# Do You Remember the Fuller Brush Man?



## LindaB (Jun 23, 2020)

How about the Watkins guy or the Avon Lady? All of them were welcome visitors in our house and we knew them by name. Since my mom didn't work and we were a one car family, she purchased many things this way.


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## Becky1951 (Jun 23, 2020)

Yes I remember, bought the best hair brushes from the Fuller Brush man, the best liniment from the Watkins man and the best product for repelling mosquitoes and it smelled great and softened your skin, Skin So Soft from Avon. Awww, the good old days.


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## jujube (Jun 23, 2020)

Then there was the Jewel-T (Jewel-Tea?) truck that came around.  My mom had a set of their dishes that she got a few pieces at a time. You'll see the dishes in antique shops frequently.


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## RadishRose (Jun 23, 2020)

We had Fuller Brush man but not Avon


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## Treacle (Jun 23, 2020)

We had something called Betterware? or Tupperware which were essentially plastic containers or plastic 'things'. I think people had a Tupperware 'party' and invited people to look at the merchandise. Nowadays we do have booklets from Avon put through the door for orders. Think I remember an advert where the doorbell was rung and then the words Avon Calling!


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## StarSong (Jun 23, 2020)

Fuller Brush rarely when I was very, very young but not after that.  

My father worked for Revlon so no Avon Lady for us. 

We lived in rural areas so door-to-door sales were a rarity, and that suited my mother just fine.


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## LindaB (Jun 23, 2020)

jujube said:


> Then there was the Jewel-T (Jewel-Tea?) truck that came around.  My mom had a set of their dishes that she got a few pieces at a time. You'll see the dishes in antique shops frequently.


Oh, yeah! I forgot Jewel Tea. Also the Charles Chip man.


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## applecruncher (Jun 23, 2020)

I remember all those, and also the Encyclopedia salesman/woman... usually a man but the mother of a classmate sold Encyclopedias.

My aunt sold Avon. She always smelled so good  and I remember the little samples she put into the white bags.


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## Aunt Bea (Jun 23, 2020)

We had a Watkins vanilla man.

My mother and grandmother always tried to extract as much gossip from him as they could without giving up any information of their own.

When the visits ran too long they always tried to find some small inexpensive item to buy so he would be on his way.

The Watkins vanilla was and still is a very good product.  

These days the local Walmart stocks Watkins vanilla.


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## Pinky (Jun 23, 2020)

Becky1951 said:


> Yes I remember, bought the best hair brushes from the Fuller Brush man, the best liniment from the Watkins man and the best product for repelling mosquitoes and it smelled great and softened your skin, Skin So Soft from Avon. Awww, the good old days.


Skin So Soft still repels mosquitoes. My former mother-in-law in Oz sold Avon for most of her life, and put me on to it. Thank goodness, as the mozzies there loved me. Their bites gave me quarter-sized welts.

Avon of today is not the Avon of Yesteryear. They sell _everything_. Clothes, jewellery, etc.


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## fmdog44 (Jun 23, 2020)

The Fuller Brush man still appears in a commercial for a home exterior washing tool that attaches to the garden hose. All the reviews of the product claim it is useless.


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## jujube (Jun 23, 2020)

There was the blind man who came around to sell brooms and offer to recane your chairs.

How about the man with the pony you could get your picture taken on?

I also remember a guy coming around selling sets of Melmac (Melemine) dishes, supposed to be unbreakable.  He was demonstrating how strong it was by pounding on a cup with a hammer when my sister flipped a plate off her highchair tray and it broke on the floor.  Boy, was he embarrassed.  My mom bought a set, anyway.   They were still using them when I left home.

The Bible salesman.  He could stamp your name in gold on the front cover.


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## RadishRose (Jun 23, 2020)

jujube said:


> How about the man with the pony you could get your picture taken on?


Yes!


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## fuzzybuddy (Jun 24, 2020)

One of the summer's best loved visitors- Mr. Softee. You heard that song, and it was "MOM!!!" My brother was 5/6. He would stand in line, tget his cone and walk away-, and not pay. This happened day after day. Was this a little kid, who didn't understand you needed money to get ice cream? Nope. He was not about to spend HIS money frivolously, he was hoarding it.


