I photographed this in Value Village recently.
Louis Brutoco was born in Fort Erie, Ontario in 1920. His parents had emigrated from Italy and his father died when Louis was only nine years old. He graduated from high school, became a toolmaker and moved to Toronto in 1942 where he and his brothers Angelo and Leonard established the Brutoco Tool Company. They produced various appliances, re-tooling for military parts during World War II. In 1951, the brothers up and moved to Covina, California, presumably marking the end of the company. (I found a reference to a legal decision about a patent and design challenge from the much larger Electric Steam Radiator Corporation in 1953, which may have been at least one reason for the move.) There, they operated a 1.5 million hen egg ranch and built the Covina and Anaheim Bowls. Louis ultimately became the mayor of Covina, where he passed away in 2008.
Below, ads from the company's major competitor. Imagine being able to buy the "amazing Thermograph." (Actually, it looks like a simple spirit thermometer to me.)
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| Life, December 18, 1939 |
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| 1947 |
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