(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Arts & Architecture, 1998) Pokoski, John E.
The traveling salesman is a leftover icon of the American scene of yesterday.. He was a common part of American life that is rarely seen today. Now there is home shopping on cable tv., but at one time, there was not a home in the United States that hadn’t been visited by one at one time or another. These men traveled across the country knocking on doors, toting their cases, dressed in drab older suits, ringing doorbells for all to let them in. And people did let them in, not knowing who they were or where they came from. The salesman’s display case was his key to the world. With it, he could get through many locked doors which would otherwise never open to him. As a child, seeing these mysterious men at their work, reading about them in stories, and seeing them portrayed in movies, I wondered about the salesmen and their lives. What did these men see on their journeys and what did they do? Looking at my drawings and paintings, you will find several possibilities.