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## Giantsfan1954 (Jun 24, 2020)

Yup,remember him.Also,the bakery truck man,milkman and we had a gentleman that used to come monthly from Prudential to collect the life insurance premiums,he was very nice,would sit with my Mom and Gramma and have coffee or tea and chat his name was Mr.Morrow.
Heck,even our doctor made house calls!


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## Keesha (Jun 24, 2020)

FullerBrush Man
Amway
Avon
Mary Kay
Tupperware
Kerby vacuum cleaners

My parents didn’t like surprise visitors and neither do I. Maybe that’s strange but that’s how I am. 
When strangers appear at my front door I’m not too pleased so sometimes don’t even answer.
Today I huge tall guy showed up.

Skin so soft is great insect repellent that smells nice


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## DaveA (Jun 24, 2020)

The Fuller Brush man who visited our home was also the preacher in our little nearby chapel.  As a child, I always knew him as "Mr. Thomas" and he had a deep booming voice which helped get his Sunday message across.  

I was always fascinated when he opened up his big leather cases to allow my mom and grandma a view of his wares.  Sadly, if I remember correctly, no toys ever appeared among his treasures but he always treated me kindly.


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## old medic (Jun 24, 2020)




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## Capt Lightning (Jun 28, 2020)

Avon 'Skin so soft' is well known amongst the camping community - especially here in Scotland where it helps to repel the dreaded 'midgie'.   Yes, I remember the 'Betterware' man coming round with his suitcase, selling brushes, polish and other cleaning materials.  Tupperware, I definitely remember.  When my sister gave up nursing to raise her own family , she became a Tupperware agent, eventually becoming the area manager with a company car.   When her family grew up, she returned to nursing.


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## hollydolly (Jun 28, 2020)

Pinky said:


> Skin So Soft still repels mosquitoes. My former mother-in-law in Oz sold Avon for most of her life, and put me on to it. Thank goodness, as the mozzies there loved me. Their bites gave me quarter-sized welts.
> 
> *Avon of today is not the Avon of Yesteryear. They sell everything. Clothes, jewellery, etc.*


Do they ?...I didn't know that..


Yes I use skin-so-soft too instead of Buzz off or similar but I buy it online and not directly from avon, so I had no idea they're diversified


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## ohioboy (Mar 22, 2021)

The Fuller brush man reminds me of the "Green River Ordinance" case about hawkers and peddlers.

https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F2/65/112/1477616/


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## JonDouglas (Mar 22, 2021)

Yes, the Fuller Brush man in my small town was somewhat of a mousey guy who smelled bad but he did his best and wasn't pushy.


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## caroln (Mar 22, 2021)

We had a little, bent over, old man that walked down the middle of our streets that we called The Umbrella Man. He pushed a cart with a little bell that was full of things, pots and pans, pottery, cups and saucers and...umbrellas! Whenever us kids saw him coming we'd run and tell our mothers and everyone bought some little thing from him. I guess it our way of supporting the poor old guy.


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## SetWave (Mar 22, 2021)

A vacuum cleaner guy came to our house once, threw dirt on the carpet and pretended to clean it up. Perfect comedy routine had it not been real.


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## fuzzybuddy (Mar 22, 2021)

Yeah, I totally forgot about the Fuller Brush guy. There were a lot of door to door peddlers back then.  Encyclopedia salesmen. The vacuum cleaner guy. There was a guy selling this pine furniture polish that was supposed to be super great.  My mom hated the Tupperware parties. The host throwing the "party"  got lots of free Tupperware for throwing the party., and guests were more or less obligated to buy something. Tupperware was not cheap, and my mom complained she could buy the same thing at a discount store for a third of the price. Nope, we never had a "Ding Dong" Avon Lady. I don't remember the name, but there was another cosmetic saleslady, who would come to your home. My mom got some kind of stuff that came in a small flat jar. I remember a guy with a big  canvas top truck, who sold vegetables. There was a big scale that hung of the end of the truck. That's going way back to the late 40s., 50, 51.


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## Pepper (Mar 22, 2021)

Mary Kay Cosmetics @fuzzybuddy ???


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## Jules (Mar 22, 2021)

The Fuller Brush Man & Watkins were always good products back then.  Other than the vanilla, I can’t remember seeing either lately.

