Second witness available (2026-07-25): the original 1989 print edition was scanned and transcribed separately — see 2026-07-25-texas-glass-1989-print-edition-scans-vision-ocr.md. This file remains the canonical text-fidelity witness (born-digital 2024 re-typeset); the print scans are the authoritative witness of the original pagination and layout. Neither supersedes the other.

Texas Glass: An Illustrated History of The Three Rivers Glass Company, 1922-1937 (Michael David Smith, 1989)

Source: local PDF upload, “texas_glass.pdf” Ingested: 2026-07-25 Extraction: born-digital PDF (LaTeX/pandoc, not scanned) via pdftotext -layout; text quality is high, unlike the OCR’d sources in this wiki.

Texas Glass: An Illustrated History of The Three Rivers Glass Company, 1922-1937. By Michael David Smith. Starsmith | Austin. Copyright (c) 1989. 1st Printing: September 1989, printed by Atwood Printing, New Braunfels, Texas. This PDF (metadata timestamp 2024-10-05) is a re-typeset digital edition of the original 1989 print book, produced with pandoc/LaTeX/tex4ht. Acknowledgments name Martha and David Tips, Mrs. Viola Ebel Adlof, Mr. S. J. Stewart and family, Mr. Lonnie Stewart, and photographer Mr. Charles Arnott — several of whom also appear independently in the other primary sources in this wiki (Viola Adlof read Charles Tips’ 1973 marker speech in his absence; S. J. and Lonnie Stewart appear in the 1973 marker-dedication photographs).

This is the same “Michael David Smith’s book” Kevin Mackey references repeatedly in his 2017 article collection (e.g. crediting it with dating the factory’s automation to 1924, and with the claim that Tips placed his glass- industry advertisement in late 1921).

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Texas Glass

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Texas Glass An Illustrated History of The Three Rivers Glass Company 1922 – 1937

Michael David Smith

Starsmith | Austin

ISBN: 978-0000000000 ISBN-10: 0000000000

Updated: 2024-10-05 20:58:29-05:002024-10-05

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Copyright ©1989 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the Copyright Holder.

ENCODED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

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Contents

1 THE HISTORY 5 1.1 I… … … … … … … … … … … … . . 5 1.2 II… … … … … … … … … … … … . . 7 1.3 III… … … … … … … … … … … … . . 8 1.4 IV… … … … … … … … … … … … . . 12 1.5 V… … … … … … … … … … … … . . 16

2 EPILOGUE 19

3 THE PRICE LIST 23 3.1 ABOUT THE PRICE LIST … … … … … … … … . 23 3.2 PRICE LIST … … … … … … … … … … . . 23 3.3 PHOTOGRAPHS OF SELECTED THREE RIVERS BOTTLES … … . 28

List of Figures 35

Todo List 37

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TEXAS GLASS: An Illustrated History of The Three Rivers Glass Company 1922–1937

 by
 Michael David Smith
 TEXAS GLASS:
 An Illustrated History

of The Three Rivers Glass Company 1922–1937 by Michael David Smith COPYRIGHT® 1989 by Starsmith Publication All rights reserved—this book, or any part thereof, may not be used or reproduced without expressed written permission from the author. Printed by ATWOOD PRINTING Rt. 6, Box 561 New Braunfels, Texas 78132 1st Printing: September 1989

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All photos in this book, unless indicated otherwise, are from a promotional calendar distributed by the Three Rivers Glass Company in 1932. Many thanks to the following people, without whom none of this would be possible: Martha and David Tips, Mrs. Viola Ebel Adlof, Mr. S.J. Stewart and family, Mr. Lonnie Stewart, Mr. Charles Arnott, Sierra Danielle Wheeler and Brooklin-Page Smith. Special heart-felt thanks to my true love J. J. for all her support and assistance. …and thanks of the highest order to my best friends Peanut and Dub Smith, whose parental guidance pushed this project to completion.

