Like other collectibles, vintage electric fans appeal to different people for different reasons.  Many prize them as nostalgic reminders of growing up in an era before home air-conditioning became affordable.  Others regard antique fans as enduring examples of American industrial technology, as iron-and-steel embodiments of art and design trends.  Still others view them as retro interior-decorating items.  For all of these reasons antique electric fans have a steady market on eBay, and can command prices that often surpass those of other vintage appliances.

Trends in Electric Fan Design

Based on their designs and features, antique fans can be loosely divided (and "loosely" should be taken literally here) into historical eras or periods.  The earliest electric fans date from the late nineteenth century, before the widespread availability of commercial electric power.  Many were battery-operated, consequently, and were little more than windmill-like blades attached to primitive iron-framed motors with exposed coils and wires, and mounted on short tripod-style legs.  A few of these early fans lacked cages (sometimes referred to as "guards" or "shrouds") to protect stray fingers from the spinning blades.  For the most part, the market for these increasingly rare early models is driven by specialist collectors.

Early 20th Century Fans.  Electric fan designs became somewhat standardized in the early twentieth century.  Most had brass blades and cages, cast-iron bases with ribbed or fluted designs, and large iron-clad motors mounted in spur-shaped yokes (or "trunnions").  The motors and bases were sometimes trimmed with gold pinstripes.  Some early fans had mechanical attachments that enabled the motors and blades to oscillate (or pivot from side to side), spreading the air stream in several directions.  Soon, these add-on devices (often referred to as "vane oscillators," "feather oscillators," and "lollipop oscillators" because of their distinctive shapes) were displaced by enclosed gear-driven transmissions affixed to the front or back of the fans' motor cases.

Most fans manufactured between the turn of the century and the beginning of World War One were equipped with braided cloth-covered power cords of sufficient length (about ten feet, on average) to be able to reach the nearest electrical outlet in a room -- usually a lamp socket suspended from the ceiling.  Consequently, most early fans were issued with screw-in plugs that resembled the base of a light bulb, rather than the familiar two-prong plugs that appliance manufacturers eventually adopted.  Although most electric fans were sold with factory-installed power cords, some early models were shipped without them, requiring the buyer to purchase the cord and have it attached to the fan by a local electrical supplier.  Because electricity was widely perceived as mysterious and dangerous (a perception morbidly reinforced by the introduction of the electric chair in 1890), most buyers probably welcomed the assistance of a knowledgeable clerk at the local hardware or general store.

Several of the best-selling fans of the early 1900s (Century, Crocker-Wheeler, Diehl, Eck, Emerson, General Electric, Jandus, Menominee, Peerless, Robbins & Myers, Westinghouse and others) had as many as five speeds, and some models were available with either four, five, or six brass blades.  While most of these blades had either squared or rounded edges, the Emerson company opted for a patented scalloped design known as the "Parker blade."  Because alternating (AC) and direct (DC) current was available in different cities and communities in the U.S., fans were designed to operate with one or both types of current, and were typically rated for 100-130 volts.  Lower-voltage models (e.g., 32 volts DC) were also manufactured for use in passenger trains, aboard ships, and in rural areas where residents relied on storage batteries for electric power.

Trends in the 1920s.  The next era in the evolvement of electric fans extended roughly from the end of World War One to the beginning of the Depression.  By the middle 1920s, most of the larger American manufacturers had settled upon three-speed oscillating fans with bell-shaped bases and lever-type sliding switches, steel cages with S-shaped wires radiating from a decorative label (or "badge") in the center, and brass or brass-plated blades ranging from six to sixteen inches in diameter.  (Many Westinghouse fans, however, were equipped with synthetic blades molded from a phenolic compound called "Micarta," which the company had patented in 1913.)  But by the end of the decade, stamped steel and aluminum blades had gradually replaced solid-brass ones.

As sales of electric fans steadily increased in the early 1920s, some manufacturers (Emerson, Century, and General Electric, among others) added carrying handles to the motors of their larger fans to facilitate moving them from one room to another.  At the opposite end of the spectrum, mini-sized fans such as the "Polar Cub," a low-priced brand of the A. C. Gilbert Company (of Erector Set fame), were small enough to be carried in a suitcase or a trunk, and were especially popular with traveling salesmen and others whose nights were often spent in stuffy hotel rooms and boarding houses.

Like the Model T Ford, most electric fans were available only in black, although by the mid-1920s the Westinghouse company, among other manufacturers, introduced ivory or pale-yellow models into their product lines.  (The majority of General Electric fans, on the other hand, were finished in an olive-tinted lacquer that resembled the color of the luxurious Pullman train cars of that era.)  Most of these fans were depicted in creative and colorful advertisements that appeared regularly in the leading magazines of the day. 

