H and H Coffee

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

Image pending. Cover and interior plates have not yet been photographed/scanned. Tracked under TODO-12 (Digitize Huntley Mfg. Monitor catalog).

By Huntley Manufacturing Co. · 1925 · Self-published trade catalog (Brocton, NY)

Bibliographic detail

  • Title: Huntley Mfg. Co. Monitor coffee roasting machinery catalog
  • Issuer: Huntley Manufacturing Co., Brocton, New York (trade catalog, in-house publication)
  • Year: 1925
  • Publisher: Huntley Manufacturing Co., Brocton, NY (self-published)
  • ISBN: N/A (trade catalog)
  • Pagination: TBD — to be confirmed on digitization sweep
  • Format: Trade catalog (likely saddle-stitched or perfect-bound softcover; to be confirmed in-hand)

Physical description

Trade-catalog production; format and dimensions to be confirmed on the digitization pass. Condition recorded as unknown in the accession register. The catalog has not yet been physically photographed for the gallery; this is the single blocking dependency for the TODO-12 research task, which calls for a full scan and plate-by-plate inventory to enable roaster-attribution work against H and H factory imagery.

Provenance

Acquired 6 August 2014 via eBay (seller belvilo, auction reference 371116672202); accessioned as HH-BOOK-2014-0001. Same-day acquisition as the two Ukers titles (Coffee Merchandising and All About Coffee), which were separately listed eBay buys. The Huntley catalog is the trade-equipment reference acquired alongside the Ukers trade-historiography references — completing a coffee-trade reference triple on a single day.

Why it matters

The Huntley Monitor catalog is the critical equipment-attribution document for H and H’s roasting operation. The known man-at-coffee-roaster press photo from the 601 Delaware Street factory shows a roaster of clear period and form but unattributed make and model; the Huntley Monitor line was one of the dominant American commercial roaster lines of the H and H operating era. Side-by-side comparison of the Huntley catalog plates against the press photograph would directly answer:

  1. Was the H and H roaster a Huntley Monitor? (vs. a Burns, Hobart, or other contemporary builder).
  2. If yes, which model and capacity? (the Monitor line ran multiple capacities).
  3. What other equipment in the press photo can be attributed? (cooler, destoner, etc.)

This is the open research thread that gave TODO-12 its specific call to digitize this catalog for that comparison. Until the catalog is scanned and the comparison performed, the press-photo roaster sits as an unattributed equipment piece in the 601 Delaware Street page.

Beyond H and H specifically, the catalog is also standalone period evidence of the Monitor-line product range as Huntley marketed it in 1925 — useful comparandum for other roastery historians working on Brocton, NY trade output.

Notable contents

(All to be confirmed pending digitization. Expected:)

  • Cover plate showing the Monitor brand mark / Huntley imprint.
  • Model-by-model line drawings or photographs of the Monitor roaster range.
  • Capacity / weight-per-batch / horsepower specs.
  • Ancillary equipment (coolers, destoners, samplers).
  • Pricing and ordering instructions.

Open questions

  • TODO-12 — scan the catalog and compare plates against the man-at-roaster press photo for roaster ID.
  • Cross-reference with the 1923 SA Light Monitor Coffee Roasting advertisement (a separate San Antonio newspaper ad for a Monitor Coffee Roasting brand product, not roasting equipment). Determine whether the brand name shares any commercial DNA with Huntley’s Monitor equipment line, or is coincidental nomenclature.

Related: 601 Delaware Street (H and H factory) · Coffee Merchandising (Ukers, 1924) · All About Coffee (Ukers, 1935) · Library · Library — Purchase List