But, Wait! There's More!

For nearly fifty years, the Popeil Brothers' and Ronco's high-energy commercials have been familiar intruders into the living rooms of America-and most homes bear evidence of their seductive visits. Countless VegOMatics, SealAMeals, Kitchen Magicians, Pocket Fishermen, and other gadgets sit tucked away in many a cupboard, giving silent testimony to the power of their broadcast salesmanship. This dynamic, colorful, and amusing volume tells the classic rags to riches story of this fascinating business whose name has become synonymous with the word "gadget." Through a witty, informative text complemented by a wealth of colorful vintage advertisements, stunning product package art, and photography that cooks, business students, graphic and industrial design mavens, and fans of popular culture will love, this book examines the inventiveness and ubiquity of Popeil products through a range of special visual and editorial features. These include: an encapsulated history of the company; annotated celbycel recreations of the most popular commercials; amusing anecdotes about the inventions; transcripts of the alluring, rapidfire sales pitches; humorous quotes; and entertaining facts.

Just like the inventions themselves, this volume is "amazing!"

Timothy Samuelson, curator of architecture and design at the Chicago Historical Society, is an eminent architectural historian who specializes in the work of Louis Sullivan. A former Loeb Fellow at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design, Samuelson has written extensively on architecture, history, and design, and has done extensive consulting and curatorial work for the country's major fine arts institutions. A collector of Popeil and Ronco products for ten years, Samuelson has assembled the country's most comprehensive archive of materials relating to these well-known companies. His interest in the subject has been covered in feature articles in the New York Times, the Chicago Sun Times, the Boston Globe, The New Yorker, Chicago magazine, and other publications. He has also done considerable radio and television interviews on the subject. He lives in Chicago, Illinois.