H and H Coffee

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

San Antonio Express-News, 19 April 1962, page 20 — full-bleed photograph of Gus P. Menger (Chairman of the Board, 'Dean of Coffee Roasters') and Albert G. Menger (President) examining a handful of green coffee beans next to a tabletop mound of beans and two demitasse cups; below the photograph the headline 'GENERATION TO GENERATION ...' with body copy describing Master Chef's seven-coffee blend and the in-can trading-stamp certificate, plus a small still-life of three Master Chef Coffee cans (Master Chef Coffee 1-lb can, Master Chef Instant Coffee jar, Master Chef Coffee 2-lb can) — attribution 'PRODUCT OF HOFFMAN-HAYMAN COFFEE COMPANY, SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS'
San Antonio Express-News, 19 April 1962, page 20 — full-bleed photograph of Gus P. Menger (Chairman of the Board, 'Dean of Coffee Roasters') and Albert G. Menger (President) examining a handful of green coffee beans next to a tabletop mound of beans and two demitasse cups; below the photograph the headline 'GENERATION TO GENERATION ...' with body copy describing Master Chef's seven-coffee blend and the in-can trading-stamp certificate, plus a small still-life of three Master Chef Coffee cans (Master Chef Coffee 1-lb can, Master Chef Instant Coffee jar, Master Chef Coffee 2-lb can) — attribution 'PRODUCT OF HOFFMAN-HAYMAN COFFEE COMPANY, SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS'
Catalog ID
HH-CLIP-1962-0005
Gallery
Newspaper

Master Chef “GENERATION TO GENERATION” — Gus P. and Albert G. Menger portrait ad — SA Express-News, 19 April 1962

Full-bleed Master Chef Coffee display ad in the San Antonio Express-News of Thursday, 19 April 1962 (p. 20). The hero image is a striking dual portrait of Mr. Gus P. Menger, Chairman of the Board — Dean of Coffee Roasters, and Mr. Albert G. Menger, President, both examining a handful of green coffee beans next to a tabletop mound of beans and two demitasse cups. The captioned figure attribution under the photograph reads exactly: “Mr. Gus P. Menger, Chairman of the Board—Dean of Coffee Roasters, and Mr. Albert G. Menger, President.”

The headline below the photograph is “GENERATION TO GENERATION …“ followed by two body columns of marketing copy:

“… the fine art of Coffee Roasting continues at Master Chef. The careful selection of finest pure coffees from around the world; the unique blending of as many as seven different types of coffee for full flavor and aroma; the precise roasting for ‘locked-in’ flavor … all these are yours in Master Chef Coffee.”

“Master Chef is selected, blended and roasted to bring you only finest 100% PURE coffee. And, you receive extra trading stamps, the stamps of your choice, with every pound of vacuum packed Master Chef you buy … Brew this perfect blend for family or friend and … The Master Chef is YOU.”

Lower right shows a still life of three Master Chef Coffee packaging SKUs:

  • Master Chef Coffee (1-lb vacuum can, lighter chrome face)
  • Master Chef Instant Coffee (square clear jar with label)
  • Master Chef Coffee (2-lb vacuum can, darker chrome face)

The attribution line at the bottom reads “PRODUCT OF HOFFMAN-HAYMAN COFFEE COMPANY, SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS” (with the “Hoffman-Hayman” one-n spelling that also appears in the 1961 SA Express-News and Victoria Advocate captions).

Significance:

  • Confirms Master Chef Instant Coffee as an in-market 1962 SKU alongside the regular and 2-lb vacuum cans.
  • Anchors the “Dean of Coffee Roasters” title for Gus P. Menger to a Hoffman-Hayman house ad (rather than only the 1959 Southern Coffee Roasters Association awarding press) — the title was officially adopted into corporate copy by April 1962.
  • Continues the “trading stamps of your choice” in-can certificate program first publicly announced in late August 1961 (HH-CLIP-1961-0005 through HH-CLIP-1961-0008) — the program is still a featured selling point eight months later.
  • The “Generation to Generation” framing is the formal house-ad expression of the chairman-and-president father-and-son leadership pairing that Hoffman-Hayman maintained from 1960 (Albert’s promotion to president) until the 1962 sale to Continental Coffee of Chicago — making this clip a primary-source portrait at the precise period when the family-leadership era was about to end.