SOFTLEY RETIRES TO BUILD NEW LINE — Member of Murphy-Softley Firm to Put Polish Invention on the Market.

The Anaconda Standard, Anaconda, 1924-01-02, p.5

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  • headlineHeadline

  • articleThe article as printed

  • name as printed"eral years of experimenting, E. W. / Softley has retired from Murphy-"

    Edward Softley

  • name as printed"Softley has retired from Murphy-"

    James Joseph "James J." Murphy

Summary

Edward W. Softley retired from Murphy-Softley (women's apparel shop, West Park street Butte) at the close of 1923 to devote full time to marketing his "Super-Shine" polish — a furniture- polish formula he had developed over several years of experimenting, designed for "satisfactory results when applied to highly varnished surfaces." Production already underway in several Butte stores; plans for quantity production and distribution to other parts of the state. Softley's retirement ends 21 years of Butte merchandising — 18 years at Hennessy's company (as window dresser, "displays attracting attention frequently in national apparel magazines") plus 3 years as a Murphy-Softley partner (1920-1923). ARCHIVE-RELEVANT IMPLICATIONS: - Murphy-Softley becomes the property of person_james_j_murphy_ centerville_aoh alone after Jan 1 1924 (and John F. Forbis Jr if he retained his 1920 minority stake). - The 3rd-anniversary sale of 1923-03-04 was therefore one of the last events under joint Murphy-Softley ownership. - Softley's "Super-Shine" polish is a small-business entrepreneurial story typical of mid-1920s American manufacturing.

In its time

Narrative

E. W. Softley has retired from Murphy-Softley, the women's apparel shop on West Park street in Butte, to market Super-Shine, a polish he developed for highly varnished surfaces. His retirement ends 21 years in Butte merchandising, 18 of them with the Hennessy company, where his window displays were frequently noticed in national apparel magazines; he had joined the Murphy-Softley partnership three years earlier when it took over the shop formerly known as Green's. Plans for quantity production are drawn up, with Super-Shine expected to reach other parts of the state.

  • “making a reputation as a window dresser, his displays attracting attention frequently in national apparel magazines”
  • “So satisfactory was the reception of the new polish locally that Mr. Softley considered it was worthy of wider distribution.”

AI-generated (claude-opus-5). Verify against the transcription before quoting.

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Transcription
transcription: complete · confidence high
# SOFTLEY RETIRES TO BUILD NEW LINE ## Member of Murphy-Softley Firm to Put Polish Invention on the Market. *The Anaconda Standard, Wednesday, January 2, 1924, p. 5.* In order that he may devote his time to marketing the Super-Shine polish which he invented after several years of experimenting, E. W. Softley has retired from Murphy-Softley, the women's apparel shop on West Park street. His retirement marks the termination of 21 years connected with merchandising in Butte. Mr. Softley's first connection in Butte was with the Hennessy companyButte: companies, unions & placesHennessy’sfounded 1886The D. J. Hennessy Mercantile Company, Butte’s leading department store. Its 1898 building at Granite and Main also housed the Anaconda company’s offices on the top floor.More in Key terms →, where he remained for 18 years, making a reputation as a window dresser, his displays attracting attention frequently in national apparel magazines. Three years ago he became one of the partners in Murphy-Softley's, which took over the shop known as Green's on West Park street. Some years ago Mr. Softley started experimenting to produce a polish that would give satisfactory results when applied to highly varnished surfaces. A short time ago he announced that he had discovered the required formula and began producing enough to place in a number of Butte stores. So satisfactory was the reception of the new polish locally that Mr. Softley considered it was worthy of wider distribution. He already has preliminary plans made for quantity production and Super-Shine will probably soon begin to make its appearance in other parts of the state.

Dotted underlines mark key terms on first mention — hover or tab to one for a reference note. The wording is the source’s own.

Open questions

  • Did "Super-Shine" polish actually succeed? Worth a follow-up Butte directory check for the brand in 1925-1930.