The Woman Drummer:
“There’s a new racket on the road,” said a commercial traveler; “it’s a female drummer. I met her the other day and she is a dandy. Of course she is from Chicago and she sell goods like a January thaw. She has been out so long now that she is as independent as a hog on ice. She sits in an ordinary car and charges up sleeping berths in her expenses just like the rest of us. She walks to the hotels from the stations, and charges up the hack fares, just as we do. She beats the landlord down to $1.50 a day, and charges the house $2.50, in the regular old style. She can take care of herself every day in the week; and she knows how to order up a bottle of wine, and work it on the expense account too. Why when I saw her last she was a new silk dress ahead of the firm, and by New Year’s proposed to have a sealskin sacque out of her expenses. And that isn’t all: she has half of the hotel clerks in the Northwest mashed on her; and the way the little rascal knocks ‘em down on her bill is a caution. She has a regular trick of staying over Sunday where one of her admirers runs the house; and she walks off Monday morning, forgetting to pay the bill. What does she sell? That’s the funniest thing about it. You would think she would handle jewelry or millinery, or dry-goods, shouldn’t you? But she doesn’t. She sells gents’ furnishing goods; and the fly young men who usually keep that kind of stores buy of her as if they hadn’t seen a commercial traveler for six months. And she is a dandy poker player, too. She handles the cards awkwardly, and acts as if she didn’t know a full hand from two pairs, and raises $2 on deuces, and nearly cries when t’other fellow shows up three of a kind, and then gets excited in a big jack pot, and raises the opener, and bets the limit, and raises back and scares t’other fellow out. And slides into the deck a little pair of sixes or sevens or a bobtail as innocently as you please. Bluff? Why, she has a bluff on her like the Wisconsin River. She’s a daisy; and I tell you it’s mighty lucky for the boys that there ain’t any more like her on the road.” – Chicago Herald
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(3.5)
1
The contents themselves consist of poetry about the drummer profession, verbatim quotes of speeches made about the occupation either by outside observers or by members of the occupation, trade journal articles covering all aspects of the individuals and the hazards and benefits of the trade, short first person accounts (very short – usually less than a page) about the life of a C.T., jokes about the trade, tips on how to be a successful drummer, newspaper articles about specific drummers or about the profession in general, and observations from a C.T. standpoint of the variety of people encountered ( railroad workers, hoteliers, merchants, officials of the house (the company for whom the drummer works), railroad passengers, etc.) in the course of doing business
The list of contents and the fact that the types of writing (poetry, commentary, etc.) are completely intermingled gives the reader an initial impression of a hopeless jumble of words. However, if you take the time to read the book from cover to cover what the reader receives in exchange for the time spent is a very interesting picture and understanding of what it was to be a sales representative in the latter part of the 19th Century. Because of the intimate connection between the occupation of drummer and the railroads, the primary means of drummer transport, I’ve classed this book as railroad history. See common knowledge for an example of the writing.
(Text Length - 336 pages, Total Length - 350 pages. Includes content listing) (Book Dimensions inches L x W x H - 7.5 x 1.125 x 5.5) (