I was looking through waiting room material as I got a new tire today, and I picked up the Spring 2007 issue of the Hammacher Schlemmer Catalog. Was surprised to see they are carrying the Hoover Constellation! See scan.
They've sold other vacuum cleaners in the past, including the Dyson when their first model came out, and about 10 years ago, Metropolitan-rebuilt* Electrolux Model Rs as "RETRO" vacuum cleaners. And such a deal at 99.95...!!
* E.g., the whole machine, from stem to stern, was dipped in a vat of blue hammertone paint. I'm surprised they didn't paint the cord as well. Really cheesy rebuild jobs.
Re H.S.'s advertising copy for the Hoover, where they state "renowned manufacturer of cleaning products for nearly 100 years," I wonder if someone should contact them and advise them that the Hoover Company as we know it is no more; and that parts for the Constellation they are so proudly touting were probably manufactured somewhere like Bangladesh and then assembled by child labor in Indonesia or wherever.......