The "Little Pig"

We've had one of these for almost 25 years. I bought in on Colorado Avenue in Denver (I think in 1988). Kathee uses it on the stairs. What a solid little performer it has been. The image above is from an Ebay ad for a used one.

Today I did a little bit a Internet research on it. I found this interesting:

A forerunner was the The Compact Vacuum Cleaner: Compact Vacuum Cleaners were among the prizes offered on the 1950s television game show “Queen for a Day.”

  A bit about the history of the "Little Pig" as it is sometimes known:

Interstate vacuums were originally produced and patented by the Interstate Engineering Corporation, and they are responsible for the creation of the compact vacuum. Both Interstate Engineering Corporation and Interstate Electronics, a sister corporation, were owned by Interstate Aircraft. Their first manufacturing plant opened in El Segundo California in 1937. These vacuums were originally made to clean the Howard Hughes Company aircraft fleet during the nineteen forties. Due to their success at cleaning the aircraft, and the fact that the company already had the necessary tools and dyes for the vacuums, these machines were sold to the public by door to door salesmen starting in 1946.

The compact vacuums were only sold by the salesmen; but in 1949, the Revelation vacuum cleaner was introduced to retail outlets and was only available there. The compact vacuums designed and patented by Interstate Engineering Corporation were also featured as prizes on a nineteen fifties game show called "Queen for a Day."

Throughout the years, the Interstate Engineering Corporation has moved several times, merged and been sold, and it now exists in two different companies run by descendants of the founder of Interstate Engineering Corporation. The two companies operate under the names of Tristar and Air Storm, and sell vacuums based on the original compact vacuum model. The Interstate Electronics Company is still in business today. The design of the vacuums sold by Tristar has changed little since their patenting, with only the motor and internal components changing, not the external assembly. The Tristar Company has many different vacuum models, including the EXL, PN5, C6 and C7. The company has canister and compact models for home and business use. The Mg series of Tristar vacuums are designed to bring ease to cleaning by providing cyclonic action and consistent power for all types of cleaning and use. The cyclonic action allows the Tristar cleaner to keep dirt and dust from clogging the filters as it pushes the debris away from the filter, not into it.

I'm not sure if the units can be purchased new but parts and supplies are readily available - for example here.