1942 H&H Wholesale Price Sheets (2 March 1942)

Two typewritten Hoffmann-Hayman Coffee Co. wholesale price sheets dated MAR 2 1942, photographed by the project on 3 July 2015. The two sheets are companions:

PACKAGE COFFEE retail-package wholesale sheet (artifact HH-REF-1942-0001) — jobber prices for retail consumer SKUs, with sections for H AND H, SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS GIRL, ANITA, TEXCO, BIG VALUE, and CAFE COFFEES (H&H Cafe Spec + M. Chef Blends A and B).
SPECIAL BULK ROASTED COFFEE F.O.B. SAN ANTONIO — “FOR TEXAS ONLY” (artifact HH-REF-1942-0002) — per-pound pricing for 100-pound bag bulk SKUs (Economy Blend Cereal and Coffee, Good Rio, Big Gum, Arrow Peaberry, Standard Peaberry, Perfection Peaberry, Blue Bird) and specialty pail/drum lines (Good Value, Anita Peaberry Blend, O.S.T. Fancy Santos Peaberry).

Together the two sheets are the single most documentary-dense H&H corporate source on this site for the 1942 brand portfolio — they enumerate the firm’s full retail-package + bulk lineup at the start of WWII civilian coffee rationing (rationing began November 1942, eight months after these sheets). The sheets are cited from many brand pages across the wiki as the decisive 1942 attestation that discriminates surviving-brands from attriting-brands in the H&H mid-century portfolio reshape.

The two sheets were stapled at the top, three-hole punched at left, and folded down the center. Aged paper. Retail “PACKAGE COFFEE” sheet has red-pencil annotations (jobber-discount footer circled; “Sue 107” notation next to the ANITA 3-lb basket entry; a signature at the bottom).

Package Coffee sheet — full transcription

Header: PACKAGE COFFEE — Delivered Prices Subject To Change Without Notice. MAR 2 1942.

Left column:

H AND H COFFEE

Format	Price
1 lb Bag (24)	.29
1 lb Vac Jar (12) (no coupon)	.29-1/2
2½ lb Vac Jar (2)	.78

REGULAR or DRIP GRIND.

SAN ANTONIO COFFEE

Format	Price
1 lb Bag (24)	.23
3 lb Bag W/White Cup (no coupon)	.24
3 lb Vac Jar (6)	.73

REGULAR or DRIP GRIND.

(Reading note: the artifact alt-text records this section header as “SAN ANTONIO Coffee” with 1-lb cans and a cup-and-saucer premium. The typewritten letterforms are partially faded; in-hand verification recommended. “San Antonio Coffee Co.” was a separate San Antonio roasting firm in 1932 — roasters of ALL GOLD per the 25 Mar 1932 Fresh Coffee cooperative ad — so the 1942 H&H “SAN ANTONIO” SKU is either an H&H-acquired brand or an H&H line named after the city. See Open questions below.)

TEXAS GIRL COFFEE

Format	Price
6 oz. Bag (24)	.09
1 lb Bag (24)	.15
2½ lb Jar (6) — no syrup	.50
3 lb Bkt (6) W/White (C&S inside)	(price illegible)

Right column:

ANITA COFFEE P/B BL. (Peaberry Blend)

Format	Price
1 lb Bag (24)	.17
1 lb Bag (24) W/Spoon	.18
1 lb Bag (24) W/White C&S or Plate	.25
1 lb Bag (12)	.50
3 lb Bkt (6) W/White C&S inside	.78 (circled “Sue 107” in red pencil)

TEXCO COFFEE — 100% PURE

Format	Price
1 lb Bag (24)	.16

BIG VALUE — 100% PURE

Format	Price
4 lb Bkt (6) no prem.	.83

CAFE COFFEES

Format	Price
1 lb Bag H&H Cafe Spec	.25
1 lb Bag M.Chef Bl. A	.25
1 lb Bag M.Chef Bl. B	.27
2½ lb Jar M.Chef Bl. A	.73
2½ lb Jar M.Chef Bl. B	.76

Footer (circled in red pencil): JOBBER DISCOUNT — 12% TRADE — 2% CASH DISCOUNT 10 DAYS.

