The Hoover Junior Story
The first Hoover Junior was the 370 , a complete departure for Hoover from previous models built. It was designed and built exclusively for the UK market and was the first ever Hoover not to be sold on both sides of the Atlantic simultaneously, There was a large demand in the UK for a smaller cleaner , in many cases existing Hoovers were too big and too expensive for average British homes .
The Hoover Junior Upright Vacuum Cleaner, Model 370. was the first vacuum cleaner to be manufactured by the American firm Hoover for the UK market and the first to be manufactured in their Perivale factory. From 1932 to 1938, Wallis, Gilbert, and Partners designed the sumptuous Hoover Building at Western Avenue, Perivale, near London. Just off the A40, their Art Deco masterpiece would be where many Hoover Juniors were manufactured.
The 370 arrived in 1935 and had a very short production run of just 18 months. It had a 225 w motor ,and came with the famous "beats as it sweeps as it cleans" action. It was cheaper than the larger Hoovers which is why it was considered to be the first affordable vacuum cleaner in the UK for working class households.However, although lower in price to the larger models, even the Junior was quite expensive; at £10.15.0d, plus £2.02.0d for tools, a complete 370 would cost £513 today – much more than many families would spend on a vacuum cleaner even now.
The Junior was to become an iconic vacuum cleaner and production of Juniors lasted for 53 years
The Junior 375 was the first restyle of the new Hoover Junior. It was among the earliest Hoover to incorporate phenol plastic casing into its design, Prodcution of the 375 began in December 1936. It was mechanically identical to the 370 and was restyled by Henry Dreyfuss to incorporate the streamlined black stripe motif shared with larger models 825 and 475. Post war models of the 375 lacked the black stripe on the casing
As with all Hoover domestic products, production of the Junior 375 was halted for the duration of WWII. Within a month of VE Day, Hoover vacuums were once again available in Hoover Dealerships, and sold out almost immediately – in many cases on the same day! Hoover proudly highlighted that their machines remained at pre-war pricing.Some time after production resumed in 1945, Hoover did away with the manually-adjustable height selector, instead providing the larger fixed ‘self-levelling’ wheels used on their other upright models. This cost-cutting measure saved materials in short supply, and helped simplify and speed up the manufacturing process. However, some earlier post-war machines were made with the adjustable wheels, until stock of older parts was depleted
Junior 370 1935-1936 Junior 375 1936-1939 Junior 375 1945-1950
The Hoover Junior 1950 onwards
The Hoover Junior 119 was the first total redesign of the Junior, although it was very similar in layout to its predecessors. As with Model 375, it was the work of Henry Dreyfuss. Finished in gold hammerite and brown bakelite, it matched the larger more deluxe sister model 612. The earliest machines had lettering in red on the fan cover. After the death of King George VI, the lettering was changed to gold.
Henry Dreyfuss moved the bag from in front of the handle to beside it, and enclosed the front wheels within the chassis, creating a simpler, more functional – although perhaps less elegant – design than that of Models 370 and 375. With a snap-action handle which didn’t require a release pedal, and automatic height adjustment, it was so simple there was very little to go wrong, and the 119/1224 proved one of Hoover’s most reliable designs The 119 was produced between 1950 and 1957. In 1957 with new colours in blue and white and also pink and blue the 1224 became one of the Juniors with the shortest ever production runs. Identical to the 119 but leaving behind the dull colours of the 119 the 1224 was soon to be replaced by an all new Hoover Junior in the shape of the 1334.
Henry Dreyfuss moved the bag from in front of the handle to beside it, and enclosed the front wheels within the chassis, creating a simpler, more functional – although perhaps less elegant – design than that of Models 370 and 375. With a snap-action handle which didn’t require a release pedal, and automatic height adjustment, it was so simple there was very little to go wrong, and the 119/1224 proved one of Hoover’s most reliable designs The 119 was produced between 1950 and 1957. In 1957 with new colours in blue and white and also pink and blue the 1224 became one of the Juniors with the shortest ever production runs. Identical to the 119 but leaving behind the dull colours of the 119 the 1224 was soon to be replaced by an all new Hoover Junior in the shape of the 1334.
Hoover Junior Model 1334 was Hoover’s third total redesign of the highly popular model, again the work of Henry Dreyfuss. For the first time, all the mechanics were enclosed in a streamlined alloy hood, reminiscent from some angles of the Volkswagen Beetle. The colour scheme was ‘white and rose’.
Model 1334 was noticeably shorter in height to the Juniors which had proceeded it; because the new design did not require a ‘pitchfork’ style handle bail. The new single-speed motor was also more powerful at 250w. It was produced between 1958 and 1962 in white with rose trim. The 1334 was also the first Junior to feature disposable paperbags..
The 1334A followed in 1962. Originally in a rather dull off-white and grey colour scheme, but was revamped to a more pleasant olive green colour early in the run. No major design differences between this and the 1334, the biggest difference is just the colour scheme .The 1334A Junior replaced the 1334 in 1962 and ran until 1967. Half way through the production run the main casing switched to plastic which made it lighter to handle and also disguised scratches on the bodywork better. Although sturdier the metal casings did look scruffier a lot quicker.. My own 1334A is one of the later plastic cased models .
Model 1334 was noticeably shorter in height to the Juniors which had proceeded it; because the new design did not require a ‘pitchfork’ style handle bail. The new single-speed motor was also more powerful at 250w. It was produced between 1958 and 1962 in white with rose trim. The 1334 was also the first Junior to feature disposable paperbags..
The 1334A followed in 1962. Originally in a rather dull off-white and grey colour scheme, but was revamped to a more pleasant olive green colour early in the run. No major design differences between this and the 1334, the biggest difference is just the colour scheme .The 1334A Junior replaced the 1334 in 1962 and ran until 1967. Half way through the production run the main casing switched to plastic which made it lighter to handle and also disguised scratches on the bodywork better. Although sturdier the metal casings did look scruffier a lot quicker.. My own 1334A is one of the later plastic cased models .
Our newest Hoover Junior is the 1354A dating back to 1972. It was purchased in a sorry state from a local car boot sale some yearss ago and has been restored to full working order. Featuring the classic headlight for finding dirt under furniture.
We have also recently acquired a 1970 model 1346a By 1972 and beyond there were many variations of the Hoover Junior available and this continued to be the case until production of the Junior ceased in 1988. For ourselves here at Aussies Vintage Vacuums our story ends in 1972 although maybe one day we might be lucky enough to acquire one of the last Juniors from the 1980s. |
Adverts for the Hoover Junior from 1935 and 1949