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INTRODUCTION

The Three Rivers Glass Company was Texas’ first mass production glass-making facility. During its fifteen years of operation, from 1922 to 1937, the small glass factory manufactured a commercial glass product that combined high quality with a unique artistic flair. Despite intense competition from industry giants of that period, the Three Rivers Glass Company managed to capture the major share of the Texas commercial glassware market after only a few short years. The history of the Three Rivers Glass Company is not a classic success story, but rather a classic story of failure in America, typical of the economic roller coaster ride during the first third of the Twentieth Century. The little company achieved a national stature as a quality glassmaker in the late Twenties, and proved itself capable of cracking a market that was dominated by only two or three other large American glass manufacturers. Its spark dimmed in the Thirties with the onslaught of the Great Depression, and was eventually extinguished when the Three Rivers Glass Company was taken over by its largest competitor in 1937. The Three Rivers Glass Company has been gone for several generations, but its legacy lives on: some of the most intricately beautiful commercial glassware ever produced, always distinguishable by its very distinctive mark, the name “Three Rivers” in varying form accompanied by a five-pointed star. This innovative young enterprise set standards for bottle and jar design that influenced the glass container industry throughout the nation and furthered the modern concept that attractive packaging enhanced the sale of a product. Hopefully, this book will have a three-fold purpose: first and foremost I will depict Three Rivers glass as a legitimate American art form. I have examined many bottles and jars from various periods of domestic and foreign commercial glass production and have found few that can compare with the exquisite shape and workmanship of the best of the Three Rivers glass products.

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Figure 1: From a promotional poster dated approximately 1930. (Photo courtesy David and Martha Tips.)

Secondly, I will attempt to characterize the Three Rivers Glass Company as one of twentieth-century Texas’ earliest strides into the national economic arena, and an important first step in the development of the modern industrial state that it is today. Finally, I have compiled a consistent price list for the various pieces of glass pro- duced by the Three Rivers Glass Company. Three Rivers glass has always held a local interest in the South Texas area where the business was conceived. However, in recent years, glass and bottle-collectors in other areas of the United States have begun to recognize the uniqueness of bottles and jars manufactured by the small Texas glassmaker. Hopefully the accompanying photographs in this book will allow those unfamiliar with Three Rivers glass to see and appreciate the beauty of the many pieces that the Three Rivers Glass Company produced for the hundreds of customers that it serviced in its peak years. So then, this book is dedicated to the people of Three Rivers, Texas, past and present, and to anyone who has dug through piles of dirty old bottles for the thrill of finding one with the “Three Rivers” mark on it.

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1 THE HISTORY

1.1 I.

No history of the Three Rivers Glass Company could be written without briefly re- counting the life and times of Charles R. Tips, the prime force responsible for the establishment of a glass production facility in the arid brush country of South Texas. As founder of the township of Three Rivers (then Hamiltonburg) in March, 1913, his name was entwined with the growth of the area for the next three decades. Tips was an ambitious man, an entrepreneur driven by a self-professed dream to emulate the empresarios1 of Texas’ pioneer period. He was, no doubt, inspired by the success of George West, a cattle and land baron who was establishing a pair of thriving young towns on his fifteen-mile wide ranch in Live Oak County south of San Antonio. Following his graduation from the University of Texas in 1912, Tips began to seek out areas for potential land development. In his research, he discovered that a new railroad line had recently been surveyed and graded for tracks from San Antonio through George West’s empire to points south and southwest. Tips felt that a railroad line planned for that area would open up large tracts of virgin real estate. With a small group on horseback, Tips inspected the land along and about the proposed rail line until he came upon a small, fertile valley near the confluence of the Frio, Nueces, and the Atascosa Rivers. Principal landowners in the area at that time were Annie Hamilton of Cuero, Texas, and ranchers James Mahoney and James Murray, who ran large cattle operations to the north and east of the site.

1 Land grantees during the Mexican period (1821–1846) of southwestern history who settled fami- lies on land granted by the Mexican government. Stephen F. Austin was one of the most successful and best known.

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Mrs. Hamilton and her son, Thornton, had bargained successfully with the San Antonio, Uvalde and Gulf Railroad Company and had agreed to pay the railroad the sum of five thousand dollars to build the rail line through the Hamilton property, a move which would substantially raise the value of the Hamilton’s land. The railroad company agreed, in turn, to construct a train depot station and to name the new town Hamiltonburg. Tips learned of this impending transaction in the very area he was interested in, and convinced several other investors to purchase a choice two-hundred-acre tract from the Hamiltons that included the train depot site and frontage along the Frio River. This investment group paid the five-thousand-dollar bonus to the railroad company, and construction on the depot building was begun shortly after. Thus, the township that would eventually become Three Rivers was established. A land company was organized to develop the new town, and seven directors were secured. (An interesting note is that Tips was too young to serve as a director because he had not reached his twenty-first birthday.) The board of directors aggressively recruited settlers for the area, and this influx of citizenry increased appreciably after the completion of the railroad line. The first train rolled into Hamiltonburg on June 5, 1913, which was, ironically, Charles Tips’ twenty-first birthday. Hamiltonburg held its grand opening celebration on July 4,1913, and shortly after, small businesses began to spring up in the fledgling city. A cotton gin, grocery store, lumberyard, a post office and bank were opened within the next year. By January 1914, the land company had managed to draw over 500 people to Hamiltonburg, and the town had gained a small degree of prosperity that was evidenced by the sidewalks that had been poured around the town square. In early 1914, the U.S. Post Office complained that the town of Hamiltonburg was too easily confused with Hamilton, Texas, and requested a name change. A petition was circulated among the residents of Hamiltonburg to change the name to Tips, but the founder modestly declined the honor. He suggested the name Three Rivers because of the geographic distinction of the locale, and also because he felt it would give the town the desirable connotation of having an ample water supply, hopefully spurring further migration to the area. Tips’ idea was accepted, and on May 1, 1914, Hamiltonburg became Three Rivers, Texas.