Bulk Coffee sheet — full transcription

Header: FOR TEXAS ONLY. SPECIAL BULK ROASTED COFFEE F.O.B. SAN ANTONIO — LESS 2%. MAR 2 1942.

Bulk lines (100# bags, whole or ground)

SKU	Description	Price
ECONOMY BLEND	Cereal and Coffee	.09-1/2
GOOD RIO (100%)	Pure Coffee	.13
BIG GUM	Extra Fancy Rio	.15
ARROW PEABERRY	Rio Flavor	.13-1/2
STANDARD PEABERRY	Choice Santos	.14-1/2
PERFECTION PEABERRY	(no descriptor)	.18-1/2
BLUE BIRD	Fcy. Bourb. Fcy Santos / Bourb. Fcy. Flatbean Santos	.19-1/2

“Above prices apply in 100# Bags — Whole or Ground.”

Format surcharges

Format	Surcharge (per pound)
50# Plain Cotton Bags (Whole or Ground)	ADD 1/2¢
50# Plain Cotton Bags (Whole or Ground)	ADD 1/4¢
50# Colored Pattern Cotton Bags (Whole or Ground)	ADD 1/4¢
50# Drums (Whole or Ground)	ADD 1¢
35# Drums (Whole or Ground)	ADD 1-3/4¢

Specialty lines (5# galvanized pail or 90# blue drum)

SKU	Description	Price
GOOD VALUE	100% Pure Coffee	.15-1/2
ANITA	Peaberry Blend	.18-1/2
O.S.T.	Fancy Santos Peaberry	.19-1/2

Footer: TO SELL AT DELIVERED PRICE ADD FREIGHT TO SHIPPING POINT. PRICES SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE.

SKU inventory (17 lines total)

Package retail-tier (7 distinct brands):

H AND H COFFEE — the flagship line. Bag + Vac Jar formats; regular or drip grind. See H and H Blend Coffee.
SAN ANTONIO COFFEE — H&H-branded city-named line with cup-and-saucer premium. No dedicated brand page yet on this site; see Open questions regarding the relationship to the separately-owned San Antonio Coffee Co. documented in the 1932 Fresh Coffee cooperative ad.
TEXAS GIRL COFFEE — house brand documented through 1960. Includes a notable 6-ounce “baby bag” at the low end (9¢) and a 3-lb bucket with cup-and-saucer inside at the top. See Texas Girl Coffee.
ANITA COFFEE (Peaberry Blend) — five variant SKUs with different premium-giveaway options (W/Spoon, W/White C&S or Plate, W/White C&S inside). See Anita Coffee.
TEXCO COFFEE — 100% PURE — Morrison-acquired line; 1-lb bag only by 1942. The “100% PURE” tag distinguishes it from blended SKUs. See Texco Coffee.
BIG VALUE — 100% PURE — 4-lb bucket “no prem.” (no premium). No dedicated brand page yet.
CAFE COFFEES — three institutional/cafe-trade SKUs:
- H&H Cafe Spec — 1-lb bag at 25¢ (the “Cafe Special” — see Master Chef Coffee § “Master Chef Cafe Coffee” wordmark transition)
- M. Chef Blend A — 1-lb bag 25¢ + 2½-lb jar 73¢. See Master Chef Coffee.
- M. Chef Blend B — 1-lb bag 27¢ + 2½-lb jar 76¢. The A/B Blend distinction is documented only here; whether it’s a recipe variation, a regional variation, or a tier marker is undocumented.

