H and H Coffee

Dedicated to the history of the Hoffmann-Hayman Coffee Co. founded 1899 in San Antonio, Texas.

A single documented physical specimen: a Wagner Ware cast-aluminum long-handled coffee scoop, No. 4, embossed “H and H Coffee Co., San Antonio, Texas” on the bowl. Acquired via eBay from a San Antonio seller on 29 January 2017. The H&H advertising variant does not appear in the standard Wagner / Griswold collector references (the “red book” or “blue book”). All 7 artifacts are multi-angle views of this one object.

Quick ID:

  • Cast aluminum, long handle (~12 in overall); deep oval bowl (~5 in); straight shank
  • “H and H Coffee Co., San Antonio, Texas” embossed on bowl in crisp raised lettering
  • Wagner Ware size mark “No. 4” also embossed; no other maker marks visible on documented faces
  • No. 4 is the only size documented in collection or reference; sizes 2–5 attested by eBay seller

Form

Cast aluminum hollow-ware in the Wagner Ware standard scoop form: a deep oval bowl, straight shank, and long flat handle. The bowl carries the advertising embossing “H and H Coffee Co., San Antonio, Texas” along with the size mark “No. 4.” Dimensions per auction description: approximately 5 × 12 in. Condition at acquisition: good; some wear, small scratches and tiny dents.

The scoop would have been used at grocer counters to measure and dispense loose coffee — the “San Antonio, Texas” legend on a Wagner product places this in the grocer-trade channel rather than the institutional (hotel/restaurant) side.

Sizes

Wagner Ware scoops of this type were produced in at least sizes No. 2 through No. 5 (per eBay seller J.B., who handled cast iron and aluminum hollow-ware). Only the No. 4 has been documented in the collection or in any published reference. Whether an H&H advertising run was produced in all four sizes or only No. 4 is unknown.

Dating

The eBay auction dated this piece “circa 1915–1920s” on the basis of the Wagner Ware style and casting marks. That range covers the Medina Street and early Burnett Street eras. The scoop carries no street address for H&H, which removes one dating anchor (the 601 Delaware Street address, for instance, would push a piece to post-1932). The c.1915–c.1935 window reflects the pre-Delaware era without over-constraining the date.

Manufacturer

Wagner Ware, Sidney, Ohio — the cast-aluminum hollow-ware manufacturer. Wagner Ware was a major American producer of cast iron and aluminum cookware in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, based in Sidney, Ohio. The H&H advertising scoop is not cataloged in David G. Smith’s collector references (The Book of Wagner & Griswold and The Book of Griswold and Wagner), which the eBay seller confirmed after consulting both volumes. The advertising was placed on a standard Wagner form as a custom promotional run for Hoffmann-Hayman. No company file for Wagner Ware exists in the KB.

Distribution channel

Whether the scoop was a grocer counter tool supplied by H&H to retail accounts, a premium offered for purchase or redemption, or an in-store demonstration aid is not established. The body text on HH-COLL-2017-0005 through HH-COLL-2017-0008 describes it as “a retail premium or in-store display tool branded for the Hoffmann-Hayman counter trade” — but this is interpretive language from the catalog entry, not a documented source. The 1923 Light article names H&H “special demonstrators” (Clara H. Allred, Irene Brown) doing in-store tastings, which would fit a scoop of this type.

Artifacts

In the collection

All seven are views of a single physical object acquired 29 January 2017.

Reference

None.

Wanted

None documented. Other size variants (No. 2, No. 3, No. 5 with H&H advertising) would be significant finds.

Open questions

  • Are H&H advertising scoops in sizes No. 2, No. 3, or No. 5 documented anywhere? The eBay seller knew of no other example beyond the No. 4.
  • What was the distribution channel? Was the scoop a grocer counter tool supplied to retail accounts, a customer premium, or a demonstrator’s tool?
  • Why does the H&H advertising variant not appear in Smith’s collector reference books? Undocumented custom advertising run, or simply omitted?
  • Can the c.1915–1920s date estimate be corroborated by a Wagner Ware production-date catalog or trade advertisement?
  • Should a company file be created for Wagner Ware? It is the sole documented manufacturer of H&H-branded hollow-ware advertising.

See also