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1.2 II.

During the late teens and early twenties, the brush country of South Texas fell heir to an unexpected bonus: the discovery of huge oil and gas deposits in the area. Several producing wells were drilled in and around the town of Three Rivers, including one on Charles Tips’ property just north of the original two-hundred-acre town site. During this same period, large deposits of quartzose sand were discovered just north of Three Rivers.

Quartzose sand is essential to the production of high-quality glass. The principal customer for this mineral at that time was a glassmaking facility in Monterrey, Mexico. This manufacturer was purchasing large quantities of the sand and having it shipped via railroad to its plant below the border, where it produced mainly beer and beverage bottles for several Mexican breweries in operation in that area.

With the presence of these raw materials in Three Rivers, Charles Tips and other investors realized the impact an industry of this nature would have upon land sales and growth in the budding young town. This investment group turned to several monied sources and began to outline their plans. It was felt that a glass production facility would prosper in Three Rivers for several reasons.

First was the abundance of raw materials as mentioned. The sand deposits were necessary for the production of the glass, and the natural gas would provide the heat for the furnaces. Secondly there was ample available manpower that was steadily increasing in the vicinity. Finally, and most importantly, no such glass manufacturer existed in Texas, and the glass container industry had begun to expand enormously after World War I. The new prosperity in 1920’s America had created a desire for processed food and beverages and glass manufacturing had become a major business accompanying that new trend.

In late 1921, Charles Tips placed an advertisement in a national glass trade journal called Glass Industry. This ad extolled the advantages for a glass making plant in the Three Rivers area, hoping to lure an established glass manufacturing company to the town.

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H.L. Warrick of Cleveland, Ohio, was one of the few respondents to the advertisement. He had lost his small glass factory to a fire the previous year, and he began a stream of correspondence with Charles Tips that lasted several months. Warrick had apparently lost all his cash reserves with the fire that destroyed his factory. However, Warrick indicated that he would be willing to relocate to Texas to offer his expertise in managing a glass-making facility if Tips and his group could raise fifty thousand dollars, the minimum sum that Warrick felt would be required to start up such a facility.

By this time, Tips had convinced several prominent businessmen that such an operation was financially viable. Among the initial investors were James Kapp, owner of a large furniture store in San Antonio; Harry H. Rogers of Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Pat Swearingen, a San Antonio lawyer. Kapp was named the first president of the Three Rivers Glass Company and Charles Tips became secretary and treasurer. H. L. Warrick moved to the Three Rivers area in early 1922 and became general manager of the operation.

The new company was incorporated in May, 1922, with fifty thousand dollars capital, and construction on the plant site was begun that summer. The factory was located just west of the original town site, between the railroad tracks and the Frio River.

1.3 III.

When H. L. Warrick assumed general managership of the Three Rivers Glass Company in 1922, he brought several skilled glass artisans from Ohio with him, including master mold makers and glassblowers. Other positions were filled by residents of the Three Rivers area and job seekers from around the state. In late 1922, with a work force of about twenty-five employees, Texas’ first glass company began production.

It should be noted that all glass turned out by the Three Rivers Glass Company during its first two years of business was hand-blown. The hand-blowing method was much slower than the automated production methods that most glass producers had developed. In addition, hand-blowing produced a lower-quality, less consistent glass.

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Figure 1.1: An artist’s rendition showing a milk bottle mold. The lettering or trade- mark design is die cut into the interior of the mold. When molten glass is deposited into the mold, then followed by a blast of air, the glass is forced outward against the walls of the mold, thus forming a bottle.

