Pre-War Accessory - Brooms?

[LarryP]

 A colleague of mine is cleaning out the basement of his home, which contains generations of items belonging to his family.    During the cleaning, he found these two small brooms.  His father told him they were common accessories used to sweep the floor out of your automobile.   He stated that the brown broom with the snap cover was kept by his farther in the family Buick during the 1930's.    Note, my colleagues grandfather moved to the U.S. from Germany many years before the war.  These were his brooms.

I've never heard of, nor have I seen these little brooms as being automotive specific accessories.   I suppose it makes sense that you would need to sweep out the car every now and again, just as we today vacuum the floor of the car.   And with most cars having flat floors, sweeping the dirt out of the car would be pretty easy.  

Can anyone tell me anything about these?  Do you recall older family members using such brooms?  

Notice that the  red handle unzips, to reveal a soft cloth rolled up inside.  The word "Eri" is written on the cloth.  Does anyone know what that is?  
 

[Rusty_OToole]

Don't tell me whisk brooms are a thing of the past. I have one hanging on the wall in my garage. They used to be a common accessory used to sweep out a car, before they sunk the floor below the sills. And before vacuum cleaners became common.

 

I have never seen any quite like the ones you have. They have a European look to me.

[GARY F]

i dont remember these but in the 40s the fuller brush man sold a wisk broom like these. my mother bought one. As a kid i swept out my fathers cars  & truck and i used it on my car in the late 50s.

[Ben Bruce aka First Born]

  I agree, never ran across any just like these.  Whisk brooms are still available. I still use them.

 

  Ben

[keiser31]

I have a couple of those in that style. I found one in the trunk of one of my 1931 Dodge Brothers coupes.

[Terry Bond]

They go back many years and were often supplied by car dealers with purchase of a new car or by garages.  I have a few in my collections of collections with dealer names or car manufacturer logos on them.  Small brushes were known as "upholstery brushes" and used simply to sweep off seat cushions.  There are others that look more like shoe-shine brushes that can be found with advertising for gas and oil companies, tire manufacturers, and of course car dealerships. 

[LarryP]

2 hours ago, Rusty_OToole said:

 

Thanks everyone for their comments.  And Terry, I really like the photo you shared.  It is always fun to find dealership and gas station advertisements on otherwise ordinary household items.

 

As a youngster (I like to fool myself into thinking that 47 is still young), I've only used vacuum cleaner for my cars.  I guess I should use a whisk broom for my Model A though, to be truly "period correct."   And Keser31, thanks for your comments on this and other posts.  I always enjoying reading what you have to say.  You're truly someone who knows what he's talking about!

 

Cheers!

Larry

[Hudsy Wudsy]

Whisk brooms were quite indispensable items in days past. More so than a younger person might realize. Todays carpet traps a lot of the sand and small articles that would otherwise fly about the air in a car. Also, and maybe more importantly, fresh air vents in older cars were usually little more than scoops gathering up outside air and sending it swirling around the floor where anything that was at rest soon became tornadic. I recall quite well how tough it was to drive with eyes full of sand.

[8E45E]

A whisk broom is still a useful tool, and still available from Uline: https://www.uline.ca/Product/Detail/H-6498/Dust-Pans/Whisk-Broom-7-1-2?model=H-6498

 

Craig

[edinmass]

Cadillac, Packard, and zpierce Arrow sold them at their dealerships in the twenties and thirties. Often sold along with spare light bulb kits, wax and chrome polish, etc. Often seen in store counter displays. They are collectible. Ed

[trimacar]

There was a story about a small service station in Lecompte, Louisiana, and of course in the 50's and 60's great service meant not only pumping gas but other service.  The owner of this station would use his pocketed whisk broom and sweep out carpet if you asked him.

 

One day, someone borrowed his whisk broom, then drove away with it.  Soon after, an older lady pulls in, and while he's fuming internally about the stolen whisk broom, she asks "Do you have a rest room?"  Thinking she said "whisk broom", he told her "no, but get out of the car and I'll blow it out with my air hose".

 

She quickly departed, and never came back....

[John_S_in_Penna]

Here's a joke from the annals of early automotive history:

 

"I would like a brush for a car with long bristles," said the lady to the clerk.

 

"Madame," he returned, "I have seen all kinds of cars, but 

have yet to see one with long bristles."

[plymouthcranbrook]

I  use one daily to sweep the drivers floor on my school bus.

[Pomeroy41144]

I found a small whisk broom in the trunk of my 1937 Ford (the car was in storage for 50 years).  It crumbled to pieces as I handled it. 

[John_S_in_Penna]

Even with today's cars' recessed floors, I still sometimes

use a whisk broom.  I accompany it with a dust pan.

It's easier than getting out even a hand-held vacuum.

[John_S_in_Penna]

Isn't it interesting that you're getting answers

about an auto brush, and in another thread,

just a few topics away, someone else is getting

answers about a Brush auto!

Edited March 17, 2017 by John_S_in_Penna (see edit history)

[8E45E]

9 hours ago, John_S_in_Penna said:

Isn't it interesting that you're getting answers

about an auto brush, and in another thread,

just a few topics away, someone else is getting

answers about a Brush auto!

Proof you can't tar everyone with the SAME BRUSH!

 

Craig

[Guest]

The groaners are getting worse guys.  Keep it up.

[D Yaros]

Ah, need any reminders that we are indeed getting old?