 | Jerry McAlpin
is President and owner of Annie's Antique Mall located at 1600 E. 61st Street North (61st street & Hydraulic) in Park City, Kansas. Annie's is the area's oldest mall, and is known by antique dealers and collectors nationwide for it's consistent high quality and selection. A dealer and avid collector, Jerry has been involved in antiques for 30 years. He can be reached by phone at Annie's Antique Mall (316)-744-1999. |
Antiques & Collectibles
2003-03-01 13:26:00
Hey Jerry, what’s it worth?
: In 1909, GE Sidewinder Electric Fan GE introduced their first oscillating fan. It is a very unusual design with its exposed crank arm and socket ball that it slides on. When I got this fan it was so gummed up and dirty that it could just barely turn. I spent most of a night working on it and cleaning it and had it running fine, but as I was reassembling it I broke the fine wire off the armature and now it is just a looker till I find time to go back inside and figure out how to solder that line. What's it worth?
ANSWER: There were two different models of the 1909 General Electric Sidewinder Oscillator, the type 398950 12" blade and the larger type 427220 16" blade models, along with the 4 and 6 blade variations. Both have brass blades and very heavy cast iron frames. The term "Sidewinder" comes from the unusual side-mounted oscillating device which was relatively short-lived, replaced around 1911 by the Kidney oscillator and later by the more familiar Star oscillators. Being the first GE oscillator and limited production makes this a valuable and highly sought after fan by collectors. Price guides list "mint" examples of these fans anywhere from $1500.00 to $2500.00 plus, but few are ever found in this condition. I would estimate the value of your GE Sidewinder fan in "as is" condition to be $500-$600.00, but careful repairs and workable condition would bring that up to about $850.00.
