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Creator:

Fuller Brush Company  Search this

Extent:

32.5 Cubic feet (77 boxes, 1 map-folder)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Articles

Clippings

Ledgers (account books)

Letters (correspondence)

Motion picture film

Newsletters

Photographs

Printed materials

Programs (documents)

Reports

Sales catalogs

Sales records

Trade catalogs

Trade literature

Training manuals

Financial statements

Market surveys

Business records

Place:

Connecticut -- Hartford

Kansas

Date:

1890-2017

Summary:

The collection documents the Fuller Brush Company founded by Alfred C. Fuller in 1906.

Content Description:

The collection documents the Fuller Brush Company from the early years of its existence. The contents include photographs; ledgers; correspondence; internal reports; manufacturing facility studies; quality control reports; financial statements; sales data; company newsletters, some loose and some in bound form; other internal publications; advertising; trade literature; product manuals; catalogs; training manuals and employee handbooks; company annual reports; convention programs and materials; films; materials relating to employee incentives; vinyl records of radio broadcasts; scripts, pressbooks, and other promotional material for motion pictures; informational audio-cassete tapes; contracts, trial testimonies, and other legal papers; industry surveys and marketing campaign proposals; and clippings and printed materials.

Arrangement:

Collection is arranged into thirteen series. Unless otherwise noted, material is arranged chronologically.

Series 1: Historical background, 1916-2001

Series 2: Corporate records, 1917-2010 (bulk 1973-1976)

Series 3: Marketing, 1941-2013

Series 4: Operational records, 1913-1976 (bulk 1969-1976)

Series 5: Financial materials, 1919-1996

Series 6: Personnel, 1922-1984

Series 7: Sales managers, 1922-1990

Series 8: Distributors, 1921-2006

Series 9: Publications, 1920-1999

Series 10: Product materials, 1912-2017

Series 11: Photographs, circa 1890-2000

Series 12: Press Clippings and Publicity, 1921-2010

Series 13: The Fuller Brush Man and The Fuller Brush Girl, 1947-1953, 2004 (bulk 1947-1952).

Historical:

Founded in 1906 by Alfred C. Fuller in Hartford, Connecticut, the Fuller Brush Company predominately sold a wide range of cleaning products, marketed for personal care, housekeeping, and commercial users. Mostly a direct-selling company, it is perhaps best known for its independent, door-to-door salesmen, a figure referred to in popular culture as "the Fuller Brush Man." Calling on the housewives of America, the Fuller Brush Man would visit households with a gift, flyers, and a case full of samples, with which he would demonstrate the use of cleaning implements of various shapes and sizes. Through techniques such as developing new products based on customer feedback, and providing a satisfaction guarantee by allowing for product returns during the Fuller Brush Man's next visit, the Fuller Brush Company inspired new levels of trust and credibility in direct selling. In return, the company reaped massive profits. During the peak of the company's popularity, in around the 1950s, the Fuller Brush Man was a ubiquitous part of the American landscape, alluded to in comic strips, radio programs, and popular films, such as the 1948 Red Skelton comedy The Fuller Brush Man and the 1950 comedy The Fuller Brush Girl, starring Lucille Ball.

The Fuller Brush Company continually used its resources to promote and establish the identity of the Fuller Brush Man, to its own salespeople as well as the public. Traditional print advertisements were supplemented with extensive publicity coverage, carefully crafted by the Fuller Brush Company's advertising and public relations team. The company fostered a culture of achievable aspiration among new recruits, through in-house publications, which celebrated the accomplishments of fellow dealers, incentive programs, and a career ladder pipeline, which allowed high achieving salesmen to advance from independent dealers to regional sales managers--who were considered formal employees of the Fuller Brush Company. Some sales managers became local celebrities in their districts, adding their own charisma to the development of the Fuller Brush Man--such as New York District's Al Teetsel--whose "Fine and Dandy" personal motto established a cult following. Other Fuller Brush Company salesmen used the Fuller Brush Man's distinctive optimism, pluck, and perseverance to later become celebrities in their own right, such as evangelist Billy Graham, who attributed his high school days as a successful Fuller Brush Man to his future success.