Back at work, I picked up a friend‘s Avon book.  I only wanted one little thing.  When it was delivered along with my friend’s goods, I was charged the shipping and handling fee.  Never again.  If my friend had known she would have just ordered it with hers.  That S&H has stopped me from buying from these type of sellers.


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## win231 (Mar 22, 2021)

Yes, I remember the Fuller Brush Man very well.
Because my brother looks just like him.


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## fmdog44 (Mar 22, 2021)

Door to door had to be a rough life. There is a documentary about guys that sell bibles door to door. Well worth watching.


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## Aunt Marg (Mar 22, 2021)

fmdog44 said:


> Door to door had to be a rough life. There is a documentary about guys that sell bibles door to door. Well worth watching.


I remember watching a television movie about a door-to-door salesman. It was sad.

The man was handicapped but remained steadfast in never missing a days work.

I wish I could remember the movie.


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## Aunt Marg (Mar 22, 2021)

Found it, and it was based on a true story.


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## Rosemarie (Mar 23, 2021)

Treacle said:


> We had something called Betterware? or Tupperware which were essentially plastic containers or plastic 'things'. I think people had a Tupperware 'party' and invited people to look at the merchandise. Nowadays we do have booklets from Avon put through the door for orders. Think I remember an advert where the doorbell was rung and then the words Avon Calling!


I still have an Avon lady who calls round in person.


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## PamfromTx (Mar 23, 2021)

*Were we the only ones who had an "encyclopedia" salesman that would sell from door to door.  I remember the set being quite expensive.  

March 14, 2012 — The legendary encyclopedia collection is to be printed no more. So it's farewell to the salesmen too.*


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## PamfromTx (Mar 23, 2021)

Door-To-Door Bakery Salesman ​


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## Jeweltea (Mar 24, 2021)

jujube said:


> Then there was the Jewel-T (Jewel-Tea?) truck that came around.  My mom had a set of their dishes that she got a few pieces at a time. You'll see the dishes in antique shops frequently.


Yes, I have some of them from my mother.


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## Jeweltea (Mar 24, 2021)

I remember the Watkins man, Fuller Brush man, Avon lady and Jewel-T man. My mom bought from all of them. She was a housewife and didn't drive.


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## Llynn (Mar 24, 2021)

I sure do remember the Fuller Brush Man. There were a good number of wives living in the logging camp where  I grew up. I'm sure most of them were seriously bored so when Mr. Fuller Brush showed up, it was a major social event.

Plus, he always arrived wearing a suit and fedora, things not common in the camp. Once he gave me a brown plastic letter opener which I think is still around here somewhere.


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## Jules (Mar 24, 2021)

Llynn said:


> Once he gave me a brown plastic letter opener which I think is still around here somewhere.


I need to go look for mine too.


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## SetWave (Mar 24, 2021)

PamfromTx said:


> *Were we the only ones who had an "encyclopedia" salesman that would sell from door to door.  I remember the set being quite expensive.
> 
> March 14, 2012 — The legendary encyclopedia collection is to be printed no more. So it's farewell to the salesmen too.*


Oh yeah! My folks bought the complete Encyclopedia Britannica Set. It was fun digging through the volumes.


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## Jeweltea (Mar 24, 2021)

SetWave said:


> Oh yeah! My folks bought the complete Encyclopedia Britannica Set. It was fun digging through the volumes.


We had a set in our living room.


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## Jeweltea (Mar 24, 2021)

Jules said:


> I need to go look for mine too.


I remember him giving out little freebies.


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## Jules (Apr 8, 2021)

Jules said:


> I need to go look for mine too.


I found it.  It was in my collection of pens.


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## Nathan (Apr 8, 2021)

I tried selling door-to-door back in the early '70s, I discovered something very important about myself:  I ain't no salesman!  
Amway, if I recall correctly.  When I quit they made me pay for the $300 of crap they gave me to sell; I think that's how they made most of their sales.


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## Bee (Apr 8, 2021)

I worked as a Tupperware agent going to various houses giving Tupperware parties but if a customer returned an item for a refund that amount of money would be deducted from what I had earn't at that particular party so I gave the job up.

I never did like Avon.


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## Chris21E (Apr 9, 2021)

2008 people would leave avon booklet, at my front door...

 Remembering milk deliveries, ice cream trucks before leaving the US as a kid...

.


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