The Depression Era.  Between the early 1930s and the beginning of World War Two, the iron and brass fans of the previous era were gradually displaced by sleek, streamlined models that were generally more compact, quieter running, and less expensive to manufacture.  Although most were designed for desk tops, night tables, and kitchen counters, a variety of other styles including ceiling fans, pedestal-mounted fans, window fans, and exhaust fans were manufactured for both residential and industrial use.  Other special-purpose fans were also available, including dashboard-mounted automobile fans (which were vacuum-powered, like the windshield wipers with which cars of that era were equipped) as well as "vertical axis" desk fans, which substituted upright drum-mounted vanes for conventional blades.  Sometimes called "bank-teller fans," these vertical-axis models generated a soft, evenly dispersed breeze that prevented paperwork from becoming airborne.

Other special-purpose electric fans of the 1930s and early 1940s included the all-chrome Fresh'nd-Aire, marketed by its Chicago-based manufacturer as the "Successor to the Fan."  A stationary rather than oscillating design, the Fresh'nd-Aire models had multiple-speed motors that powered a two-blade, scythe-shaped propeller made of aluminum or, more commonly, Bakelite.   The high-speed propeller, protected by a chrome cage featuring star-shaped patterns, was available in diameters ranging from 14 to 24 inches.  The fan's speed switch was enclosed with the motor in a bullet-shaped chrome housing, and the individual speeds were selected by a pull chain that extended from the motor case.  With its smaller-sized competitor, the Peerless "Roto-Beam" (a high-speed, five-bladed design with a trunnion-mounted cage), the large and powerful Fresh'nd-Aire fans were available in pedestal, wall-mounted, and table-top models, and were a staple in retail buildings until the advent of commercial air-conditioning.

Among conventional desk-top fans of the Depression years, the more futuristic models had alloy frames, bullet-shaped motors, and overlapping pinwheel-style blades.  Some were furnished with rectangular bases and cages in lieu of the customary round ones.  (For example, some General Electric and "Star-Rite" fans, a popular brand made by the Fitzgerald Manufacturing Company, were issued with octagonal cages and bases during the Depression.)  A few fans were designed to resemble radio loudspeakers, modernistic vases, and other home furnishings in the Art Deco and Art Moderne styles.  Some of these fans have almost achieved the status of art objects, and can yield relatively high prices depending on their rarity.

Postwar Trends.  After World War Two, desk-top models with 8-, 10- and 12-inch blades accounted for the vast majority of fan sales, but other styles including footstool-shaped "hassock" fans (some of which, like the Welch "Air Flight," had vents made of Lucite, a clear plastic developed by Dupont in the early 1930s) and so-called "box" fans, whose blades and motors were encased in metal or wooden frames, also enjoyed brisk sales after the war.  The mahogany-finished "Mathes Cooler," designed by air-conditioning pioneer G. Curtis Mathes, was one of the higher-priced box fans of the period.

Pedestal fans were popular after the war, as they had been earlier, and in the late 1940s the residential housing boom created by returning military veterans fueled a new market for window-mounted fans.  Some of these had two sets of motors and blades mounted in tandem, but most were single-motor models that could be mechanically or electrically reversed (e.g., Berns "Air King" and Meier "Nu-Air" models, among many others), enabling them to function as either intake or exhaust fans.  More powerful models with large belt-driven blades (including Homart, Penncrest, and Whitehouse window fans, marketed by Sears Roebuck, J. C. Penney, and Cussins & Fearn stores, respectively) were also sold for residential use.  But perhaps the most inventive window-fan design of the 1940s was the Philco Ventilator, whose rounded wood-veneered case housed two turbines driven by a variable-speed motor.  Designed for mounting in a conventional window frame, the Philco's distinctive shape and fully enclosed motor and blades gave the Ventilator the appearance of an air-conditioner rather than a fan.

After the war, desk fans were available in turquoise, coral, and other trendy colors -- and like the cars that Detroit's factories were then producing, some fans had two-tone finishes.  Despite their Jet Age looks, however, most of these fans were functionally similar to models from earlier eras.  But during the 1940s, an innovative turbine-style fan was developed by the Kansas-based O. A. Sutton Company.  Sold under the brand name "Vornado," these fans were whisper-quiet and remarkably efficient.  Not unexpectedly, their popularity quickly spawned imitators.

Many of the top-selling desk fans of the 1950s (Eskimo, Wizard, Zero, Dominion, Handybreeze, Kenmore, Jack Frost, and others) were sold in hardware stores, dime-store chains, drug stores, and through Sears Roebuck and Montgomery Ward catalogs.  Although some purist collectors tend to dismiss these postwar fans as disposables that were designed to be discarded rather than repaired, thousands of these so-called "throw-away" fans are still running fifty or sixty years later.  They are especially popular among Baby Boomers who were lulled to sleep by the comforting sound of whirring fan blades.

Tips for Sellers

Sellers of vintage electric fans should include the following information in their listings:  (1) the name of the brand or manufacturer, and any model numbers that appear on the badge, the underside of the base, or other parts of the fan; (2) the tip-to-tip diameter of the blades; (3) the height, width and depth of the fan; (4) the number of speeds (if any) that are labeled on the motor, switch, or base; (5) a brief description of the fan's operating condition, provided that the seller has tested it; and (6) whether the fan is an oscillating or non-oscillating (or "stationary'") model, if the seller has that information.  (Note the standard spelling of "oscillating," rather than "osculating," "osaleting," and other creative variations that sometimes appear in eBay ads.)  Most other information that a buyer might want to know can be gotten from clear, well-lighted photos of the front, back, and sides of the fan, or can be obtained through the "Contact Seller" link. 

