Thread Number: 7577
Princess or Prince? Brian eurekaprince is gonna love this...
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Post# 83542   11/7/2009 at 20:07 (5,254 days old) by aeoliandave (Stratford Ontario Canada)        

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Besides being about an unusual and lovely vacuum cleaner ensemble, rabid 'powers of deduction' are running amok in Davyland. Two opening pictures are from Doug Smith's site. Follow my logic, if you will...

So, if this is a two tone blue 1969 Eureka PRINCESS model 732 without a piggyback tool holder...

Exhibit A





Post# 83543 , Reply# 1   11/7/2009 at 20:09 (5,254 days old) by aeoliandave (Stratford Ontario Canada)        

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...And this is a late 1960s Eureka Crown PRINCESS model 832 in two-tone creams WITH a piggyback tool holder...

Post# 83544 , Reply# 2   11/7/2009 at 20:15 (5,254 days old) by aeoliandave (Stratford Ontario Canada)        

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Is this a 1969-ish Eureka Crown PRINCE? Since it's blue and all? And has a silver thread running through the hose weave, and a foot switch doubling as a handle to carry the 'Hatbox Ensemble' from closet to carpet, and a retracting cordwinder...?

Post# 83545 , Reply# 3   11/7/2009 at 20:21 (5,254 days old) by aeoliandave (Stratford Ontario Canada)        

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Well, I'm only guessing a probably teasing but I am 100% convinced everything with this is 100% genuine original kit. Nothing broken or cracked or missing and it pulls 65" as is.

This clearly came from a chainsmoker's home. :-) Ths several following pictures you can make out where Mr Clean Magic Eraser & I did a spot check test above and below the nested hose grip. Gonna take a Heap O' Erasure to bring this baby back to Prom King status...


Post# 83546 , Reply# 4   11/7/2009 at 20:23 (5,254 days old) by aeoliandave (Stratford Ontario Canada)        

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The top lid with the tool holder removed. Yep, that be a finely applied coating of protective Nicotine patina. :-)

Post# 83547 , Reply# 5   11/7/2009 at 20:27 (5,254 days old) by aeoliandave (Stratford Ontario Canada)        

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Really remarkable unscathed condition. Original nicotine-laminated cord, too.

The lower 6 o'clock port has a sliding door to close it when the hose plugs into the 9 o'clock port for blowing.


Post# 83548 , Reply# 6   11/7/2009 at 20:30 (5,254 days old) by aeoliandave (Stratford Ontario Canada)        

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Ready for the closet.
Isn't that a lovely hose? And again, as is my experience with Eureka braided hoses, it does not leak!

Dave. One more Sunday Matinee and I'm freeeeeeeeee............


Post# 83549 , Reply# 7   11/7/2009 at 20:32 (5,254 days old) by aeoliandave (Stratford Ontario Canada)        

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It's all there.

Post# 83552 , Reply# 8   11/7/2009 at 21:04 (5,254 days old) by vacuumfreeeke ()        

I love that power switch! Don't know how you are going to get rid of that discoloration on the top.... Kind of Hoover Celebrityesque. I also like the way the hose stores. Can you find bags for them still? Was there a similar one that also had a power nozzle?

Post# 83553 , Reply# 9   11/7/2009 at 21:32 (5,254 days old) by joe22 ()        

i think at one time it was called the *clam shell* monkey wards sold it also. really neat design.

Post# 83573 , Reply# 10   11/7/2009 at 22:20 (5,254 days old) by aeoliandave (Stratford Ontario Canada)        

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The nicotine glaze rubs right off. It calls for a Eureka Type 'O' bag which is an open-ended sac that secures with a roll down spring hoop, like a Hoover. It appears that the O bag has two built in pressed seams to 'curve' around the motor, much as the GE Roll-Easy bag does. The hunt for O bags begins...

This one came with a Eureka Type 'H' with one sealed end cut off and the H inlet hole pasted over. I'll be rifling through the Eureka Bag Bin tomorrow for something suitable.


