Before Amazon and Walmart ruled the retail world, The Fuller Brush Company (founded in 1906 by Alfred Carl Fuller) built an empire—one brush at a time.
And no tech giant of today can boast this:
Two major motion pictures featured the brand’ in the title like this’s iconic salesperson in their title: “The Fuller Brush Man” (1948) starring Red Skeleton and “The Fuller Brush Girl” (1950) starring Lucille Ball (the latter is free to watch!).
Here are some free videos about Fuller Brush Company and Fuller Brush sales folks.
1)Fuller Brush Factory Promotional Film (for distributors)
This 1940s documentary about the Fuller Brush Company captures the rise of an American brand icon.
The doc introduces Alfred C. Fuller, the man behind it all, and dives into the details of how brushes, brooms, and mops were created, marketed, and sold in the early 20th century.
Fuller’s original hairbrushes came with a lifetime guarantee—a bold move for a door-to-door salesman, but one that helped cement the company’s reputation.
Seeing a salesman demonstrate his wares in the film at 2:30 is a nostalgic flashback to when door-to-door sales ruled.
At just over 30 minutes, the doc is packed with fascinating behind-the-scenes footage.
Starting at 20:00, workers stitch sweepers by hand, showcasing the intricate craftsmanship that preceded today’s automation.
From individual bristles being applied to toothbrushes (24:00) to wax products being perfected (27:10), the doc is a time capsule of industrial ingenuity.
For fans of corporate history or vintage manufacturing, this film offers a rare glimpse into a bygone era.
2) Fuller Brush Man Interviewed by Henry Lawrence of Channel 7
Follows Fuller Brush Salesman Bill Poll as he visits customers in the Buffalo area.
3)Fuller Brush Sales Demonstrations by Decade
This fun video goes through a different Fuller Brush product by decade from 1910 to 1940.
It claims Fuller Brush salesmen visited homes 300,000 times a day at the time.
Later in the video, they show a factory in Albany, New York and the main plant and offices in East Hartford, CT.
They also show examples of “low-pressure” selling and how Fuller salesmen all like people.
4)”Three Little Pigs” Get Visited by the Fuller Brush Man
Here’s Disney’s Three Little Pigs from 1933 (with a 1948 revision due to worries that the original salesman sounded too Jewish).
5) The Fuller Brush Company is Still Around!
I was surprised to learn that The Fuller Brush Company is still around!
Two big changes:
- They don’t do door-to-door sales (they sell online)
- Most of the videos promoting their products are of women (not men)
Thanks for reading!
-Rob Kelly, Chief Maniac, Daily Doc