While the Fuller Brush Company is best known for its door-to-door network of Fuller Brush Men, and its household products division, the company experimented with various channels of distribution and other specialized products during its over 100-year history. The Fuller Brush Company produced implements to clean guns during World War II, and in 1945 was honored with the E Award for its war effort contributions. In the 1940s, the Fuller Brush Company introduced female salespeople, or "Fullerettes" to their door-to-door ranks (mostly to promote their Debutante Cosmetics line, released by Daggett & Ramsdell, Inc. in 1948). The company returned to actively recruiting Fullerettes in 1966, and thereafter welcomed distributors of either sex. The company's Machine Division produced the mast for the sailboat "Columbia" in 1958, and in the 1960s, its Marine Division produced items for the maintenance of nautical equipment. Around the 1960s, its Household Division incorporated new items such as vitamins and hormone treatments into its personal care product line. The company experimented with retail brick-and-mortar locations, and, in 1974, instigated a telemarketing program. After 1985, the Fuller Brush Company began to move away from door-to-door sales techniques, redeveloping its sale channel distribution system to include mail order catalogs, a secure sales website for distributors, network-marketing techniques, and a reinterpretation of sales territories for distributors where district territories began to blur in favor of nationwide sales opportunities.

Founded in Hartford, Connecticut, the company remained in the region through the 1960s, though the company shifted locations to larger offices and manufacturing facilities as it grew. In 1960, operational facilities and headquarters moved to a large, custom-built campus in East Hartford, Connecticut. However, in 1968, the company was acquired by the Kitchens of Sara Lee, Inc. (then a part of the Consolidated Foods Corporation). During the 1970s the Fuller Brush Company experienced rapid changes in administration and organization. Under President Nat Zivin, headquarters relocated to Niles, Illinois in 1973. Later the same year, headquarters and operations moved to a large manufacturing facility in Great Bend, Kansas. The company remained a division of Sara Lee until 1989.

The Fuller Brush Company grew to involve multiple subsidiaries, including many that were international. The Fuller Brush Company established a wholly-owned Canadian subsidiary in 1921, called the Fuller Brush Company, Limited. In 1942, the Fuller Brush Company bought out a competitor, the Albany, New York-based Mohawk Brush Company. The "bristlecomb" hairbrush, introduced by the Mohawk Brush Company in 1928, remained one of the Fuller Brush Company's signature products. In 1961, the Fuller Brush Company founded and incorporated Charter Supply Corporation as a wholly-owned Mohawk subsidiary. Charter Products operated as a "private label" division, to rebrand duplicate products. The Fuller Brush Company also owned subsidiaries in Mexico; in 1968, the Fuller Brush Company held 100% interest in House of Fuller, S.A. and Charter de Mexico, S.A., both established in Mexico. Also in 1968, the Fuller Brush Company was a partial owner of House of Fuller (Jamaica), Ltd. The Fuller Brush Company conducted business around the world, including dealings in England, France, Jamaica, Trinidad, Puerto Rico, Spain, and Venezuela.

With growth came legal challenges. The Green River Ordinance, established in 1931, placed limits on door-to-door sales. The Fuller Brush Company challenged the ordinance, when it went to the Supreme Court in 1937. Over the course of its history, the Fuller Brush Company weathered lawsuits ranging from trademark disputes to labor treatment complaints from area managers in Puerto Rico.

After the sale by Sara Lee in 1989, the Fuller Brush Company was held by a series of private owners, including Lee Turner and Stuart A. Ochiltree. In June 1994, CPAC, Inc. purchased the company. In 1995, CPAC, Inc. also bought a longtime competitor of the Fuller Brush Company, Stanley Home Products, a company founded in 1929 by Stanley Beverage, a former sales vice president for the Fuller Brush Company. The two companies became siblings under the same parent organization; items from the Stanley Home Products line were sold by Fuller Brush Company distributors, and manufactured at the Fuller Brush Company plant in Great Bend. In 2012, both the Fuller Brush Company and Stanley Home Products filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The companies merged their product lines and catalogs, eliminating equivalent products, to cut costs and streamline operations.

