H and H Coffee

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

Cover image: extracted from page 1 of the Internet Archive PDF (/assets/pdfs/c1915-greater-san-antonio-city-of-destiny.pdf) — physical-copy cover capture pending. The PDF filename retains the original c1915- curator-estimate prefix; the in-volume copyright page (image, page 2 of the PDF) confirms the actual copyright date is March 1918.

Higher Publicity League of Texas, San Antonio (E. A. Luck, Director of Publicity, 319 St. Mary’s St.) · 1918 · self-published booster volume (150 pp)

Bibliographic detail

  • Title: Greater San Antonio: The City of Destiny and Of Your Destination (per cover; no separate title page — pages 2–4 of the PDF are colophon, photo placeholder, and blank)
  • Issuer: Higher Publicity League of Texas, San Antonio (booster organization, “To Stimulate Truthful Publicity”)
  • Year: 1918 — copyright page reads “Copyright applied for March, 1918, by E. A. Luck”; LoC copyright-deposit stamp visible “MAY -1 1918”
  • Publisher: Higher Publicity League of Texas, San Antonio (self-published); E. A. Luck, Director of Publicity, 319 St. Mary’s Street, San Antonio
  • ISBN: N/A (predates ISBN system)
  • Pagination: 150 pages
  • Original price: $3.00 the copy (printed on colophon)
  • Format: Promotional / booster volume; heavily illustrated booster-press style typical of WWI-era city promotion. Page 3 carries a “Place your photograph in this space” oval — the volume was personalized for individual subscribers.
  • Digital surrogate: Internet Archive scan, held locally as a PDF

Physical description

150-page promotional volume in the pre-WWI booster-press style. Original physical copy: format and binding to be confirmed in-hand. The digital surrogate from the Internet Archive is the immediately readable working version; the physical copy is held for primary-source authentication.

Provenance

Physically in-hand prior to formal library accessioning; registered to the library 2026-05-24. Accessioned as HH-BOOK-2026-0008. PDF added to the resources track separately at an earlier date.

Why it matters

This is a WWI-era booster volume from the second decade of Hoffmann-Hayman’s operation. The March 1918 copyright places it ~6 years after the February 1912 corporate charter and ~2 years into the 307 N. Medina plant occupancy (the second documented address, established 1916 after the move from 1223 W. Commerce). By 1918 H and H is no longer the new firm — it is a mid-decade going concern operating under WWI commercial conditions (wartime sugar restrictions, food administration controls, advertising and labelling shifts that would affect any coffee operation of the period).

Potentially high research value, pending verification by direct read. Specifically worth checking:

  1. Industrial-section directory listings. If the book includes a list of San Antonio manufacturers as of 1918, the chartered Hoffmann-Hayman Coffee Co. is the strong candidate — Hayman as senior partner would be a six-year-established firm by publication. Period naming was inconsistent — try “Hoffmann,” “Hayman,” “Coffee” entries.
  2. Address verification. A 1918 booster volume would document H and H at 307 N. Medina (mid-occupancy) and could establish boundaries on the move sequence to 331 Burnett that follows.
  3. Photographs. Booster-press volumes often included downtown streetscape photographs that could capture H and H signage or buildings — the WWI-era timing makes any captured imagery especially valuable, as period H and H photographic evidence is thin between 1916 and the early 1920s.
  4. E. A. Luck / Higher Publicity League cross-references. The 319 St. Mary’s Street publisher address and Luck’s “Director of Publicity” role situate this volume within a wider SA promotional-press network that may have produced other H and H-relevant materials worth tracing.

Resolved open question: the previous c.1915 curator estimate has been corrected to 1918 via the Internet Archive PDF’s page-2 colophon (copyright applied March 1918 by E. A. Luck; LoC deposit stamp “MAY -1 1918”). The earlier “1912–1916 window” framing of this volume’s H and H relevance no longer applies — see updated framing above.

Notable contents

  • Industrial / manufacturing directory section (expected; the named candidate for H and H mentions).
  • Downtown / district streetscape photographs.
  • Civic and commercial promotional copy typical of Higher Publicity League output.
  • Maps and trade-statistics (likely; verify on close read).

Open questions

  • Exact year — Resolved: 1918 via PDF page-2 colophon (“Copyright applied for March, 1918, by E. A. Luck”) and LoC deposit stamp “MAY -1 1918”.
  • Industrial-section H and H entry — direct read needed for Hoffmann, Hayman, Coffee entries in the 1918 manufacturers’ / directory section.
  • Streetscape photographs at 307 N. Medina (H and H’s 1916+ address, current at publication) or other H and H-relevant addresses. The earlier 1223 W. Commerce address is no longer in play by 1918.
  • WWI-era civic and commercial context — does the volume reflect wartime food / commerce conditions in its copy or its photographs? Particularly relevant for any coffee or food-trade advertising or photos.
  • Other Higher Publicity League / E. A. Luck publications — does this San Antonio promotional press have a known catalog? Cross-reference may surface additional H and H-period source material.

Related: Hoffmann-Hayman Coffee Company · William R. Hoffmann · Downtown San Antonio (Korte & Pech) · Saving San Antonio (Fisher) · Library