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Written by Mr Five Star
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Mystery is solved, courtesy of Wikipedia! For years I have been asked “what is the origin of the name Dopp Kit”. First if you don’t know what a Dopp Kit is, here is the answer. A Dopp Kit is a small bag usually made of leather, vinyl or cloth and usually used for storing men’s grooming tools for travel. Common items kept in the Dopp Kit are deodorant, a razor, shaving cream, comb, shampoo, nail clippers, scissors, toothbrush, toothpaste, and cologne.
The name comes from an early 20th century leather craftsman Charles Doppelt in 1919.
A google of Mr. Doppelt's name lead to this: "According to newspaper accounts unearthed by Merriam-Webster's Jim Rader, the Dopp Kit was first produced by Charles Doppelt, a leather goods designer who emigrated to the U.S. from Germany in the early 1900s. Although it may have been Doppelt's nephew and employee, Jerome Harris, who actually invented the snazzy leather toiletries case, Doppelt was the boss and so the finished product bore a cropped form of his name, giving us the 'Dopp Kit.' Dopp Kits were manufactured by the Charles Doppelt Company until the firm was purchased by Samsonite in the 1970s, and Dopp Kits today are made by Buxton. The popularity of Dopp Kits was evidently boosted considerably by World War II, in the course of which the U.S. Army issued them to recruits by the millions. Dopp Kits are sold by many travel accessory stores around the world. Buxton still has the original. Click here for web sites that feature the Dopp Kit. ebags.com, Amazon.com. The Dopp Kit sells for $25.00-$175.00.
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