Progressive Era of American material culture.

Condition Notes

Visible surface wear, oxidation, and patina are consistent with age and use. The wooden handle shows handling wear, while the metal body retains its original form and finish. These characteristics support authenticity and period use rather than later reproduction.

Suggested Categories

• Domestic Technology

• Household Cleaning & Maintenance

• Late Victorian / Turn-of-the-Century Objects

• Pre-Electric Appliances

• Women’s Domestic Labor

• Material History of the Home

• Industrial Design (19th Century)

Sources

• Smithsonian National Museum of American History, Reeves Suction Sweeperhttps://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/object/nmah_323023

• Maine Memory Network, Early Carpet Cleaning Deviceshttps://www.mainememory.net/record/18745/image/18745