According to Lonnie Athens, a professor at Seton Hall University, romantic product salesmen traveled throughout the southern United States from the 1920s through to the mid 1960s, selling “marital aids” one on one to men. Athens father was briefly a romantic product salesman after being recruited by a customer of his who had been one since the 1920s. According to Athens:
“The line of merchandise that they sold ranged from costume jewelry, silver-a and gold-tasseled pasties, black and red garter belts, black-seamed hosiery, and fishnet stockings to breathe fresheners, cheap perfume, and scented bubble bath to lubricated condoms, French ticklers, penile extensions, cock rings, Spanish flies, and vibrators.”
It isn’t clear when this profession appeared, or how many (if any) men made a living selling sex toys alone. Athens describes the attitude toward these salesmen thusly:
“In the eyes of most people in the Bible Belt, romantic product salesmen were seedy characters who hawked their wares to sex nuts and perverts, pimps, and prostitutes and thereby aided and abetted the moral corruption of the community.”
The profession disappeared with the proliferation of adult bookstores in the mid 1960s in the south.
Reference:
Athens, L. “Romantic Product Salesmen: A Bygone Occupation.” Qualitative Inquiry Vol. 11. Issue 6 (2005): 880-885.
