A vacuum collection to take your breath away
9:11 p.m. Wednesday, February 7, 2007
"I had always thought from childhood on, wouldn't it be wonderful if I could collect a variety of vacuum cleaners?"
Jim Kirby says he fell in love with vacuums at age three, but did not give in to his desire to collect cleaners until years later.
"I thought, I'm 60 years old, if I want to collect vacuum cleaners, I'm going to collect vacuum cleaners," vacuum collector Jim Kirby said.
And he has collected 300 vintage vacuums. You name it, he has it.
Kirby's home is packed with hoses, brushes, attachments and vacuums of every make and model, dating back to the early 1900's
Want to learn more?
Learn about other collections. Check out the following web sites: Vacuumland, What a Collection, Craig's List or E-Bay.
But his appliance accumulation doesn't even fit in his home. Some are in a storage unit..
So now, you may wonder, why vacuums?
"There are several things about them. One is the sound of the motor, the bags, how the bags inflated. I was more interested in uprights then I was in canisters, the attachments and where they were placed," Kirby said.
And he says it doesn't hurt that his father resembles the vacuum maker of the same name, though there is no relation.
"We had always had Hoovers, but especially after seeing Jim Kirby's picture and reading his life, I decided I had to have a Kirby vacuum," Kirby said.
So of course I had to ask, does Jim Kirby prefer Kirby's?
"Not necessarily. I don't dislike them and I've been to the Kirby factory, but I prefer the older vacuums," Kirby said.
Jim travels around the state and the country pursuing his hobby, scouring vac shops, flea markets and working with antique dealers and other collectors.
And he recently hit the jackpot on Ebay.
"I'm opening a Premiere Duplex, which I believe it is...oh yes I'm sure it is. (laughs)."
And as much as he loves them, he's not afraid to use them. But he admits he still doesn't have the cleanest house on the block.
Jana asks, "So how often do you vacuum? Do you vacuum obsessively?"
Jim replies, "No and I should."
Well neat freak or not, Jim says if he were to sell his collection, he could really clean up.
"The worth of it, I'd say it's worth $10,000."
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