Vintage Table Fan Find

[RetroToday]

I was driving down the road on August 20th and I noticed there was a guy selling things on his front lawn. Strange to see that on a Thursday, but whatever...

This old General Electric oscillating fan screamed out to me from the lawn.
I pulled over and asked him how much he wanted for it. He replied "I was going to sell it for $10, but you can have it for $5."
The dirty old fan then hopped in my car and I took it home.

From what I can determine online, this GE model 49X929 was built 1938-41. Can also be mounted to the wall if preferred.
Cool!

I'm going to run and give it a good cleaning now.... anybody else have an old fan they'd like to share here?

 

[HarpPlayerGene]

You did great on that deal!

I've had this one for years:

 

[John in Covina]

THose are some really nice old fans. On the unpainted metal parts you could try some Semi-chrome polish to clean them. It's a fine cleaner poish that works well on a lot of stuff but may take some coatings off so be careful.

Semi-chrome is a favorite of many for cleaning and polishing vintage fountain pens.

 

[RetroToday]

HarpPlayerGene: Great fan, does it work?

John In Covina: Will try it out some time, although I believe what appears to be unpainted parts are actually painted silver. Seems to be a factory finish too, not just a quick paint job to hide rust.

Yep, these finger choppers are great! Very powerful, sometimes too powerful.
I've since discovered my G.E. 49X929 is actually from the years of 1937-1939.

Here's my other GE oscillating fan (from 1916) I bought a while ago. This one was meant to run on DC power, still haven't got around to figuring out how to run it on our household AC line. So many things to do for such a short attention span! lol

 

[NicknNora]

I love your fan! Great deal!

I have three old fans. I don't have any photos of them. One is brass colored (Emerson Electric), one is silver and has a blue art deco base (White Cross). The last fan is a floor model bakelite fan (Welch Co., Air Flight). I have a weakness for Art Deco type fans (among other things). lol The old fans remind me of the old airplane propellers.

 

[NicknNora]

HarpPlayerGene: Great fan, does it work?

John In Covina: Will try it out some time, although I believe what appears to be unpainted parts are actually painted silver. Seems to be a factory finish too, not just a quick paint job to hide rust.

Yep, these finger choppers are great! Very powerful, sometimes too powerful.
I've since discovered my G.E. 49X929 is actually from the years of 1937-1939.

Here's my other GE oscillating fan (from 1916) I bought a while ago. This one was meant to run on DC power, still haven't got around to figuring out how to run it on our household AC line. So many things to do for such a short attention span! lol

Nice fan and nice radio collection. I liked quite a few of them!

 

[Forgotten Man]

This is an old eBay find, it's my 1919 Robbibs & Myers fan... needed a new head cord... got'er done and works smooth. Real brass blades too... kinda tarnished but, ya know, I like it like that, it wears it's age well... also retains it's original black paint and cloth bottom!

 

[NicknNora]

This is an old eBay find, it's my 1919 Robbibs & Myers fan... needed a new head cord... got'er done and works smooth. Real brass blades too... kinda tarnished but, ya know, I like it like that, it wears it's age well... also retains it's original black paint and cloth bottom!

Nice fan. I like the brass blades.:eusa_clap

 

[Forgotten Man]

Brass blades were pretty much standard on most early fans pre 1930. GE had lower priced fans that didn't have them but, most of the larger table models all had brass blades that I've seen.

Gotta love these old fans, they run like crazy! I have a 1928 Emerson that has been on since 6pm last night and it's still on now! Runs like a champ! As long as you keep'em oiled!

Nothing runs like a vintage fan!

 

[mac1gt]

Nice fan, I have one just like it.

My fan is in need of repair, we have had it since I was a little kid and I just got it back. I am working on cleaning it up and getting it running again (just has a lot of memories attached to it) but the toggle switch is rusted away and so are the wire to the switch. Do you happen to have any pics showing the bottom of the fan? What I need to know if the wiring diagram for the switch. I'm looking for a new switch and cord now. Just need to see how it would be wired.

I know the fan is not really worth much, but like I said it brings back a lot of childhood memories.

Hope you got yours up and ruuning.

Thanks,
Gilbert

 

[Foofoogal]

http://www.vintagefans.com/

I have an aqua fan and a black one. Those things will blow you down. lol

 

[Legion]

Cool. I have a similar little desk fan made of Bakelite and cast iron. It works well if it it on your desk next to you and keep your fingers out of it.

 

[FountainPenGirl]

Love the fans. I'm a real fan of fans. I got a varying assortment of them from maybe the teens until into the sixties. Big to small. I've kind of lost track of how many. They're great fun. We don't have central A/C so we just use a window unit. I strategically place fans around the house to move the air to the various rooms. It's kind of fun to have a reason to have fans all over the house. I love how smooth and quiet they run. I still find some at garage sales and flea markets. The antique shops tend to be goofy with prices and even on fans of questionable condition. It's still best to get out there and shake the trees.

 

[Forgotten Man]

Here's a unique fan I picked up this last weekend at the Rosebowl...

I took this photo while the fan was on... the flash makes the blades stand still but, are still some what transparent! lol

The true color of this fan is more green than gray... Cold Wave I believe was a dime store brand... not bad for $40. bucks huh? All original and works great! I'd say mid 30s at least.

 

[Atomic]

I have a few old fans. I love them! My old Barcol desk fan is whisper quiet and moves a fair amount of air.

I bought this old Arvin fan/heater from an antique shop. It didn't have a tag and the owner and I tried to turn it on and the fan barely turned over. When we turned the heater on the thing flash burned about 25 years of dust and the fan stopped turning. The shop owner said "5 bucks and I'm not responsible if your house burns down". I took it home, tore it apart and cleaned everything, and lube the motor with some gun lubricant and it now works like a champ!

I also have a Westinghouse fan that I paid probably too much (about $45) for but love the darn thing.

 

[skyvue]

I also have a Westinghouse fan that I paid probably too much (about $45) for but love the darn thing.

I have that very fan, in equally good condition. Except I recently knocked it off a table to the floor, and it's stopped working. And I don't have a clue where to take it for repair.

 

[Geesie]

I also have that fan. Has a plastic replacement blade, which was good when kitten got too curious (and when I reached for my alarm and missed!). :eusa_doh:

 

[Absinthe_1900]

Talk to this guy: http://www.fanmanusa.com/

 

[Wire9Vintage]

Fan fans... a question. I've been looking here and there over the years for a fan like my great aunt had when I was a kid. It was simply the most wonderful thing I've ever seen. Instead of metal blades, it had canvas straps. Therefore, there was no cage around the "blades," so, when it was off, it took up very little room. My problem is, I don't have the foggiest idea what to call it, much less what brand it was or even when it dated from... A very foggy guess is that it was from the 30s or so (my memories are from the 80s).

I want that fan. Bad...

 

[skyvue]

I have a small non-vintage one kind of like that, Wire9. I keep it at my weekend job, so I'll pass on what info I can (brand and such) on Saturday.

And thanks for the URL, Absinthe. Have you used him for repairs?