Early Electric Fans (Be sure to check the ARCHIVE on sidebar at right): c.1904 AEG nickel plated fan

A brief history of AEG...(Wikipedia)

Allgemeine Elektricitäts-Gesellschaft (AEG) (literally General Electricity Company) is a German producer of electrical equipment founded in 1883 by Emil Rathenau.

AEG was the first to introduce a complete brand - logo, design and corporate identity - which was created by the architect/designer Peter Behrens.

In 1967 AEG joined with Telefunken creating AEG-Telefunken. In 1985 AEG was bought by Daimler-Benz, later being wholly integrated into DaimlerChryslerforming part of Adtranz. By 1997 the company no longer existed.

After acquiring the household division of AEG in 1994, in 2005 Electrolux bought the rights to the brand name AEG and now uses it on some of its products. As of 2009 the AEG name is also licensed to various companies.

This fan would have to be included in a list of the all time great fans. With hardly an element to the fan that is not pleasing to the eye, I find it hard to not spend time just staring at it.

Made circa 1904 and entirely nickel plated over its fancy cast iron and brass construction, this is a single speed fan that is rated for 120 volts. I've been told that the frequency is 50 cycles but the data plate under the base of the fan does not mention that.

The right side view of the motor shows the solid and heavy construction. Unlike most american fans, the two motor bearings are lubricated by top mounted grease cups on which the caps are screwed down slightly to force grease into the bearings

The motor is symetrical in design front and rear with an exposed motor shaft and no bearing cap. The nickel plating over all of the motor and blade is entirely original. This fan has had exceptional care during its lifetime of about 105 years.

The "6000w" stamped in the base tag upper, right corner is the frequency of the motor: 6000 alternations/minute which equates to 50 cycles per second. One cycle is two alts.

The number stamped in the rear of the motor shaft is 198879. The serial number of the fan on the base tag is 191879. Whether or not these two numbers were meant to match is not known but there must be a connection between them. Was the motor shaft fitted for this fan only as would have been the case before interchangeable parts became common?

The nickel plated brass cage construction is beautifully done with it's fine, smooth lines and unique piercings where the center ring passes through the radial wires. I am not sure how this was done but, to me, it looks like the radial wires were pierced with a tool and, perhaps, a die. After putting the cage wires together it looks as if the piercings were soldered.

Click on any picture in this blog for a larger view.

Below is a similar AEG ornate fan from another collection but it's a Direct Current model. I don't know if this is earlier or later than the one above but the photos were tagged " pre-1905". Only the motor casting and shape appears to be different from the fan above.