Post# 83574 , Reply# 11   11/7/2009 at 22:34 (5,254 days old) by collector2 (Moose Jaw, Sk)        

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Ok - here we go again - LOL

The Eureka "Hat Box" style machines, according to my Eureka repair book are as follows:

Model 812 A - Crown Princess - rug, small, crev, dust (blur parts)
Model 812AT - Crown Princess - rug, small, crev, dust, tool support (Blue Parts)
Model 822 A - Crown Princess - rug, small, crev, dust, tool support (Blue Parts)
Model 822 AG - Crown Princess - tug, small, crev, dust, tool support (white parts)
Model 822 B - Crown Princess - rug, small, crev, dust, tool support (Blue Parts)
Model 822BG - Crown Princess - rug small, crev, dust, tool support (White Parts)
Model 832 A - Crown Princess - rug, small, crev, dust, tool support, vibra beat (Blue Parts - later white)
Model 832 B - Cordaway - rug, floor, small, crev, dust, tool support (Blue Parts)
Model 832 BV - Cordaway - rug, small, crev, dust, tool support, vibra beat (Blue Parts)
Model 842 AG - Cordaway - rug, floor, small, crev, dust, tool support, vibra beat (White Parts)
Model 842 B - Cordaway - rug, floor, small, crev, dust, tool support, vibra beat (White Parts)
Model 842 BG - Cordaway - rug, floor, small, crev, dust, tool support, vibra beat (Blue Parts)
Model 852 A - Cordaway - rug, floor, small, crev, dust, tool support, vibra beat, (Blue Parts)

Re: power nozzles - no - none came with a powerhead. This was before Eureka introduced power heads

Doug


Post# 83575 , Reply# 12   11/7/2009 at 22:37 (5,254 days old) by collector2 (Moose Jaw, Sk)        

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Forgot to mention - Singer also used a version of this machine but I'm not certain what the model number was.

As well - anyone have a spare handle / switch actuator? As you can see its missing from mine

Doug


Post# 83576 , Reply# 13   11/7/2009 at 23:03 (5,254 days old) by aeoliandave (Stratford Ontario Canada)        

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Thanks, as always, Doug.

So, it's a 15.75" diameter Model 842 B...pale blue with blue parts, a 6.5 foot hose ... and 4 proper casters so it won't tip over.

A sidebar thought - when a vacuum is thoroughly well designed the owner enjoys using it and accidental or frustration damage from mishaps just doesn't seem to happen. The owner isn't being extra careful, the vacuum just works well in all situations. Thus sturdily built vintage vacuums in great shape continue to pop up. I give Eureka (& Compact & GE) post-war canister vacuums (Roto-matic/Mobilaire and now this Hatbox) full marks where I would knock a point or two off of Electrolux, Filter Queen, Hoover and others.

Ducks and covers...


Post# 83578 , Reply# 14   11/7/2009 at 23:45 (5,254 days old) by eurekaprince (Montreal, Canada)        
Thank you for these wonderful pics Dave!

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My favourite Eureka canister design....seems to be inspired by the Sunbeam flying saucer vacuum since the Hoover celebrity would only come onto the market several years later in the 1970's.

Leave the Magic Erasing to me Dave! I'd love to spend hours carefully getting the colour back to factory condition! I'm on my way now......

Unfortunately, this does not seem to solve the Eureka Prince mystery. But thanks for trying Dave! Doug's list seems to prove this. Also, it seems that the Prince was a deluxe version of the standard Princess that came out many years before the Crown Princess. It is referred to in that famous dark blue "line drawing" ad for the "new" Princess with the tapered tail and handle on top. Some versions of that ad had a tag line at the bottom which said: "And don't forget to check out the Eureka Prince...its the Princess Plus!" See link below. That ad seems to come from the early 1960's, several years before the Crown Princess was seen by Mine Own Eyes, rotating on display turntables at Manufacturer's Hanover banks in Manhattan. They must have been part of some "new account" promotion.....

Oy...what a vac fanatic will remember from his childhood....scary, huh?

Glad to hear that its got decent suction. But I imagine the bag design might have high cloggability!

Enjoy the Toy!

EP Brian


CLICK HERE TO GO TO eurekaprince's LINK


Post# 83614 , Reply# 15   11/8/2009 at 21:36 (5,253 days old) by aeoliandave (Stratford Ontario Canada)        
Praise Science for Mr Clean magic Eraser!

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Now that I'm on vacation just had to dive into this tonight. Completely disassembled and cleaned including wire brushing the screws. That nicotine glaze was on EVERYTHING.

Inside before - dirt muck on surfaces and bag compartment ribs and rust residue from the steel strength plate across the hinge area - super Eureka engineering. :-)


Post# 83615 , Reply# 16   11/8/2009 at 21:38 (5,253 days old) by aeoliandave (Stratford Ontario Canada)        

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Lid after before re-installing choke and bag full meter.

Post# 83616 , Reply# 17   11/8/2009 at 21:40 (5,253 days old) by aeoliandave (Stratford Ontario Canada)        

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Bag compartment after.

Steel plate is riveted in place so I couldn't polish it up.


