Plan No. 426. Made Stove Polish

Making a self-shining stove polish of finely powdered graphite, at a cost of 2 cents for a 2-ounce box, and selling it for 5 cents a box, was the way a hustling youngster at Bellingham, Washington, “got his start.”

This polish he called “Lusterine,” and put on each box a label saying it was “Best and cheapest. No mussy mixing. Makes old stoves look like new in two minutes. Produces an instantaneous polish that will not burn off. Apply with a damp woolen rag, then go over the stove with a dry cloth.”

He sold immense quantities of this polish to the hardware stores all along the coast, at 8⁄2 cents per box, thus clearing 1⁄2 cents on each, and also sold a great deal of it himself for 5 cents per box, or a profit of 3 cents. It gave him a good living.