Here was a field I had not counted on and I determined to explore it before going to the general public.
I had one hundred letters mailed in plain envelopes to individual members of the larger firms which we were regularly selling. The result astonished me. This was in December, 1881, and before the following February sixty-seven of the men written to had accounts on our books.
Some of the novel experiences in this branch of the business will be related in a later chapter.
As I had anticipated, 1881 was a banner year. My profits were nearly twenty-eight thousand dollars.
CHAPTER XVI
"REDSTONE"
"Sunnyside" had become too small for us.
Our life had been so happy there we could not bear to think of leaving it. I had an architect look the house over and prepare plans for an extensive addition.
This was done, though he strongly disadvised it. I could not but admit the force of his argument that it was foolish, regarded from an investment point of view, to expend on the place the amount I contemplated. Far better to sell and build a new house was his opinion.
Then we talked of moving the house to another plot and building on the old site. To this there were two objections. The site was not suitable for the style of house I wanted and there was too little land, with no opportunity to add to it as the land on either side was already occupied.