In December 2012, David Sabin and Chicago-based private equity firm Victory Park Capital purchased the Fuller Brush Company. The company headquarters moved to Napa Valley, California. Facing increased financial difficulties, in 2016 the company began to phase out its independent distributor system and domestic manufacturing operations. Around January 2018, the company was sold to Galaxy Brush LLC of Lakewood, New Jersey.

Biographical:

Alfred C. Fuller (January 13, 1885 - December 4, 1973), was founder and first president of the Fuller Brush Company, as well as the "original Fuller Brush Man." He was born in rural Nova Scotia, to parents Leander Joseph Fuller and Phebe Jane Collins. The eleventh of twelve children, Fuller took pride in the resilient and self-sufficient spirit he developed growing up on a Nova Scotian farm, and valued such qualities throughout his life over formal education. Long after his success, he promoted himself as an average man among average men.

In 1903, at age eighteen, Alfred Fuller left his family home in Nova Scotia, and followed siblings who settled in the United States. He moved in with his sister Annie and her husband, Frank Adler, in Somerville, Massachusetts. After a series of odd jobs, Fuller considered trying his hand at selling brushes (he was inspired by a brother, Dwight, who made and sold brushes before his death by tuberculosis in 1901). Alfred discovered a knack for trade; unlike many other direct salesmen at the time, his sales technique emphasized product demonstrations. Eventually, Fuller decided to make his own brushes. He set up a workbench in his sister's basement in January 1906. Four months later, he moved to Hartford, Connecticut where he founded the Fuller Brush Company.

The rapid success of the company, improved Alfred C. Fuller's romantic prospects. With the enthusiastic support of his sister, Annie, Alfred initiated a courtship with a Nova Scotian woman who had formerly caught his eye, Evelyn Ellis. They were married on April 10, 1908. However, the marriage was strained, and they divorced in 1930. In 1932, Alfred Fuller remarried. His second wife, Mary Primrose Pelton, was also Nova Scotian, the daughter of a judge from Yarmouth. They remained together for the rest of his life.

Alfred C. Fuller and his first wife Evelyn had two sons. Alfred Howard was born in 1913 and Avard in 1916. Both would later rise to prominence within the Fuller Brush Company, serving as its second and third presidents. The elder son, Howard, was Fuller Brush Company President from 1943 until 1959. From an early age, Howard challenged his father regarding the direction of the company. With his bold and aggressive personality, Howard was able to institute changes to the company that resulted in higher profits, such as distributing catalogs before the salesman's visit, shortening product demonstrations, prioritizing many small sales over few large sales, and developing other techniques that emphasized speed and efficiency. However, his temperament also contributed to Howard and his wife Dora's untimely deaths. Howard, always interested in thrilling, high-risk pursuits (such as driving sports cars, piloting airplanes, and racing speedboats and sailboats) was cruising through Nevada at 120-miles per hour for a business trip, uncharacteristically accompanied by his wife, when his Mercedes-Benz 300 SL blew a tire. Both Fullers died in the accident.

Following the tragic accident, Avard assumed leadership of the Fuller Brush Company. Avard's more conservative nature ushered in an era of leadership where his father, Alfred C. Fuller, rose in honor and influence with the company. However, Avard relied on traditional sales strategies (such as promoting a culture around the Fuller Brush Man, rather than take a more active strategy toward integrating female distributors) which placed the Fuller Brush Company at a disadvantage with competitors such as Avon Cosmetics. Avard served as President of the Fuller Brush Company until 1969.