Post# 83617 , Reply# 18   11/8/2009 at 21:41 (5,253 days old) by aeoliandave (Stratford Ontario Canada)        

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Outside before

Post# 83618 , Reply# 19   11/8/2009 at 21:42 (5,253 days old) by aeoliandave (Stratford Ontario Canada)        

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Outside after.

Post# 83619 , Reply# 20   11/8/2009 at 21:44 (5,253 days old) by aeoliandave (Stratford Ontario Canada)        

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New bag and filter fitted.

The round chamber at the end of the bag is for extra bag storage - ya coil them up.


Post# 83621 , Reply# 21   11/8/2009 at 21:46 (5,253 days old) by aeoliandave (Stratford Ontario Canada)        

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All done #1.

Post# 83623 , Reply# 22   11/8/2009 at 22:00 (5,253 days old) by aeoliandave (Stratford Ontario Canada)        
A good night's work.

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All done #2.

Floor/wall brush in excellent shape. The VibraBeat nozzle shows little use which makes sense given the horrific clatter those vibra-beads make.

Suction readings with slide switch valve - 40", 55", 67".

Yes, that is blood on my boots - fake blood I had to administer in all three of the shows I worked the past 7 months. :-) Had to wash my 'blacks' separately every two weeks or so. It's the best fake blood available - intensely red but washes out completely with no stain whatsoever on white cloth. We have it in Fresh Cut Flow, Clotted, Thick Running and Textured Non-running.

It was a bloody Theatre Season...and it's a relief to bid another one adieu.


Post# 83624 , Reply# 23   11/8/2009 at 22:15 (5,253 days old) by aeoliandave (Stratford Ontario Canada)        
For Eureka Emphemera fans

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Owners manual covers

Post# 83625 , Reply# 24   11/8/2009 at 22:16 (5,253 days old) by aeoliandave (Stratford Ontario Canada)        

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Pages 2-3

Post# 83626 , Reply# 25   11/8/2009 at 22:16 (5,253 days old) by aeoliandave (Stratford Ontario Canada)        

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Pages 4-5

Post# 83627 , Reply# 26   11/8/2009 at 22:18 (5,253 days old) by aeoliandave (Stratford Ontario Canada)        

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Pages 6-7

Dave


Post# 83628 , Reply# 27   11/8/2009 at 22:27 (5,253 days old) by aeoliandave (Stratford Ontario Canada)        

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Btw, there's a fantastic looking VINTAGE TURQUOISE EUREKA PRINCESS VACUUM CLEANER SET on Ebay right now. Great pictures for files. Don't like the opening bid, though...:-(

Post# 83647 , Reply# 28   11/9/2009 at 00:48 (5,253 days old) by briankirbyclass (Eudora Kansas)        

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Thanks for the pics, very interesting!,,and nice job cleaning up that machine!
Sure does bring back memories,,I remember a neighbor lady had one of these,in the early 1970s, the bluish deluxe model with the Cordaway,VibraBeat, and all the bells and whistles.
Sure was a neat vacuum,and did have excellent suction,,but i remember it was cumbersome and didnt pull around very easily. Would easily get held up around doorways, hallways,ect.
Not easy to use while cleaning stairs at all. Was easiest to use if you just carried it, and stood the machine on end.


Post# 83660 , Reply# 29   11/9/2009 at 07:38 (5,253 days old) by aeoliandave (Stratford Ontario Canada)        

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Yes Brian, with no perimeter bumper strip I would have expected some major side damage from being hauled around room to room...but there is none! This one must have been used just as you describe.

I'm going to Vibra-Beat the bedroom carpets this morning.

Funny how quiet Eurekas generally are and yet they came out with the unholy racket of the Vibra-Beat and produced it for years. I guess customers figured the mental migraine was worth it - if it made all that noise it must be '3 times faster'...but it's no good at picking up anything larger or less pulverize-able than kitty litter. Again, part of the reason Vibra-Beat nozzles are so often found in almost unused condition. :-)

Dave


Post# 83661 , Reply# 30   11/9/2009 at 07:57 (5,253 days old) by vacbear58 (Sutton In Ashfield & London)        
You want to try it with a Miele

vacbear58's profile picture
to hear it really noisy with 2200W of teutonic vacuum power running through the nozzle. Unfortunatly the carpet we tried it on was so clean to begin with it was hard to tell if there was any beneficial effect. But it was still fun :)

Al


Post# 83664 , Reply# 31   11/9/2009 at 08:00 (5,253 days old) by vacbear58 (Sutton In Ashfield & London)        
A look into the future ....

vacbear58's profile picture
It occured to me when I got my own version of the mobile aire (it was a Parnall in the UK) just how far ahead of its time it was, certainly as far as the UK is concerned it is still, largely the model for most "bagged" machines
Al


Post# 83666 , Reply# 32   11/9/2009 at 08:05 (5,253 days old) by aeoliandave (Stratford Ontario Canada)        

aeoliandave's profile picture
I think my most powerful sucking domestic vacuum is 110". I'll try it.