During this early period of the company, Charles Tips and the other principals were traveling throughout the South drumming up customers for the new plant. It became obvious quickly that the young company could not effectively compete with the large established glassmakers as long as the antiquated hand-blowing techniques were still being employed by the Three Rivers plant. The Competition could meet the demands of customers for large glass contracts to be delivered within the shortest possible time, and it was apparent that the Three Rivers Glass Company was fighting a losing battle.

After turning to lending institutions for more capital, the Three Rivers plant at- tempted to purchase state-of-the-art glass manufacturing machinery in order to gain a competitive edge. However, this proved to be an extremely difficult task, even though the financial backing needed to purchase this expensive equipment had been secured.

During the early part of the century, all glass container production machinery manufactured in the United States was controlled by a single supplier, the Hartford- Empire of Newark, New Jersey. Pressure from the large American glass producers during this period prevented the Hartford-Empire Company from selling glassmaking

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Figure 1.2: These large air compressors provided the air pressure required when the Three Rivers Glass Company made the transition from hand-blowing to mass production glass-making.

machinery to competing glass companies attempting to cut into the profits enjoyed by the industry giants. Charles Tips and his associates learned this disappointing information during a trip to New Jersey, and subsequently went home to Three Rivers empty-handed. The principals of the Three Rivers Glass Company were only temporarily discour- aged, however. It was discovered shortly afterward that the original inspiration for the Three Rivers plant, the glass factories of Monterrey, Mexico, did not utilize the Hartford-Empire machinery. As a result of this revelation, Charles Tips and H. L. War- rick made several trips to the Mexican glass factories to investigate. Their research discovered that the equipment used by the Mexicans was capable of extremely high output, enough to rival the American-made machinery. During one of these trips, the representatives of the Three Rivers Glass Company were introduced to Harold Trembley, an American engineer who resided in Mexico. Trembley had designed the Mexican glass production equipment, and was immedi- ately hired to design and oversee construction of duplicate machinery for the plant in Three Rivers. Trembley took up a temporary residence in Three Rivers in 1924, and supervised the design and building of a glass production system that matched the Hartford-Empire equipment in production, quality and output.

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Figure 1.3: A Three Rivers Glass Company employee stands next to the “hopper”, where quartzose sand and other raw materials began a three-day process to become completed glass products. During the glass company’s peak years over forty-five tons of molten glass was produced daily.

Apparently H. L. Warrick, was incapable of supervising a mass-production glass- making facility. He was relieved of duty in early 1925 when the new machinery went on line, and was replaced by John Finkbeiner. Finkbeiner brought with him twenty- five years of glass production experience, and proved to be a highly capable plant manager.

Shortly after, D. J. Woodward assumed the position as the first vice-president of the Three Rivers Glass Company, and the operation began to function in a modern organized manner.

Soon after the Three Rivers plant began mass production of glass with their own ma- chinery, the Hartford-Empire Company loosened its grip on its monopoly on glass mak- ing equipment and offered to sell the Three Rivers Glass Company any additional com- ponents it might require. The management took advantage of the Hartford-Empire Company’s new-found benevolence, and purchased all the peripheral equipment it needed to become a first-class manufacturer.

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Figure 1.4: The Hartford-Empire molding machine. Twenty seconds after a deposit of molten glass was dropped into the machine, a bottle or jar emerged, ready to be tempered.

1.4 IV.

The next years, from 1926 to 1930, were prosperous times for the Three Rivers Glass Company. By 1929 it was manufacturing more than 75% of the milk, beverage and food container bottles used in Texas.2 The company employed over one hundred people, and was considered one of the leading business concerns in the South Texas area. In 1926 a thirty-five-ton furnace was constructed which increased the plant’s pro- duction capability markedly. In 1928 a one hundred and twenty-five ton furnace was added, which turned out forty-five tons of raw molten glass daily. During these peak years the Three Rivers glass factory was in twenty-four-hour operation, and was capable of producing over 75,000 bottles and jars per day. By 1929, the company held thousands of trade-marked glass molds for hundreds of customers. It was during this period that Three Rivers glass reached its zenith in beauty and design; its production expertise more than matched that of its largest competitors, and its management team was capable and innovative. In late 1930,

2 Ellis A. Davis and Edwin H. Grobe, Encyclopedia of Texas, Texas Development Bureau, 1929.

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Figure 1.5: Another molding machine in the Three Rivers Glass plant. This specialized apparatus produced only milk bottles.

the Three Rivers Glass Company had over 150 employees on its payroll, including six full-time bottle designers. It was during this period that Belgian sculptor Gutzon Borglum, who was residing in nearby Beeville at the time, joined the design staff of the Three Rivers plant. Borglum had become famous for the creation of Mount Rushmore, and his addition to the company payroll added an element of prestige to the entire operation. His design influence almost certainly left its mark on all Three Rivers glass produced from that time on.

