If you have any interesting or unusual early electric
fan , hot air fan, water powered fan, or other alternative power fans
that that you want to sell please contact us by email at
LCM@AntiqBuyer.com as we are always interested in new and different fans.
Battery Fans
The first electric fans were battery
powered. The Edison style fans motor pictured
on
the right or the Manhattan Battery Fan that is in the top left corner
of this page are prime examples of the types of
collectible antique fans that I want to buy or help you sell.
There are many other makers from right around the turn of the century
who made and marketed this type of fan. All of them are of interest
The Edison Electric Fan, which derives
its name from Thomas Edison was the first commercially available electric
fan. It was offered with or without a cage or blades, and also
came in a very desirable version with wall-mount base. These early
battery motors were sold as plain motors as well as fans, and came with
different bases when offered this way. All are considered desirable
and are of interest.
Early battery fans can sell for
over a wide range depending on the maker model, condition and other
factors. In general Edison fans and motors sell in the $1,000
to $3,000 range depending on the condition, which version and other
factors. I got my first one for $20.00, and have seen them sell
for as high as $4500 in some situations.
Some other very rare battery fans can command
even more, but in general most battery fans like the Manhattans and
other similar smaller battery fans sell for much less than Edison fans
typically do.
DC Electric Fans
I am
also interested in early electric fans that run on DC current.
Battery p
ower
is direct current, and many of the first fans commercially offered
for sale were designed to run on either direct or alternating
current. My understanding is that Tesla was the force behind
direct current, and that Edison pushed the idea of alternating
current. Thomas Edison won. Most vintage electric fans that are of interest are going to date from near the turn of the
century to no later than the 20's in most cases.
Most of these early fans will have plaques or tags on the head or elsewhere with the
patent and other information about the maker, current, AC or DC, type, etc.
Electric Fans w/ Unusual Oscillators
Later fans that are of interest are going
to have unusual oscillating features or other unusual features that
make them stand apart from the norm. Some of these fans can go
up to 4 figures or more, but most common or typical fans even by good
makers made afrer the 20's struggle to sell for more than 100 or so.
These would be green
General Electrics with rear oscillators that date from the late twenties,
and most other typical fans from later than the 20's.
In general the fans that I am going to
be interested in are going to have brass blades at a minimum, and almost
all are going to have cast iron bases as opposed to later fans that
have stamped steel bodies. Cast iron bases with "Beads" or multiple
steps are better than smooth ones, and so forth.
Many of these earliest fans represent
the first uses of commercially produced electrical power in America
back near the turn of the 20th century and are an interesting and important piece in the
development of
electricity and make a dramatic statement about the development of electricity
and this technology. We are also interested in buying and selling
just motors from this same era that have exposed coils and armatures
as opposed to fully incased later motors.
I use antique electric fans around the
house, with some running all day long, while I just threw out the new
plastic one I bought 2 years ago that had only about 50 hours on it.
That is the kind of statement that much of the old technology we collect
and buy makes, and is one of the prime reasons we are drawn to it.
Bi-Polar or Open Frame Electric Fans
I am also interested in other early or
vintage open frame or bi-polar electric
motors
or fans similar to the early Westinghouse fan that I have pictured on
the left. It is actually harder to find than the Edison motor
above, but does not sell for as much in most cases. As can be
seen the condition of this example is marginal which would hold it value
down considerably.
Many of these early fans were sold in
different configurations and could be had with or without a cage and
were also available as just motors for other uses around the home or
farm. This style of electric motor can range in size from as small as
a couple inches like the toy or demonstration motors that I also deal
in (you will find a page about them elsewhere on this site) to those
used to power factories and small businesses and weighing many thousands
of pounds. My focus and interest in buying is mainly on the smaller
more manageable varieties.
Alternative Powered Fans
Vintage fans powered by alternative sources
of power, such as the Lake Breeze hot air fan / floor model to the right
that is driven by heat supplied by a kerosene or alcohol lamp, are sought
as well.
These fans were not necessarily earlier
than the first
electrics, but rather were aimed at consumers in those areas where electricity
was not yet available or where it was cost prohibitive. Hot air
fuel driven fans are a contradiction of sorts, and smelly to operate
to boot. The concept of using heat to blow warm heated and smelly
air to cool you must have meet with some scowls and disbelief even back
then, no matter how hot and humid it was and how much one longed for
a cooling breeze. This is what makes this style of fans so desirable
as a collectible today. In general these style fans sell for 800.00
to 2,000.00 depending on the condition, maker, model, and other factors.
The Lake Breeze came is several different sizes or models over the years
and there are several other makers that can be found including European
models.
Antique Water Powered Fans
The fan just to the left is a water powered
fan, and all versions or examples of water powered fans
and
water powered motors are eagerly sought. The fan pictured here
is a double-headed fan with a blade and cage on both sides to blow cool
air in opposite directions. This style fan is typically referred
to as a partner fan and they also came as electrics.
This fan was made near the turn of the
century and was marketed to those people who had a seemingly endless
supply of water. What a strange concept given the situation in
today's world. I sold the fan to the left back in the hey-day
of fan buying for something near 4,000.00. I have sold others
for nearly as much, while some of the more common varieties might sell
for 1000.00 or so. All are of interest.
Other Fans
Other antique electric fans that are
of interest date from roughly just before the turn of the century to
about 1920.
Some of the examples shown below are fans that we still use on hot days.
The big GE below on the right moves as much air as a whole house fan
and its breeze can be felt over 20' away. Another of the fans
shown below is nicknamed "the tank" because of the large, heavy circular
shape of the motor housing as opposed to earlier and thinner "Pancake"
motor fans. Skinnier and slimmer models with a larger diameter
motors are often referred to as having "pancake" motors, and these are
always of interest. Prices can fluctuate over a large range
depending on condition, model and other factors.
I am interested in buying many of these
early electric brass bladed cast iron fans, and particularly like
those
with decorative fluted bases and fancy cages or odd or unusual oscillating
mechanisms.
After the 1920's most fans moved away
from cast iron as the material of choice and into lighter more streamlined
materials like sheet metal, plastics, and the like. Although there
are some interesting designs from this period, I am mostly interested
acquiring and helping you sell the earlier models like those I have
pictured here on this page.
To see many other fans I have sold
in the past please go to the Past Sales Archive link in the right
column.
The fans you see here are examples
of the caliber, condition and quality of antique fans that
we primarily deal in and can help you sell.
If you have early electric fans or other early
and unusual electrical powered devices that you want to sell, please contact us at
LCM@AntiqBuyer.com providing as many details as possible.
To see examples of similar antiques that
we have for sale please go to our sister site at
www.Patented-Antiques.com
and
visit the numerous sale pages you will find there. Thank You!
Larry & Carole