Although some sellers try to estimate the production dates of vintage and antique fans, most of these dates are best-guess attempts derived from patent information that appears on labels and badges.  But patent dates are misleading, and often refer to a specific feature or component of a fan rather than the fan itself.  Vintage advertisements are more reliable sources of production dates, though less so than original catalogs and sales brochures published by a manufacturer.  Badges and labels can be problematic as well.  Although some of the rarest antique fans were sold under the storied name of Edison, a number of the cheapest fans of the post-World War Two era also carried the Edison name -- but the McGraw-Edison Company of the 1950s was at best a distant descendant of Thomas A. Edison, Inc., the original Edison company.

Judging whether a fan is in original condition can be similarly vexing.  Even seemingly obvious clues can be deceptive.  Power cords are a case in point.  A pre-World War One electric fan with a molded rubber cord is obviously not original, since rubber cords weren't in use until the late 1930s.  But a fan with a cloth-covered power cord is not necessarily original either.  For instance, an early brass-blade fan equipped with a thick cloth cord trimmed with light-colored rings or stripes is technically not "original" because power cords of that type were used in toasters, irons, heaters, and other high-wattage appliances rather than electric fans.  

As a precaution for buyers who want to purchase an antique fan for regular use, a seller may want to include a statement that vintage fans do not comply with modern safety standards, should not be left unattended when running, and should never be used around children or pets.  As obvious as that might seem, buyers whose experience with electric fans is limited to the safely-designed plastic brands sold by Wal-Mart and other retail chains, may not realize how powerful and potentially dangerous an antique fan can be -- a fact that earlier generations sometimes learned the hard way.

Tips for Buyers

Buyers who want to purchase a vintage fan on eBay should ask for the type of information listed above, and should also ask the seller to clarify whether or not the running condition of the fan has been tested.  If not, and if the seller is reluctant to test the fan by plugging it in, please respect his or her judgment and common sense.  Although vintage fans and other antique appliances might look safe, their electrical parts may be sixty or seventy years old, and the insulation that originally sealed their wires and connections may have broken down or completely disintegrated.  The sudden surge of 110 or 220 volts coursing through a brittle plug and uninsulated wiring is not merely dangerous but also potentially lethal.

If the fan is advertised as being in operating condition, ask the seller whether it starts quickly, whether it vibrates, shakes, or makes any unusual noises while it's running, and whether there are any visible cracks in any of the fan's external parts.  (Despite their heft and rock-solid looks, many fans manufactured during the 1920s and 1930s had vulnerable pot-metal parts.)   If the fan is an oscillating type, ask whether it moves smoothly and evenly from side to side, or whether it slows down, pauses, or sticks during any part of the oscillating cycle.  Most of these questions won't matter, of course, if the fan is intended purely for display.

Restored Antique Fans

Probably for most eBay buyers, a restored antique fan seems more appealing than a dusty, scratched-up model that someone retrieved from an attic or basement.  But buyer beware: "restored" is a widely variable word.  To a few sellers, a rusty or pitted fan that has been superficially cleaned with a wire brush and repainted with a $2.99 spray can might qualify as "restored."  But to experienced collectors, restoring an antique fan typically involves rewiring and re-insulating its electrical components, replacing worn mechanical parts with high-quality reproductions, polishing brass blades to a deep shine, and refinishing the body of the fan with multiple coats of automotive-grade paint or powder coating.  Like concourse-quality antique cars, professionally restored fans tend to look better than they did when they left the factory.  Most restorations are more moderate, however, and their quality depends mainly upon the ability, experience, and standards of the restorer.

A Caution About Shipping

Buyers and sellers who have no previous experience with shipping antique fans may be unaware of the irreparable damage that improper packing can cause.  For that reason, buyers should expect to pay above-average shipping charges to ensure that a vintage fan arrives safely, and sellers should be prepared to provide (and charge extra) for the appropriate packing materials.  (Buyers should also anticipate the heft and bulk of antique fans, some of which tip the scales at thirty or more pounds.)  For a list of packing and shipping tips, see "How to Ship a Desk Fan," the step-by-step guidelines published on the website of the Antique Fan Collectors Association (www.fancollectors.org), an international organization with more than 500 members worldwide.


Left to Right:  An Emerson stationary (non-oscillating) fan with trunnion-mounted motor, brass cage, and 8-inch brass blades (c. 1912), a Westinghouse oscillating fan with 12-inch Micarta blades (1920), a General Electric streamlined aluminum fan with overlapping 10-inch blades (1931), and a Westinghouse "Livelyaire" oscillating fan with finned aluminum motor and 10-inch aluminum blades (1950).