Although Alfred C. Fuller never reclaimed presidency of the Fuller Brush Company, he remained chairman emeritus for the duration of his life. A treasured company figurehead, celebrations were held in his honor long after his retirement. In 1956, a testimonial dinner was held where a portrait of Fuller was unveiled in honor of the 50-year anniversary of the Fuller Brush Company. In 1965, Alfred C. Fuller was further honored, when his birthplace was dedicated as a historic landmark. Alfred C. Fuller was known as "Dad" Fuller to the thousands of Fuller Brush Men and Fullerettes who represented the company door-to-door throughout the country, and made frequent appearances in in-house publications and external publicity. Working with Hartzell Spence, Alfred C. Fuller wrote an autobiography, titled A Foot in the Door, published by the McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc. in 1960. A practicing Christian Scientist with a devout Methodist mother, Fuller frequently alludes to the influence of his faith in his autobiography. Alfred C. Fuller passed away on December 4, 1973.

Related Materials:

Materials in the Archives Center

Stanley Home Products Collection (AC0788)

Earl S. Tupper Papers (AC0470)

Brownie Wise Papers (AC0509)

Ann and Thomas Damigella Collections (AC0583)

Industry on Parade Film Collection, episodes 66, 217 (AC0507)

Materials at the Smithsonian Institution

Smithsonian Libraries Trade Literature Collection, includes some Fuller Brush Company catalogs;

The Division of Work and Industry, National Museum of American History holds artifacts from the Fuller Brush Company from previous accessions, such as hairbrushes for women and men (including bristlecomb hairbrushes); shower brushes; toothbrushes; combs; a military brush; brush holders; and similar materials. (AG.A.6645-AG.A.6653; AG.A.6656-AG.A.6666; AG.77-FT-15.0523; ZZ.RSN833134).

The Medicine and Science Division (now Division of Medicine and Science) National Museum of American History holds a general purpose cleaning brush, and a bathroom fixtures cleaning brush from a previous accession (2006.0098).

National Portrait Gallery holds a portrait of Alfred Fuller.

Materials at Other Organizations

Hagley Museum and Library, Manuscripts and Archives Department

Avon Products Inc., Records, 1880-2012

University of Wyoming, American Heritage Center, Archives

Columbia Pictures Records, 1934-1974 (collection #93555)

Includes materials related to the Fuller Brush man and Fuller Brush Girl, 1950.

Separated Materials:

Artifacts collected along with the acquisition of archival material are held by the Divisions of Work and Industry, and Medicine and Science.

Separated materials assigned to the Division of Work and Industry include a men's tie; buttons; ashtray; charm; and tape measure. See accession 2018.0089.

Separated materials assigned to Division of Medicine and Science include a bathing brush, a dental plate brush, a women's hair brush, a comb cleaner, and toothbrushes. Some items are maintained in original packaging, or are kept with original paper inserts. See accession 2018.0090.

Provenance:

Collection donated by the Fuller Brush Company through David Sabin, 2018.

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.

Rights:

Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Topic:

Advertising copy  Search this

Advertising, Point-of-sale  Search this

Broom and brush industry  Search this

Door-to-door selling  Search this

Household supplies  Search this

Print Advertising  Search this

Sales promotion  Search this

Traveling sales personnel  Search this

Manufacturing  Search this

Cosmetics industry  Search this

Industry -- U.S.  Search this

Direct selling  Search this

Businesspeople  Search this

Marketing  Search this

Radio broadcasts  Search this

Product demonstrations  Search this

Genre/Form:

Articles -- 20th century

Clippings -- 20th century

Ledgers (account books) -- 20th century

Letters (correspondence) -- 20th century.

