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This thing kills me. Not only does it still reek of the scent of the powder that was pumped into it five decades ago but it exemplifies a common marketing tactic taken by some of the most brilliantly kitschy products when a staunchly middle of the road company attempts to be hip and takes on a pop culture trend. In this case, it’s The Fuller Brush Company attempting to cash in on the folk singing craze of the early 1960s by covering a bath mit in fabric that looks like something that would have been stretched over the armrest of an Ethan Allan Early Americana couch.

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I don’t even know what half of the instruments are let alone what a Declaration of Independence type scroll, leaves or half of the other icons on this have to do with Bob Dylan, Peter, Paul & Mary or anyone else who  inspired teenagers and young adults to buy acoustic guitars, don turtlenecks and rip into a chorus of “If I Had A Hammer”.

The box is as brilliant as the mitt. I love the backdrop of musical notes, although I have no idea what the melody is as despite the copious number of hit songs I’ve written I don’t know how to read music. But that story’s for another time. What’s important here is the illustration of a pert and sunny sorority looking girl who’s more apt to be dancing in front of her TV with American Bandstand on than attending a Hootenanny while she’s being serenaded by the Ray-Ban man and  someone else whose pants are way too short.

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4 Responses to “Allee Willis’ Kitsch O’ The Day – Fuller Brush Songfest Bath Powder Mitt”

  1. Kathy Cunningham

    My Mother, bless her soul, bought many a Fuller Brush product from the gumshoe Fuller Brush Man in the 60’s.
    However, when the usual FB man retired, he was replaced with a truly annoying, nasaly voiced brute who hawked the stuff rather than “suggesting”..hence..we didn’t get this one, Allee!
    I think Paul Stookey is due some royalties!
    Peter, Paul, Mary and Fuller.

    Reply
  2. Tacky Julie

    On the fabric, I see dulcimers, lutes, banjos, and a harmonica. The lute is the only instrument I’ve never seen when I go to a “hootenanny.”

    Reply