Greetings all,

I really enjoyed viewing this ad. I supposed that in order for Hoover to have Mme. Schumann-Heink as a sponsor, she must have been quite a celebrity in her day. So I went on YouTube looking for recordings of her singing Stille Nacht. I learned that she was an operatic singer, a contralto. For anyone who's interested, below is a link to her recording of Stille Nacht in German. The date of the recording is in question. The person who posted the video stated that it is c. 1908, but a viewer commented that the recording is too good, more like 1926 (the year in which electric recordings began.) I agree with the viewer, but in any case, it is lovely. If you do a YT search on "Schumann-Heink Stille Nacht" you will see links to other recordings, some in English.

Mme. Schumann-Heink had to be at least 66 when this ad was created, because NBC split into the Red and Blue networks on January 1, 1927, and the Red Network is mentioned in the ad. The cleaner in the ad looks like a late-1920s model to me. I would appreciate it if someone who knows more about this particular cleaner would add to this thread.

Joel