Motion picture film

Newsletters -- 20th century

Photographs -- Black-and-white photoprints -- 20th century

Printed materials

Programs (documents)

Reports -- 20th century

Sales catalogs

Sales records

Trade catalogs -- 20th century

Trade literature -- 20th century

Training manuals -- 20th century

Financial statements

Market surveys

Business records -- 20th century

Citation:

Fuller Brush Company Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.1459

See more items in:

Fuller Brush Company Records

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep80f355224-82dc-4b86-a46c-f62b87d048fc

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-1459

Author:

Lindfors, Bernth  Search this

Smithsonian Libraries African Art Index Project DSI  Search this

Subject:

Achebe, Chinua  Search this

Type:

Articles

Congresses

Date:

1990

Call number:

DT1.A1 A252

Data Source:

Smithsonian Libraries

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:siris_sil_548523

Author:

Smithsonian Libraries African Art Index Project DSI  Search this

Subject:

Ben Jelloun, Tahar 1947- Interviews  Search this

Type:

Articles

Date:

1991

Topic:

Moroccan literature (French)  Search this

Call number:

AS4.U8 A14X

Data Source:

Smithsonian Libraries

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:siris_sil_530307

Author:

Watter, Lola  Search this

Smithsonian Libraries African Art Index Project DSI  Search this

Subject:

Villa, Edoardo 1915-2011  Search this

Type:

Articles

Date:

1977

Call number:

N7395.6 .O684 1959

Data Source:

Smithsonian Libraries

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:siris_sil_770486

Author:

Ermes, Ali Omar 1945-2021  Search this

Rizvi, Sajid  Search this

Smithsonian Libraries African Art Index Project DSI  Search this

Subject:

Ermes, Ali Omar 1945-2021 Interviews  Search this

Type:

Articles

Date:

1993

20th century

Topic:

Painting, Libyan  Search this

Call number:

ND1089.3.E75 A35 1993

Data Source:

Smithsonian Libraries

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:siris_sil_508000

Author:

Smithsonian Libraries African Art Index Project DSI  Search this

Subject:

Ermes, Ali Omar 1945-2021  Search this

Type:

Articles

Date:

2006

Call number:

N7265 .P67 2006

Data Source:

Smithsonian Libraries

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:siris_sil_830566

Author:

Smithsonian Libraries African Art Index Project DSI  Search this

Subject:

Nayo, Afi 1967-  Search this

Type:

Articles

Exhibitions

Date:

2014

Call number:

N5090.D13 D35 2014

Data Source:

Smithsonian Libraries

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:siris_sil_1028759

Author:

Odugbesan, Clara  Search this

Subject:

Shango (Yoruba deity)  Search this

Type:

Articles

Place:

Nigeria, Western

Western Nigeria

Date:

1971

Topic:

Sculpture, Yoruba  Search this

Ifa (Religion)  Search this

Oya (Yoruba deity)  Search this

Esu (Legendary character)  Search this

Gesture in art  Search this

Art and religion  Search this

Women in art  Search this

Yoruba cult objects  Search this

Call number:

GN645 .M33 1971X

Data Source:

Smithsonian Libraries

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:siris_sil_502154

Author:

Sorell, Jennifer  Search this

Smithsonian Libraries African Art Index Project DSI  Search this

Subject:

Goldblatt, David  Search this

Type:

Articles

Place:

South Africa

Date:

1990

Topic:

Documentary photography  Search this

Photographers  Search this

Call number:

N1 .A7836

Data Source:

Smithsonian Libraries

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:siris_sil_546680

Author:

Olusanya, G. O (Gabrial Olakunle)  Search this

Smithsonian Libraries African Art Index Project DSI  Search this

Subject:

Obasa, Charlotte Olajumoke 1873-1953  Search this

Type:

Articles

Place:

Nigeria

Lagos

Date:

1992

Topic:

Women social workers  Search this

Nationalists  Search this

Call number:

DT515.53 .N68 1992

Data Source:

Smithsonian Libraries

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:siris_sil_819679

Author:

Shumard, Ann M.  Search this

Object Type:

Smithsonian staff publication

Year:

2003

Citation:

Shumard, Ann M. 2003. "Curator's Choice: Solomon Andrews." Profile: Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery News, (Winter), 10. Washington, DC.

Identifier:

164819

Data source:

Smithsonian Libraries and Archives

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:slasro_164819

Author:

Shumard, Ann M.  Search this

Object Type:

Smithsonian staff publication

Year:

2022

Citation:

Shumard, Ann M. 2022. "War Photography Built on a Foundation of Portraits of Luminaries." Military Images, (Spring), 25. Arlington, Virginia.

