H and H Coffee

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

Texas Glass by Michael David Smith

By Michael David Smith · 1989 · Self-published, author-direct (Austin, TX)

Bibliographic detail

  • Title: TEXAS GLASS: An Illustrated History of The Three Rivers Glass Company, 1922–1937
  • Author: Michael David Smith
  • Edition: First and only edition, 1989
  • Publisher: Self-published, author-direct sale from Austin, Texas
  • ISBN: TBD — to be confirmed in-hand
  • Pagination: TBD — to be confirmed in-hand
  • Format: Thin softcover; light periwinkle cover; centered type stack with byline at base; cover photograph of an embossed 3 RIVERS milk bottle in front of mold hardware

Physical description

Thin light-periwinkle softcover with a centered type stack and Smith’s byline at the base. The cover photograph — an embossed 3 RIVERS milk bottle in front of mold hardware — is a fair preview of the company marks documented inside. Author-direct copies were mailed from Austin in plain envelopes. Condition: to be confirmed in-hand. No known author inscription on this specific copy (the matching Goodie Box copies, HH-LIB-2014-0002, came as a separate lot and are unsigned).

Provenance

Discovered via an online write-up of Smith’s book that pictured an H and H Crystalvac jar. The book was ordered directly from the author by mailing a check to Austin, Texas; this copy arrived prior to the 14 June 2014 day-trip to Three Rivers. Accessioned as HH-BOOK-2014-0006; accession date 1 June 2014. A second batch of copies acquired in-person at The Goodie Box (Three Rivers, TX) on 2014-06-14 is held separately as the Goodie Box lot.

Provenance correction (2026-05-16): An earlier note had mistakenly linked the 2014-06-14 Goodie Box receipt ($297.00) to six eBay-acquired bottles from jays-emporium (closed 06/11/14). The receipt’s correct provenance link is to in-person Three Rivers bottle purchases at The Goodie Box plus the additional copies of TEXAS GLASS — see A Visit to Three Rivers. The earlier inferred-link claim is withdrawn.

Why it matters

TEXAS GLASS is the foundational reference for the H and H Crystalvac glass-supplier story. Three Rivers Glass Company was H&H’s earliest Crystalvac jar supplier (1932–1936/37) — the initial 250,000-jar order is documented in the June 1932 launch press. Smith 1989 is the primary monograph on the Three Rivers plant; the H and H Coffee Factory KB cites it across roughly 14 pages including Three Rivers Glass Company, Three Rivers Glass Bottles, Crystalvac, and Charles R. Tips.

The Charles Arnott photograph on page 50 is the single most-cited image: it shows (l—r) clear H & H Coffee, amber H & H Coffee one-pound square jars — the comparison pair that established the H&H tie before any field-find confirmation existed.

Complementary academic sources alongside this volume:

  • Lockhart (c.2010s) — covers the Bastrop, LA satellite plant Smith doesn’t.
  • Hinson (1998) — short third independent paper.

Three independent sources now triangulate any Three Rivers-marked bottle attribution claim.

Notable contents

  • Comprehensive plant history (1922–1937) with founding, expansion, and 1936 closure.
  • Page 50 — Three Rivers Glass H&H Coffee jars — the foundational image for the Crystalvac attribution.
  • Embossed-mark and mold-number catalog useful for in-field bottle attribution.
  • Photographic plates from Smith’s research; partial bibliography of trade-press sources.

Related: Three Rivers Glass Company · H and H Crystalvac Jar · Texas Glass (Goodie Box copies) · Library · Library — Purchase List