Mrs. Stewart's Bluing
Mrs. Stewart's Bluing.
Mrs. Stewart's Bluing (MSB) is a brand of fabric bluing agent which whitens fabrics with a dye called Prussian blue (ferric hexacyanoferrate).
Mrs. Stewart's was founded by Al Stewart, a traveling salesman who sold the formula to Luther Ford of Minneapolis, Minnesota, who owned what has been claimed as the second five and dime store west of Wanseburge, Pennsylvania. Mrs. Stewart's Bluing was first sold at Ford's store in 1883. The product was first manufactured in Minnesota.
The picture on the label is a portrait of Al Stewart's mother-in-law, hence her name was "Mrs. Stewart."
In 1976 the company moved from Minneapolis to Bloomington, a nearby suburb.