Hey Allister, we have the same last name, Kerr! and you were borm in February of '58, perhaps a Pisces of a certain age, like Crevicetool, Compactelectra and I and so many others?
Dave...Kerr


Post# 83687 , Reply# 33   11/9/2009 at 15:40 (5,252 days old) by portable (Corvallis, OR)        
Wow, what a beautiful clean-up, Dave

portable's profile picture
It really makes you stop and pause about the long-term effects of smoking. I remember washing my parents walls when we had all been smoking for years. It was one of the more disgusting jobs I've ever had to do. You had to change the water every 10 minutes. And that sticky residue was gross. Glad I quit years ago.

Anyway...you sure have a nice, "new" vacuum after all your efforts. Congrats!


Post# 83702 , Reply# 34   11/9/2009 at 17:42 (5,252 days old) by briankirbyclass (Eudora Kansas)        

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Dave,that sure brings back memories,,i remember this same neighbor lady wore out her Vibra Beat,,she had THICK heavy orange and green shag carpet. The Vibra Beat got to where it would just sputter and stop.
So, she ordered a new Vibra Beat from Eureka, thru Montgomery Wards. Guess what, they sent her a regular flat rug nozzle, saying the Vibra Beat was no longer avalible. This would have been around 1973-74.


Post# 83703 , Reply# 35   11/9/2009 at 17:50 (5,252 days old) by arh1953 ( River Park, in Port St. Lucie, Florida)        

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I had a Vibra Beat with one of the two canisters I had years ago, now I wish I had kept it and the bigger vacuum of the two. Maybe it's a silly item, but it is kind of fun.

Post# 83704 , Reply# 36   11/9/2009 at 17:54 (5,252 days old) by briankirbyclass (Eudora Kansas)        

briankirbyclass's profile picture
Another funny story about the Vibra Beat - a friend of mine owns a vac service and repair shop, having bought it in the early 90s from the original owner, who opened for business in the mid 1960s.
So,of course down in the old basement there are/were boxes full of old attachments,hoses,parts,wands,ect. from every conceivable model of vac ever known.
A vac collectors dream!
I used to love to stop by there and spend a day just going thru all the old stuff.
Anyway,lo and behold, i came across a brand new Vibra Beat nozzle, that had never been used. Of course the minute i saw it, i knew exactly what it was.
I showed it to my friend, who had no idea,(he's a Kirby man thru and thru),,he thought it was just a regular carpet/floor nozzle,,had no idea it actually did something,,or made such a racket!
Of course i grabbed it up faster than lightening, and still have it.
I use it with the TriStar, or Central Vac once in awhile.
Definatly agree it cant suck up or pulverize anything larger than kitty litter.



Post# 83714 , Reply# 37   11/9/2009 at 20:01 (5,252 days old) by eurekaprince (Montreal, Canada)        
Tis indeed a thing of beauty, Dave.

eurekaprince's profile picture
I am sure this is just my personal bias, but there was something indescribable about the industrial designs coming out of the Eureka Williams Company. They created vac designs that to me were so elegant in their simplicity and modernity. Even the way the graphics and wording were printed on the control panels - it all seems so cool and understated. It could be just the fact that I grew up with a Eureka....so I am still not quite sure why there vac designs from the 1960's and 1970's have that effect on me. It's completely irrational and sentimental - just like my inexplicable love for my late grandmother's cabbage rolls or my mom's apple cake. I can even imagine the smell of those Eureka attachments.

Glad to read more "performance" info from Brian in Kansas. I always wondered about the manoeuverability of the Crown Princess. Because the hose seems to exit the machine at a different angle to the direction one would pull the unit, I often wondered how weird it would react to a pull on the hose. Now you tell me there is no bumper to protect furniture which to me is a serious oversight considering the way the hose attaches to the unit. I imagine that there would be a lot of stress on the hose material close to where it attaches to the vac since it is always being pulled at an angle to its natural positioning.

As much of a Eurekaprince as I am, I must face the fact that Eureka often did not innovate - they often copied and improved design concepts. And the Crown Princess may be another example of this. A vac that offers a way to store a hose on board is a concept also found in the Hoover Portable which I believe was on the market at the same time as the Crown Princess. It suffered from the same difficulty in handling and potential hose breakage because of how the hose needed to be connected to the unit. I wonder if someone might be able to figure out which one came first - Hoover's or Eureka's. The Portable had one up on the CP - it also could store the wand in the unit!

