Hoffmann-Hayman Coffee Co.est. 1899 · San Antonio, Texas

H and H Coffee Pail

The cylindrical pail with wire bail handle was Hoffmann-Hayman’s earlier bulk retail format — used for secondary house brands (Texas Girl, Sam Houston, Anita Brand) in 3 lb and 4 lb sizes before the keywind tin became the dominant retail unit from the 1930s onward. Two substrate types are documented: lithographed tin with a press-fit lid, and galvanized zinc with a paper label and open top. The Border Brand cup-and-saucer premium pails, a closely related form that ran through the 1950s, are covered separately in H and H Promotional Premium (HH-ITEM-0007).

Quick ID:

  • Texas Girl 4 lb litho tin pail — yellow-and-blue litho; “WE ROAST IT — OTHERS PRAISE IT” flanking the H and H diamond at top; Texas Girl medallion portrait over bluebonnet sprigs; “FOUR POUNDS / NET WEIGHT”; wire bail attached; post-1933 (Texas Girl brand launch)
  • Sam Houston 4 lb litho/gold-body pail — full paper label; cream “Sam Houston” script; octagonal Sam Houston portrait; “FOUR POUNDS / NET WEIGHT”; “100% PURE”; “We Roast It / Others Praise It”; “Hoffmann-Hayman Coffee Co. San Antonio, Texas” footer; Witte Museum example carries handwritten price “1.05”
  • Sam Houston galvanized zinc open-top pail — galvanized zinc body; red paper label; cream “Sam Houston” script; oval Sam Houston portrait; open top (no lid); wire bail; Mac Johanson collection — distinct substrate from the litho tin examples
  • Anita Brand 3 lb Peaberry Blend pail — red upper / black lower litho; “ANITA / BRAND” in large block letters; western woman in pale hat with star; “STAR OF THE RANCH”; “PEABERRY BLEND / COFFEE”; “THREE POUNDS NET”; Witte Museum

Pail types

Texas Girl 4 lb litho tin pail (HH-COLL-2017-0019). The in-collection example. Cylindrical tin in a yellow-and-blue litho livery, wire bail handle still attached — a detail described as uncommon on surviving examples of this size. The label reads top to bottom: “WE ROAST IT — OTHERS PRAISE IT” motto flanking the H and H diamond; “TEXAS GIRL” brand name; the central medallion with the Texas Girl’s stylized portrait over bluebonnet sprigs; “COFFEE” in outlined capitals; “FOUR POUNDS / NET WEIGHT” at the base rail. The Texas Girl brand launched in 1933, giving a terminus post quem for this label. The yellow-and-blue palette matches no other documented Texas Girl packaging, which primarily uses red and blue or red and cream.

Sam Houston 4 lb pail (HH-REF-2019-0010, Witte Museum). Full paper label on a gold-toned body; cream “Sam Houston” script; octagonal portrait of Sam Houston; “FOUR POUNDS / NET WEIGHT,” “100% PURE,” “We Roast It / Others Praise It” flanking “COFFEE,” footer “Hoffmann-Hayman Coffee Co. San Antonio, Texas.” A handwritten price tag “1.05” on the label places this in retail use. Photographed at the Witte Museum, 15 October 2019; not in the project collection.

Sam Houston galvanized zinc open-top pail (HH-REF-0000-0011, Mac Johanson collection). A distinct substrate variant: open-top galvanized zinc body with a red paper label wrapped around the exterior and a wire bail handle. The label carries the cream “Sam Houston” script, an oval Sam Houston portrait, and “COFFEE” in block letters. No size is stated in the documentation. The open-top zinc form predates or runs parallel to the press-fit-lid litho tin pails and suggests an earlier production window or a different use context (scooping from an open pail rather than dispensing from a sealed one).

Anita Brand 3 lb Peaberry Blend pail (HH-REF-2019-0009, Witte Museum). Red upper / black lower litho on a cylindrical tin pail with wire bail. “ANITA / BRAND” in large block letters over a western portrait of a woman in a pale hat with a small star; “STAR OF THE RANCH”; “PEABERRY BLEND”; “COFFEE”; “THREE POUNDS NET.” Photographed at the Witte Museum, 15 October 2019; not in the project collection. The “Star of the Ranch” tagline and western imagery distinguish this from other documented Anita Brand material and suggest a distinct market-positioning sub-line for the peaberry product.

Border Brand premium pails (cross-reference)

The Border Brand cup-and-saucer premium pails — cylindrical 3 lb and 4 lb tins in a red-white-blue vertical-striped livery, with a “THIS BUCKET CONTAINS CUP & SAUCER PREMIUM” cartouche — are closely related in form but assigned to the premium item file because their primary function was as a premium delivery vehicle. Two Witte Museum examples (HH-REF-2019-0004 and HH-REF-2019-0008) and an Alamy stock photo (HH-REF-2023-0003) document them. See H and H Promotional Premium (HH-ITEM-0007).

Sizes

3 lb and 4 lb sizes are documented. Both appear in litho tin form; the galvanized zinc pail has no confirmed size. No 1 lb or 2 lb H&H pails have been documented — the smaller sizes were served by keywind tins once that format became dominant in the 1930s.

Manufacturer

No manufacturer mark has been documented on any H&H pail in the collection or in the Witte Museum reference photographs. The New Orleans Can Company is listed as a 1923 H&H cooperative-ad partner for “metal lithography for tins/buckets/pails/signs” and is the most likely candidate for H&H pail production, but no bottom-panel marking on a pail has confirmed this attribution. No company file for New Orleans Can Company exists in the KB beyond the index entry.

Artifacts

In the collection

Reference

Wanted

No specific pail is on the wanted list. A Sam Houston pail in the project collection (matching either the zinc or litho tin form) would complement the Texas Girl in-collection example. An Anita Brand “Star of the Ranch” pail would be a notable acquisition given the unique tagline.

Open questions

See also