Antique Electric Ceiling Fans & Desk Fans & Wall Fans
A hot person just can't have enough fans to help beat summer heat. Hot humans have always been finding ways to keep cool and one of the best electric inventions ever made after the light bulb is the electric fan. Electric fans have been made for well over 100 years and mere made in a great variety shapes, sizes and oscillating mechanisms. In the waning years of the 1800's electricity for residential use was not common as there was very little wiring infrastructure. Battery operated fans were the first electric fan. The Edison company would sell a fan with a set of charged lead acid battery jars. When the batteries became discharged, the fan owner would send the battery jars back to Edison Electric to recharge. Batteries then were very large sulfuric acid lead units that were heavy and were encased in glass jars. There might be four or more jars of acid filled batteries needed to power a fan in the house. As factories converted from water powered machinery to electric machinery, the owner of the company might well run wiring to his nearby home and hook up some lights. This would have been an amazing thing to see at night as oil lamps and candles were the lighting of the night in those days. Favored employees nearby would get some wiring and on the system went until companies were formed to wire the nation and the world. Other inventions soon followed such as electric sewing machines that made life a lot better.
Early ceiling fans were made in very small numbers by hand and featured very ornate castings and hand painted pin striping as they were intended for banks, fancy business's and wealthy people that could afford comforting luxuries such as keeping cool on a hot summer day. Some fans made in the 1920's and 1930's had streamlined styling and were intended for fancy department stores such as the large wall hanging Air Castle fan below that were inspired by aircraft designs and futuristic inspirations. Other fans featured highly stylized designs by famous designers of the day such as Raymond Loewy. There were many mechanically interesting designs as fan makers sought to increase sales by making their fans rotate in 360 degree rotations or oscillate through the use of air powered flaps or had unique gear mechanisms that would make a sort of figure eight. Some fans had rubber or fabric blades and were used in phone booths and automobiles as well as residential desk fans. These were called safety fans. There were card player fans that blew air with radial blades so as not to disturb the play. These were also called bankers fans so paper money could be counted without blowing away. Not a bad thing unless you were a passerby.
There were special purpose fans used before air conditioning was invented such as a Victor Luminaire fan used by funeral homes to clear the air. Before air-conditioning was invented when a person passed away it was common for a wake to be held in the home. As such unexpected mournful events take time for people to travel to attend, the recently departed would quickly be getting a bit ripe in a hot climate. Classy morticians would use the very intricate and ornate gothic styled fan by the Victor Fan Company that featured two special flesh colored light bulbs. The fan served two functions, to give a more life like appearance to the recently departed and to remove the ahem, aroma and blow it out an open window. These funeral fans featured very ornate delicate castings and fine examples are highly sought after today by collectors as many were smashed or damaged by constant travel as the funeral business never runs out of customers.
Here are some antique electric fans that Scotty has collected some of which may be sold in 2025.
Air Castle air Circulator Edison 6 blade battery fan circa 1892 Crocker & Curtis belt drive bi polar ceiling fan motor
24inch blade circa 1930's In the background is a 16" Sprague fan This bipolar C&C motor would have powered
with Lundell design motor a series of belt driven ceiling fans. Circa 1890's
circa 1909
Fitzgerald 7" inch modern design fan National Tack and Screw Company Royal Rochester deco fan.
Adams Bagnall Gyro ceiling fan with 16" brass blades and cages The fan motor oscillates inside the cage
The entire fan rotates from air power velocity
These were about the last of the Gyro fans
circa 1927
Adams Bagnall Jandus C-Frame 16" desk fan Diehl Direct Current "hatbox" ceiling fan circa 1900 Diehl fan advertisement
circa 1911 Philip Diehl invented the first electric ceiling fan
In the background is a round ball 12" Jandus fan
circa 1910
An Edison battery jar is in the background as well
Century Ceiling Fan General Electric Oakleaf ceiling fan
Turek ceiling fan, nickel plated 2 blade model The entire motor housing rotates original black and copper finish with applied
The motor turns two leather covered wheels Features beautiful nouveau design cast iron oak leaves circa 1909
inside the fan casing that rotate the ornate circa 1906-1918
cast iron fan case with attached adjustable pitch blades
The company became the Hunter Fan and Ventilator Company
Circa 1898
General Electric . wall mount 16" pancake motor fan Marelli 6" deco desk fan
Circa 1905 circa 1948
Wall mounted fans were quite deluxe
as most rooms that had electricity likely had only one wall outlet. So will the sewing machine or fan or radio get plugged in?