Bulk wholesale-tier (10 distinct SKUs):

ECONOMY BLEND — Cereal and Coffee — at 9½¢/lb the cheapest line on the sheet. This is the documentary anchor for Jav-O Coffee Hypothesis 2 — H&H had institutional cereal-coffee blend production expertise 12 years before Jav-O’s 1954 retail launch. The Economy Blend bulk SKU is the predecessor of (or sibling to) the Jav-O retail extender.
GOOD RIO — 100% Pure Coffee, 13¢/lb. Single-origin Rio (Brazilian Rio de Janeiro coffee, distinctive heavy-bodied profile).
BIG GUM — Extra Fancy Rio, 15¢/lb. Higher-grade Rio.
ARROW PEABERRY — “Rio Flavor,” 13½¢/lb. Peaberry-cut Rio-style coffee.
STANDARD PEABERRY — Choice Santos, 14½¢/lb. Peaberry-cut Santos (Brazilian Santos, milder than Rio).
PERFECTION PEABERRY — 18½¢/lb. Premium peaberry tier.
BLUE BIRD — Fcy. Bourb. Fcy Santos / Bourb. Fcy. Flatbean Santos, 19½¢/lb. Highest-end bulk SKU; “Bourbon” refers to the Bourbon cultivar variety.
GOOD VALUE — 100% Pure Coffee, 15½¢/lb. Specialty-pail line.
ANITA Peaberry Blend — 18½¢/lb specialty-pail. Direct counterpart to the package-tier ANITA COFFEE P/B BL., providing bulk-channel distribution for the same blend.
O.S.T. Fancy Santos Peaberry — 19½¢/lb specialty-pail. “O.S.T.” not yet decoded (possibly a customer-named line or an abbreviation).

Significance — anchor source for the brand-attrition cluster

The 1942 sheets are the decisive single-source anchor for the H&H mid-century brand-attrition cluster work across this wiki. The package retail-tier confirms which 1920s/1930s H&H brands survived into the WWII era and which did not. By 1942:

Documented as surviving (in the package retail-tier):

H and H Coffee — flagship
SAN ANTONIO Coffee — see open question
Texas Girl Coffee — sibling house brand
Anita Coffee — Peaberry Blend tier (also separately in bulk)
Texco Coffee — the only Morrison-acquired brand from the 1917 acquisition five (Wesco/Misa/Broncho/Texco/Juanita) to survive into 1942
BIG VALUE — value-tier 4-lb bucket
Master Chef Coffee (as M. Chef Blends A & B) — already a hotel/cafe-trade SKU in 1942, before the 1952 grocery-retail introduction

Documented as already attriting (absent from both sheets):

Spoon Coffee (1923-only) — absent since 1923
Border Coffee (last 1926) — absent
Broncho Coffee (last 1926) — absent
Menger Peaberry Coffee (last 1932; though five other peaberry SKUs continue in the bulk tier — Arrow, Standard, Perfection, Anita Peaberry Blend, O.S.T. Fancy Santos)
Sam Houston Coffee (last 1935) — absent
Menger Hotel Coffee — never primary-sourced as a wordmark; absent
Wesco Coffee · Misa Coffee · Juanita Coffee — the four Morrison-acquired brands that didn’t survive
Double H Coffee (1917-only)

After 1942 the package portfolio continues consolidating: by the 5 May 1960 corporate product roster (per the Albert Menger president piece) the named retail wordmarks are reduced to Master Chef Coffee, Master Chef Instant Coffee, H and H Coffee, and Texas Girl Coffee — SAN ANTONIO, ANITA, TEXCO, and BIG VALUE all drop out between 1942 and 1960 (or persist only in the “other consumer … coffee” residual category).

