Stevens Outdoor Advertising

San Antonio outdoor advertising company owned by S. P. Stevens (Silas P. Stevens). Confirmed in a primary source: San Antonio Express-News, 7 March 1974 (p. 72) — feature on Stevens’s restored 1911 Thomas Flyer at the 5th Annual International Auto Show names him as “S. P. Stevens of Stevens Outdoor Advertising Company of San Antonio.” A companion photo caption repeats the identification. See HH-CLIP-1974-0003 and HH-CLIP-1974-0004.

Project lore holds that Stevens began by painting H and H signs and billboards like the Master Chef “We Serve” hand-painted plywood sign in the collection (acquired July 2014 from West Texas, ~4×8 ft red plywood). The company’s existence and San Antonio base are now documented; the H&H billboard connection remains unconfirmed.

Open questions

• Stevens Outdoor Advertising founding year and address — company confirmed in 1974; earlier directory citations still needed
• H&H billboard connection — lore not yet supported by a primary source; see Silas P. Stevens KB page for hypothesis analysis
• Other surviving Stevens-painted signs or billboards — like-to-like comparison target for the Master Chef sign
• Relationship to the parallel agency engagements with Pitluk and (later) Broggi — did Stevens handle outdoor/billboard work while Pitluk/Broggi handled print and broadcast?

See also

People

• Silas P. Stevens

Companies

• Broggi Advertising Agency
• Hoffmann-Hayman Coffee Company — corporate hub
• Pitluk Advertising Company

Brands

• Master Chef Coffee

Items

• H and H Advertising Sign

Sources

• Certificate won by artist Silas P SP Stevens, San Antonio (Flickr photo)
• Silas P SP Stevens San Antonio Artist — Alpine / Lederhosen snapshot (Flickr photo)
• Silas P. Stevens at Cole Palen’s WWI Airdrome, New York (Flickr photo)