An electrical vacuum cleaner is one of the most practical inventions of the 20th century. It is used for cleaning dust and loose dirt from different surfaces.
The Gamma II type A6a vacuum cleaner model was manufactured in 1960 by the Rzeszowska Fabryka Sprzętu Gospodarskiego (RFSG). The factory was built on the site of the Rzeszów branch of the H. Cegielski Machine Tools Factory, operating before World War II. In 1967 the enterprise was named “Zelmer Rzeszowskie Zakłady Elektromechaniczne im. Augustyna Micała”. Its production profile included electrical vacuum cleaners, electrical floor polishers, hairdryers, scooters, and kids bicycles, with other domestic appliances being added over time.

The Gamma II vacuum cleaner model was designed by the Design and Technology Bureau of the factory, by Leonard Krawczyński, Józef Kalembkiewicz, Kazimierz Sadłowski and Władysław Wołoszyn. RFSG’s first vacuum cleaners – the Alfa, Beta and Gama – did not differ from each other in any essential way in terms of technical design. Some enhancements were possible as the factory’s technology base developed, but some operations were still done by hand.

The body of the vacuum cleaner was cut out of hot-rolled sheet steel. There was often scaling and pitting on the surface of the metal sheets, which required surface etching and polishing before the application of decorative paint or plating. Metal sheets, cut into the required forms, were bent on a roller and then connected with a rabbet joint. To flatten the surface, the bodies were then hammered on a former with rubber or wooden mallets in order to achieve a cylindrical shape. This operation was performed by Tadeusz Rak and Stanisław Draus. The vacuum cleaner bags were hand sewn by Maria Koczur and Helena Czubara. The devices were also marked by hand, which means that the vacuum cleaner’s data was stamped onto prepared nameplates.
Starting from 1958, some vacuum cleaner components were made of pressed plastic. The covers of the item presented here were made of Bakelite, and the nozzles and pipes were made partly from Bakelite and partly from polyvinyl chloride (PVC). The brushes were made of wood and they have Bakelite pipes and natural bristles. The device was equipped with a 130W suction unit manufactured in Germany (GDR).

The Gamma II model put into production in 1958 was designed as a small, light, handheld vacuum cleaner. In order to facilitate its operation the body has a Bakelite handle and a long rubber belt, allowing the vacuum cleaner to be carried on the shoulder. The vacuum cleaner was also equipped with accessories: a dryer and a spraying nozzle. The dryer, which was mounted through an additional hole in the motor cover, could be used for drying hair or small garments, and the spraying nozzle – for dampening linen before ironing, spraying flowers with water, and spraying water or diluted paint when painting walls.