Johnson’s Wax Floor Polisher

An image of a grey closet. Inside there is a floor polisher, which looks like a thin vacuum.
Polisher in the Kitchen closet
A close up of the polisher head. On the bottom there is a yellowing sticker with the name of the company and information about the product.
Close up of the polisher

Country of Origin: Canada
Year: 1920
Materials: Metal and electronics 

There are a great many objects in the Eldon House collection that would have been time savers for the house staff. This is a floor buffer or rotary floor machine. It is an electrical floor scrubber that was used to clean and maintain non-carpeted floors, such as hardwood, marble, tile, or linoleum. It would have helped maintain a nice shine on the floors and saved time as the staffing numbers decreased in the 1920s and 30s.

We acknowledge that we are on the traditional lands of the Anishinaabek, Haudenosaunee, Lūnaapéewak and Attawandaron. We honour and respect the history, languages and culture of the diverse Indigenous people who call this territory home.

We acknowledge all the treaties that are specific to this area: the Two Row Wampum Belt Treaty of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy/Silver Covenant Chain; the Beaver Hunting Grounds of the Haudenosaunee NANFAN Treaty of 1701; the McKee Treaty of 1790, the London Township Treaty of 1796, the Huron Tract Treaty of 1827, with the Anishinaabeg, and the Dish with One Spoon Covenant Wampum of the Anishnaabek and Haudenosaunee.

The three Indigenous Nations that are neighbours to London are the Chippewas of the Thames First Nation; Oneida Nation of the Thames; and the Munsee-Delaware Nation who all continue to live as sovereign Nations with individual and unique languages, cultures, and customs.