Cross-references from brand pages

The 1942 sheets are cited (as documented or absent attestation) from:

H and H Blend Coffee (documented — H AND H package SKU; Continuous brand identity through 1964 section)
Texas Girl Coffee (documented — TEXAS GIRL package SKU)
Anita Coffee (documented — both package ANITA COFFEE P/B BL. and bulk ANITA Peaberry Blend)
Master Chef Coffee (documented — M. Chef Blends A & B in CAFE COFFEES section)
Texco Coffee (documented — TEXCO 1-lb bag)
Jav-O Coffee (Hypothesis 2 anchor — Economy Blend Cereal and Coffee)
Spoon Coffee, Sam Houston, Border, Broncho, Menger Peaberry, Menger Hotel (documented absences)
Flav-O-Tainer (predate by 9 months; cited as not-yet-launched context)

Open questions

What is “SAN ANTONIO COFFEE” on the H&H 1942 package sheet? The artifact alt-text reads the section header as “SAN ANTONIO Coffee” with cup-and-saucer premium variant. San Antonio Coffee Co. was a separately-owned San Antonio roasting firm in 1932 (roasters of ALL GOLD, per the 25 Mar 1932 Light Fresh Coffee cooperative ad). Was H&H’s 1942 “SAN ANTONIO COFFEE” line:
- An H&H-acquired brand from the San Antonio Coffee Co. (parallel to the 1917 Morrison acquisition)?
- An H&H-created brand named for the city, distinct from the Coffee Co.?
- A mis-transcription of “SAM HOUSTON COFFEE” (the typewritten letterforms are partially faded; in-hand verification recommended)?
Resolution would either add a new acquired-brand-line to the H&H corporate timeline (parallel to the Morrison story) or correct the documented-absence claim for Sam Houston that several recent brand pages assert.
What does “M. Chef Blend A vs. Blend B” mean? The 1942 sheet documents two distinct Master Chef tiers (A 25¢/lb and B 27¢/lb in 1-lb bags; A 73¢ and B 76¢ in 2½-lb jars). The 2¢/lb gap is meaningful — possibly a recipe variation, a quality-tier marker, or a regional / contract variation. No on-site source after 1942 documents the A/B distinction.
What does “O.S.T.” stand for in the specialty-pail Fancy Santos Peaberry line? Possibilities include a customer-named line (an institutional buyer’s initials), a regional designation (Old Spanish Trail? Out of San Antonio Texas?), or a quality-tier abbreviation. No corroborating source on this site.
What does the “Sue 107” red-pencil notation next to the 3-lb ANITA bucket mean? A customer name + invoice number? An inventory mark? A sales note? The red pencil suggests an in-period working notation rather than archival annotation.
The “BLUE BIRD” entry has two descriptive lines (“Fcy. Bourb. Fcy Santos” and “Bourb. Fcy. Flatbean Santos”) but only one price line (19½¢). Are these two distinct blends sold at the same price, or one blend with a continuation descriptor across two typewriter lines?
Why is the bulk sheet restricted to “FOR TEXAS ONLY”? Out-of-state distribution may have required different pricing (freight, duties, dealer agreements). A companion non-Texas bulk sheet, if it exists, would document the broader regional H&H wholesale economics.
What is the relationship between the cup-and-saucer premium SKUs across the 1942 portfolio? SAN ANTONIO, ANITA, TEXAS GIRL, and TEXCO all have variants with cup-and-saucer or related ceramic premiums. The format echoes the 1923 Border and Broncho premium-pail business model. Were all the 1942 H&H “C&S” lines part of a single ceramic-premium-supply contract? A 1940s supplier invoice or china-supply contract would document.

Wanted

A higher-resolution photograph of either sheet — to resolve the SAN ANTONIO vs. SAM HOUSTON reading and any other typewriter-ambiguous text.
In-hand inspection of the physical document — confirm the section headers and any red-pencil notations.
Companion 1942 H&H sheets — institutional/cafe-trade price sheets, non-Texas bulk sheets, or annual updates from 1941 / 1943 / 1944 / 1945 that would let the wartime pricing evolution be traced.
A 1942 H&H sales records / invoice / jobber correspondence that names the “Sue 107” ANITA notation or the “M. Chef Blend A vs. B” distinction in commercial context.
Period San Antonio Coffee Co. records that could discriminate whether H&H’s 1942 “SAN ANTONIO COFFEE” line is acquired, original, or coincidentally named.

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