During these surging years the Three Rivers Glass Company began to establish itself as a formidable competitor to the large out-of-state glass makers. As a result, the young company began to face continual battles with those industry giants who sought to retain their share of the market. The large glass makers, like the Ball Brothers and Owens-Illinois, would engage in vicious price-cutting on the molds they held that were similar to molds that the Three Rivers plant held. They could, therefore, offer customers incredibly reduced prices on large glass shipments based on such molds. They would not, however, cut prices on molds that the younger glass maker did not have in its mold files.

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Figure 1.6: A mold-maker at work. The Three Rivers Glass Company held thousands of trademarked molds for their customers, and their design staff was con- stantly developing new ones during the peak years.

Figure 1.7: This artist’s rendition illustrates Three Rivers bottles just out of the mold machine receiving a fire finish, which melted any sharp edges from the glass.

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It was obvious that more molds were needed by the Three Rivers Glass Company, and Charles Tips approached Houston millionaire W. L. Moody, III, for financial assistance. Moody was a close acquaintance of Tips, and was persuaded by him to purchase one hundred thousand dollars worth of Three Rivers Glass Company stock. After this transaction was completed in 1929, Tips became president of the company, and he and Moody shared controlling interest in the rising business. Charles Tips was a voracious traveler in connection with the glass company’s sales program, and he managed to solicit customers from as far away as Chicago and Atlanta. During these meetings with potential clients, he often encountered a major complaint regarding shipments from glass manufacturers; there seemed to be an inevitable delay in delivery due to the relative unreliability of the railroad system. With business booming as it was in the late Twenties, it was important that products be placed on the shelves to the buying public as expeditiously as possible. The customers were repeatedly assured that the Three Rivers Glass Company could outmatch the competition for delivery speed, but this was simply not true. Like the larger, out-of- state glass makers, the Three Rivers plant shipped virtually all their products by rail freight. Although sales were brisk at the Three Rivers Glass Company, the management felt that the business still needed an extra edge against the competition. They decided to explore alternatives to shipping their bottles and jars by railroad, to capitalize on the fact that many potential glass customers were dissatisfied with the inefficiency of rail delivery. By the late Twenties, enough roads had been paved in Texas and the South to make shipping relatively fragile glass products by truck a feasible idea. On an experimental basis, some shipments that would formerly have been sent by rail freight were deliv- ered by the company’s own trucks. This method proved to be highly efficient, cheaper and more dependable than shipping by railroad, and was implemented as a standard operating procedure shortly after its inception. The company’s customers were delighted, and the Three Rivers plant built a reputa- tion as a glass manufacturer capable of delivering orders as scheduled. By late 1930, virtually all glass shipments were delivered by truck, and drivers for the Three Rivers Glass Company drove routinely to New Orleans and Oklahoma City, and often as far as Mississippi and Georgia.

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Figure 1.8: Technicians testing batch samples for quality in the laboratory of the Three Rivers plant.

Innovative business tactics and a widespread reputation for a high quality product spurred sales and production for the little Texas glass company. Because such a large percentage of new clients were now located farther and farther to the North Texas and southeastern United States area, a permanent sales office was opened in Dallas to take advantage of a more centralized location for the Three Rivers plant’s growing customer list.

1.5 V.

The arrival of the Great Depression that ravaged the American economy in the Thirties certainly did not exclude the Three Rivers Glass Company. However, the Three Rivers plant was reaching its peak period at the time of the stock market crash in 1929, and enjoyed a time of prosperity and profit well into 1931. There were still many contracts to be honored and new orders came in steadily until the inevitable business slowdown trickled down into the Texas economy, and the Lone Star State began to limp along with the rest of the nation.

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As the economy stagnated across the country, the local job market in Three Rivers atrophied as well, and the glass plant was besieged with applications for work. The company at this time was still filling contracts and showed no sign of economic crisis. In fact, in 1932 and 1933, the payroll checks of the Three Rivers Glass Company made up the bulk of the available currency in the area. At this time, the glass factory was still operating around- the-clock shifts, and the nearly 150 employees held what seemed to be secure jobs.

