Earlier than electrical energy, guide fanning was the one option to create a cooling airflow throughout sweltering summer season days. Whether or not you probably did it your self with a classy hand fan or commanded somebody to swish big palm leaves over you, it was a weary option to get some reduction.
Nevertheless, as electrical energy turned out there throughout North America within the Eighties, and earlier than central air-con turned the norm, creating a pleasant breeze was a lot simpler after an American engineer invented the primary electrical fan to flow into cool air.
From that first fan that spun wedge-shaped brass blades to a Vornado desk fan with its mid-century aesthetic, electrical followers have been as soon as the primary staples of beating the warmth. Whether or not used for utilitarian functions or as ornamental objects, vintage and classic followers at the moment are scorching commodities for collectors, who worth them for his or her historical past, craftsmanship, and suave designs.
A BRIEF HISTORY
American electrical engineer Schuyler Skaats Wheeler is credited with inventing the primary electrical fan in 1882. The experimental work of Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla impressed Wheeler to make a easy desk-top fan by attaching a two-bladed propeller to a small electrical motor. Curtis & Crocker Electrical Motor Firm produced the fan in 1889.
These early followers had uncovered electrical connections, which might trigger shocks if touched, even when the fan wasn’t working. Not solely that, however the blades have been uncovered, so there was the potential hazard of individuals slicing their arms in the event that they acquired too shut. Protecting cages have been later added across the blades as a security measure.
Edison’s firm, Edison Manufacturing, additionally produced electrical followers from round 1885 to 1911, a number of the rarest and most useful at the moment.
Within the early twentieth century, Emerson Electrical, Normal Electrical, Robbins & Myers, Westinghouse, and different American firms began mass-producing electrical desk followers for family use, together with oscillating fashions. That includes six wedge-shaped blades just like a windmill’s construction, they have been normally made from brass, iron, and metal, have been heavy, and had protecting wire cages round uncovered blades. The followers additionally had an industrial design, with many having embossed logos and ornamental particulars.
Producers started growing totally different blade designs as expertise superior and competitors elevated by the Nineteen Twenties. To assist make followers quieter, Normal Electrical launched overlapping blades, and different designers rapidly tailored this innovation to totally different varieties, together with Emerson designer Jane Evans, who created the Emerson Silver Swan. Manufactured starting in 1932, the Swan’s silvery aluminum blades mimic the sleek profile of the chicken, and the fan is among the standout designs of the artwork deco period.
By the Nineteen Fifties, followers featured plastic parts and have been made in typical mid-century kinds and colours. A notable and enjoyable space-age design was a desk fan by the Fitzgerald Manufacturing Firm, harking back to a futuristic rocketship or torpedo.
With the arrival of air-con within the Nineteen Sixties, the worldwide demand for electrical followers dwindled, although they did stay an environment friendly and economical option to calm down.
WHAT TO LOOK FOR
Most collectors choose vintage and classic followers relationship from the Nineteen Sixties and earlier than. As a result of these followers have been constructed to final, there are a selection of varieties to select from at the moment, together with ceiling, ground, and desk fashions, and an array of kinds, whether or not you like elegant artwork deco designs or examples from the mid-century with whimsical space-age aptitude.
Search for followers made by main firms like Emerson, Normal Electrical, Robbins & Myers, and Westinghouse, as they produced engaging fashions of fine high quality, with hand-wired motors, strong blades made from brass or metal, and sturdy cast-iron bases. Followers made by these firms are among the many most sought-after and worthwhile, particularly Emerson’s fashions.
Other than seems to be and builds, the perfect buys might be followers that additionally nonetheless have their authentic enamel or paint finishes, intact nameplates or decals that embody the serial and mannequin numbers, oscillate correctly, and are free from lacking components, rust, or frayed wiring, until you intend to revive them.
DESIRABLE FANS AND VALUES
Vintage and classic followers could be discovered for $5 to hundreds of {dollars}. Values are influenced by rarity, supplies, situation, and total design.
Early followers with brass blades are extremely prized, particularly ones made by Edison’s firm, that are tremendous uncommon. In response to listings in WorthPoint’s Worth Information, these followers have been the highest sellers during the last three years, together with this one from 1894 that bought in June 2025 for $25,000. A handful of different Edison followers have bought between $2,650 and $12,600 for simply the motor.
One other revered early fan is the Normal Electrical desk mannequin referred to as “the Pancake” by collectors attributable to its massive diameter however skinny motor. These have been produced from 1894 by way of 1908 in sizes starting from 10 to 16 inches. Database listings present that almost all of those have bought between $500 and $6,000 during the last three years for a uncommon and restored wall-mounted instance.
Collectors additionally like followers from the Nineteen Twenties and ’30s for his or her traditional artwork deco designs and enjoyable varieties. The favored Emerson Silver Swan followers have bought between $100 and $700 during the last three years, together with this pedestal mannequin that bought for $650 in 2023, even with a non-working motor.
Different worthwhile designs from the Thirties are ceiling followers within the type of airplanes, impressed by Charles Lindbergh’s 1927 flight from New York to Paris. These have been made by numerous firms, together with Dallas Engineering Company and Kennedy Machine and Brass Works, and have fetched between $2,400 and $5,900 for this Kennedy instance that bought in 2024.
Among the many sought-after mid-century designs are hassock ground followers made in numerous kinds and by numerous firms, together with Vornado. These followers can generate air in each course and in addition double as stools. These fashions have bought between $25 and $425.
Followers with creative options can be worthwhile, like Singer’s Ribbonaire, manufactured within the Thirties. These followers have blades made of cloth as a substitute of metallic and have been marketed as offering an equal breeze with out concern of gashed fingers. With their streamlined Bakelite our bodies, Ribbonaires have been modern and safer substitutes for normal desk followers. These have bought between $50 and $795.
Vintage and classic followers supply greater than only a option to preserve cool. They’re tangible hyperlinks to the previous and mechanical wonders with timeless enchantment and breezy appeal.
Adina Ok. Francis has been a author and editor within the antiques and collectibles discipline for greater than twenty years. She has a little bit of an obsession with the Victorians and thinks that canine are one in every of life’s biggest items.
WorthPoint—Uncover. Worth. Protect.
