MURPHY[-SOFTLEY] CLOSING SALE

The Butte Miner, Butte, 1924-08-01, p.7

Summary

Murphy-Softley full-page (or half-page) closing-sale advertisement. The visible portion of the JPG includes the large arrow-banner copy "MURPHY[-SOFTLEY] CLOSIN[G] SA[LE] / With the expiration of our lease ... lessees / due in stock must be sold before the / Murphy-Softley Company has elected to / close. / There are no reservations, no cuffs, no fancy prices, / It's fresh and new. Come and make your / selections now. / FIXTURES AND LEASE FOR SALE / Quotations to Interested Parties / No Charges / No Refunds / No Exchanges / THREE MAMMOTH SUITS / **SALE STARTS THIS [MORNING/EVENING]**" Subsection price lists across the page: Underwear ($1.95–4.95), Sweaters ($3.45–14.95), Skirts ($3.95–14.95), Overblouses ($8.95+), Outing Suits, Bathing Suits ($2.95), Chemises, Gowns, Slips. Murphy-Softley logo banner repeated at bottom right: **MURPHY / 22 West Park Street.** ARCHIVE SIGNIFICANCE. **The Murphy-Softley closing — the store goes out of business August 1, 1924**, less than seven months after the January 13 1924 "no intention of discontinuing" advertisement and four and a half months after the March 19 1924 fourth-anniversary sale. The closure is framed publicly as a lease-expiration matter, not bankruptcy ("With the expiration of our lease ... the Murphy-Softley Company has elected to close"). By six weeks later (Sept 13 1924) the building basement hosts the Silver Bow County Democratic Party HQ. JJM's career arc next: he buys a new exclusive Park st store (per the James_J_Murphy_buys_exclusive_park_st_store inbox PDF, yet to ingest). Forms a coherent narrative arc spanning Jan–Aug 1924 from rumor-denial → anniversary → closing — three clippings paired with the Democratic-rally clipping for what happened to the building.

People

Places

Themes

Story threads

Tags

  • candidate_family
  • evidence_primary

Source type

advertisement

Related sources

Transcription
transcription: partial · confidence medium
# MURPHY[-SOFTLEY] CLOSING SALE *The Butte Miner, Friday morning, August 1, 1924, p. 7 (best-guess page assignment). Full-page or half-page advertisement.* *[Display ad, read from low-resolution clip; main copy partially legible. Captured to extent readable.]* ## HERE'S B[—] / MURPHY [SOFTLEY] CLOSIN[G] SA[LE] With the expiration of our lease ... lessees ... due in stock must be sold before the ... Murphy-Softley Company has elected to close. There are no reservations, no cuffs, no fancy prices. It's fresh and new. Come and make your selections now. **FIXTURES AND LEASE FOR SALE** *Quotations to Interested Parties — No Charges, No Refunds, No Exchanges.* **THREE MAMMOTH SUITS** **SALE STARTS THIS [MORNING/EVENING]** --- ### Subsection price lists **Underwear** — $1.95, $2.95, $3.95, $4.95. **Sweaters** — Wool sweaters, values to $5, $3.45. Silk sweaters, values to $14, $9.95. Knit suits, values to $25, $14.95. **Skirts** — Wool skirts, values to $5, $3.95. Silk skirts, values to $20, $14.95. **Overblouses** — Beautiful overblouses, values to $15, $8.95. **Outing Suits** — Khaki outing suits, $4.95–$7.95. **Bathing Suits** — Pure cotton and pure silk styles, $2.95–$4.95. **Chemises** — Crepe chemises, $4.95. **Gowns** — $4.95–$14.95. **Slips** — $5.95–$8.95. --- [*Bottom-right logo banner:*] **MURPHY / 22 West Park Street.**

Open questions

  • Confirm page number (p06 vs p07) via the full-page JPG — currently assigned to p07 by best guess.
  • The "James_J_Murphy_buys_exclusive_park_st_store.pdf" inbox item is the next chapter — what did JJM open after Murphy-Softley closed? Worth processing as the next M-S- cluster follow-up.
  • The closure is framed publicly as lease expiration but the January 1924 closure rumor suggests internal trouble may have preceded. Both readings should appear in the book chapter; the documentary evidence does not resolve which is more accurate.