One final note - those Tool Pak "hubs" or "stubs" or "nipples" may have worked well in the first years of use. But eventually they lost their grip on the tools and could no longer hold onto them when any of the Eureka canisters were put on their rear ends. Eureka finally fixed this Tool Pak flaw in the late 1970's when the on-board Tool Paks with plastic covers were introduced.

Still...what a beautiful renovation to a great looking machine! So photogenic!



Post# 83739 , Reply# 38   11/10/2009 at 05:19 (5,252 days old) by vacbear58 (Sutton In Ashfield & London)        
Family connections

vacbear58's profile picture
Dave,
When I realised your surname I did wonder if there might be a family connection, as I have American cousins some of which with the Kerr name (one of my father's brothers and one sister both emigrated from Northern Ireland in the late 1930s) and as you are almost the same age as my sister it set me thinking.

However my uncle settled in the US, whereas you are canadian born. I do know that my Grandfather Kerr was born in Glasgow, somewhere around 1870 or so, and although he had two brothers I believe both were childless - but I currently do not have any information regarding my great grandfather and prior. Have you researched your family lineage at all?

And yes I am "of a certain age", as my nick on here indicates, although not Pisces - my birthday is February 2nd so I am very my much an Aquarian, and although I dont really hold much with that sort of stuff I do apparently exhibit a number of Aquarian traits

Al


Post# 83764 , Reply# 39   11/10/2009 at 11:23 (5,252 days old) by sleepdoc (St. Louis, MO)        
Vibra-beat

sleepdoc's profile picture
I've used a couple of those nozzles, but they are decades old and ran for only a short time until the beaters jammed. I had no way to tell if they actually picked up any dirt cuz this was at John Pease's house, whose carpets already are so clean all the time a tornado couldn't suck a speck of dust out.

Post# 83769 , Reply# 40   11/10/2009 at 13:28 (5,251 days old) by briankirbyclass (Eudora Kansas)        

briankirbyclass's profile picture
EurekaPrince, i have the same feeling about the 60s-70s Eureka's as you.We didnt have one, but alot of neighbors and relatives did, and i remember being facintated with the different makes and models,,and attachments,,and who had what. HA,guess it didnt take much to amuze me as a kid.
The VibraBeat attachment is really strange, like that one neighbor lady who wore one out,within just a few years, but then now,all these years later, you will still find them in very good condition. Must have something to do with the kind and thickness of carpet they were used on, and how much use/abuse they took. I guess we have to keep in mind that alot of the shag, and even regular carpets back then were very very thick and heavy.
Another thing that facinated me as a kid was many neighbors had Central Vac. There was a Beam dealer in the town, so most everyone that had Central Vac, had a Beam, with a brownish hose, and a Preco Power Brush. Plus a rack of attachments that included a Eureka style regular carpet nozzle, the extra long floor brush, and all of the "Deluxe" Eureka made attachments.
I remember thinking that was REALLY cool! haha,,like the ULTIMATE of what you could get in a vacuum cleaner. Why oh why couldnt WE have one of those!
(all we had was a Hoover Connie, and then a DAM powerdrive, which i hated at the time),,i mean, compared to a Beam with all those cool attachments, i thought we were severly lacking in the vacuum department!
Until the advent of E-Bay (where i finally found a Preco), i thought maybe i had just dreamed up such a thing. Was totally facinated with those Preco Power Brushes.
I remember seeing a hand held Hoover version of a Preco in the Hardware store once,and knew it would work on our Connie. Begged my mom and dad to get it,,of course they said NO!!


Post# 292181 , Reply# 41   8/6/2014 at 17:02 (3,521 days old) by stricklybojack (Southern California)        
What a thread...

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glad to resurrect it. And even more glad i have something to add, yesterday's Eureka Cordaway Canister find. I literally walked past the particular thrift shop i found this in because although i did once find a great deal there, 95% of the time i come away empty handed. So after initially passing it i thought, "you never know" turned around, walked in and was rewarded once again.

  Photos...       <              >      Photo 1 of 4         View Full Size


This post was last edited 08/06/2014 at 21:55
Post# 292221 , Reply# 42   8/6/2014 at 21:05 (3,521 days old) by eurekaprince (Montreal, Canada)        

eurekaprince's profile picture
Nice member of the Princely Eureka Royal Family!

I can imagine that special Eureka Williams aroma emanating from the beautiful powder blue tools....

Interesting interpretation of the classic Eureka "trilogy" three-part hood profile. It's always there somewhere!!!



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