Identifier:

166682

ISSN:

1040-4961

Data source:

Smithsonian Libraries and Archives

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:slasro_166682

Author:

Tighe, Mary Ann  Search this

Object Type:

Smithsonian staff publication

Year:

1976

Citation:

Tighe, Mary Ann. 1976. "Ugly Is Truth and Beauty Is Commercial, Portraits, by Richard Avedon." The Washington Post, G3.

Identifier:

109809

ISSN:

0190-8286

Data source:

Smithsonian Libraries and Archives

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:slasro_109809

Author:

Martin, Marilyn 1943-2022  Search this

Smithsonian Libraries African Art Index Project DSI  Search this

Subject:

Botha, Andries 1952-  Search this

Type:

Articles

Place:

South Africa

Date:

1994

Topic:

Sculptors  Search this

Call number:

NX1.A1 R45

Data Source:

Smithsonian Libraries

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:siris_sil_490766

Author:

Poupeye, Veerle 1958-  Search this

Smithsonian Libraries African Art Index Project DSI  Search this

Subject:

Garvey, Marcus 1887-1940 Portraits  Search this

Type:

Articles

Place:

Jamaica

Date:

1991

20th century

Topic:

Art, Jamaican--Political aspects  Search this

African American artists  Search this

Call number:

F1861 .J277

Data Source:

Smithsonian Libraries

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:siris_sil_500214

Author:

Poupeye, Veerle 1958-  Search this

Smithsonian Libraries African Art Index Project DSI  Search this

Subject:

Garvey, Marcus 1887-1940 Portraits  Search this

Type:

Articles

Place:

Jamaica

Date:

1992

20th century

Topic:

Art--Political aspects  Search this

Artists  Search this

Call number:

F1861 .J277

Data Source:

Smithsonian Libraries

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:siris_sil_500215

Author:

Martin, Marilyn 1943-2022  Search this

Smithsonian Libraries African Art Index Project DSI  Search this

Subject:

Sithole, Lucas 1931-1994  Search this

Type:

Articles

Date:

1993

Call number:

N7395.6 .O684 1993

Data Source:

Smithsonian Libraries

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:siris_sil_658483

Author:

Jules-Rosette, Bennetta  Search this

Smithsonian Libraries African Art Index Project DSI  Search this

Subject:

Moussa, Diouf 1939-1982  Search this

Lusengu, Raphael Kalala 1946-  Search this

Type:

Articles

Place:

Zambia

Lusaka

Date:

1997

20th century

Topic:

Women potters  Search this

Painters  Search this

Portrait painting  Search this

Painting, Zambian  Search this

Pottery, Bemba  Search this

Clay figurines  Search this

Bemba women potters  Search this

Art, Zambian  Search this

Women in African art  Search this

Mami Wata (African deity)--Art  Search this

Mbusa  Search this

Call number:

GN1 .S933

Data Source:

Smithsonian Libraries

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:siris_sil_664756

Author:

Herold, Erich  Search this

Smithsonian Libraries African Art Index Project DSI  Search this

Subject:

Middle Art  Search this

Beier, Ulli Art collections  Search this

Lumumba, Patrice 1925-1961  Search this

Type:

Articles

Portraits

Place:

Nigeria

Date:

1981

Topic:

Sign painting  Search this

Painted signs and signboards  Search this

Sign painters  Search this

Call number:

GN37.P8 N21

Data Source:

Smithsonian Libraries

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:siris_sil_665843

Author:

De Klerk, Gary  Search this

Smithsonian Libraries African Art Index Project DSI  Search this

Subject:

Crouse, Reshada 1953-  Search this

Type:

Articles

Place:

South Africa

Date:

1999

Topic:

Portrait painting, South African  Search this

Portrait painters  Search this

Call number:

DT1701 .S238

Data Source:

Smithsonian Libraries

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:siris_sil_671180