Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman came out in 1949. The play was about a common man, Willy Loman, lost in the American dream, and its exhortation was that “attention must be paid” to such a person.
Among those who heeded the call was Cornell Capa, staff photographer for LIFE magazine. He produced a photo essay about a real-life salesman, Robert Brooks, as he went on a four-week tour through the Midwest, peddling a line of umbrellas for L.P. Henryson Inc. of New York.
Brooks’s circumstances weren’t completely identical to those of Miller’s protagonist. Willy’s sons were fully grown, for example, while Brooks’ daughter was not yet two years old. But they were both salesmen, and Capa’s story documented the stresses of a job, including the pressure of living on commissions and the isolation of life on the road.
Brooks’ tour that took him from his home in Long Island, N.Y., out to Cincinnati, Indianapolis, St. Louis, Chicago and Detroit. He traveled by train, and made this tour four times a year. LIFE said that Brooks was doing better than most of the three million “outdoor salesmen” working in America back then. But still, he had to front his own expenses and only earned money from completed sales. That year he faced a difficult marketplace in which shoppers were looking to economize. A buyer in Cincinnati rejected all Brooks’ higher-priced umbrellas, asking “What have you got, honey, that I can sell at $4.98?”
Brooks’ job also took an emotional toll. As LIFE put it, “Wherever he goes, he takes his loneliness with him.” When Brooks arrived in his Chicago hotel and found three letters from his wife waiting at the front desk, he went to his room and ripped open the letters before even taking off his raincoat. While he did find some camaraderie during his travels, either from fellow salespeople or visits with old friends, LIFE said “Brooks gets homesick as soon as he hits the road.”
Toward the end of the trip, Capa photographed Brooks standing outside a theater showing the movie Dead Man’s Gold, a negligible Western starring Lash La Rue. Brooks had already seen all of Hollywood’s major releases during his trip, so this was how he looked to pass the evening.
For the trip Brooks netted $2,600 (or about $35,000 in today’s money). LIFE assured its readers that this payday was not as good as it sounded, in part because of the uncertain nature of his profession: “Before making another trip he must wait (meanwhile living on the proceeds of the last one) until the market has renewed itself. And next time he may find the buyers so far up off their knees that they will ask “What have you got, honey, that I can sell for 98 cents?”
Traveling salesman Robert Brooks says goodbye to his wife Carol before headed out on the road for four weeks to sell umbrellas, 1949.
Cornell Capa/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Robert Brooks says goodbye to his 19-month-old daughter Liza before headed out for a four-week sales trip, 1949.
Cornell Capa/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
On the first stop of his four-week sales trip across the Midwest, Robert Brooks promoted his line of umbrellas to buyers in Cincinnati, 1949.
Cornell Capa/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
In Indianapolis traveling umbrella salesman Robert Brooks waiting a half hour to be seen by a buyer during a four-week tour of the Midwest, 1949.
Cornell Capa/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
During a four-week sales tour traveling umbrella salesman Robert Brooks visited with a friend in Indianapolis he knew from service in World War II, 1949.
Cornell Capa/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Traveling umbrella salesman Robert Brooks slept on the train as he rides from Indianapolis to St. Louis as part of a four-week tour, 1949.
Cornell Capa/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Umbrella sales Robert Brooks, on the St. Louis stop of a four-week road trip across the Midwest, checked out a model being offered by his competition.
Cornell Capa/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Traveling salesman Robert Brooks, worn out and bored during a four-week tour of the Midwest, arrived at the St. Louis train station, 1949.
Cornell Capa/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Traveling salesman Robert Brooks had cocktails with a department store buyer in St. Louis during a four-week sales tour of the Midwest, 1949.
Cornell Capa/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Umbrella salesman Robert Brooks went to bed surrounded by samples during the St. Louis stop of a four-week road trip through the Midwest, 1949.
Cornell Capa/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Alone in the club car of a train going from St. Louis to Chicago, traveling umbrella salesman Robert Brooks showed weariness during his four-week tour of the Midwest, 1949.
Cornell Capa/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Traveling umbrella salesmen Robert Brooks didn’t wait to take off his coat before reading three letters from his wife that were waiting for him when he arrived at his hotel in Chicago as part of a four-week sales tour, 1949.
Cornell Capa/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Traveling salesman Robert Brooks made one of a series of sales calls with buyers during his four-week tour of the Midwest, 1949.
Cornell Capa/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Traveling salesman Robert Brooks found company with other traveling salespeople during a stop in Chicago on his four-week tour of the Midwest, 1949.
Cornell Capa/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Robert Brooks, in the latter stages of a four-week sales trip, looked for entertainment on a dull night in Detroit; turning to lower grade cinema because on his trip he has already seen all the major releases, 1949.
Cornell Capa/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