Later into the Depression, a script was printed that was issued to employees of the Three Rivers plant in lieu of money. Customers of the glass company were becoming increasingly unable to make payments in lump sums for their orders, and, in order to make the payroll, the company turned to the script method. This script was readily accepted by local merchants, and as payments from their delinquent accounts trickled into the glass company, the merchants could exchange the script for cash.

The glass plant managed to hobble along this way for the next five years, but real economic chaos resulted when W. L. Moody, a principal stockholder with Tips, declared bankruptcy. Tips mortgaged all of his land holdings to acquire working capital for the glass plant, but it was evident that a more permanent solution was needed to assure that the Three Rivers Glass Company would survive its deteriorating situation.

Tips was acquainted with Jesse Jones of Houston, who had been appointed by Franklin D. Roosevelt to administer the Reconstruction Finance program, a New Deal agency which was created to provide government-insured loans to ailing business. The Three Rivers Glass Company certainly qualified as an ailing business at this time, and Tips persuaded Jones to push through a loan to stimulate the plant. The loan was granted, but the Reconstruction Finance Corporation required that the loan be contingent upon two things: first, that a federally-sponsored team of engineers inspect the plant to determine that the facilities were functional and that it was capable of glass production to repay its debt; and second, that the savings and loan in Tulsa, Oklahoma, which held the mortgage on the glass plant allow the Reconstruction Finance Corporation to hold the first lien on the plant and all its facilities.

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The board of directors felt certain that the loan company in Tulsa would agree to the second requirement. The company enlisted the services of William Church, an attorney in San Antonio who had conducted business with the Tulsa loan company, and he agreed to discuss the matter with them. Church was optimistic that he could persuade them to turn over the mortgage, and he requested $500.00 to cover his fee and travel expenses to Tulsa. Unknown to the board of directors of the Three Rivers Glass Company, however, Church also had another client: The Ball Brothers Glass Company of Muncie, Indiana, the largest producers of commercial glass in the United States at that time. The Three Rivers plant had been serious competition for the Ball Brothers in Texas and the South, and they considered it well worth the price of the mortgage note to buy the lien and foreclose against the plant. When Church approached the Ball Brothers with the information regarding the shaky financial status of the plant, the Three Rivers Glass Company was effectively through as an independently operating entity. In 1937, the Ball Brothers closed the transaction on the purchase of the Three Rivers Glass Company. According to Charles Tips, enough new contracts had been received at the time of the Ball takeover to keep the plant operating twenty-four hours a day for at least the following year. The Ball Brothers maintained operation of the plant throughout 1937 to honor the contracts the Three Rivers Glass Company had acquired. In the last days of 1937, the company completed the last of its contractual obligations and then quietly began to dismantle the operation. Many of the former employees of the company moved to Palestine in East Texas, where a large Owens-Illinois Glass Company had begun operation. Most others simply moved elsewhere to find new opportunity in San Anto- nio, Dallas, or Houston, or assimilated into the local job market in Three Rivers. The Ball Brothers Company kept a night watchman at the site for several years afterward. There was apparently a warehouse full of bottles and equipment, but it was eventually moved, and the Three Rivers Glass Company became just a part of the past. As a footnote, the Ball Brothers Glass Company was later indicted for violation of the antitrust laws. Through testimony by Charles R. Tips and others, enough evidence was gathered to convict the Ball Brothers Glass Company. It was eventually forced to pay a fine for its actions, but that was of little consequence to the former employees of the glass plant and the citizens of Three Rivers, Texas.

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2 EPILOGUE

                                   On May 26, 1973, the Texas Historical Commis-

sion erected a marker at the site of the Three Rivers Glass Company factory, commem- orating it as the first glass manufacturer in Texas. Today the city of Three Rivers has other industries, most notably the huge Diamond Shamrock gasoline refinery that stands high over the south end of the town—not fifty yards from the site of the glass plant. THREE RIVERS GLASS FACTORY OPENED 1922 BY COMPANY HEADED BY CHARLES R.TIPS (b.18921 THE FOUNDER OF TOWN OF THREE RIVERS. POWERED BY LOCAL NATURAL GAS, PLANT USED QUARTZOSE SAND MINED IN AREA TO MAKE GLASS BOTTLES gOR MILK AND OTHER BEVERAGES AND AR’S FOR FOOD AND COSMETICS, ATTAINING ANNUAL GROSS SALES OF A MILLION DOLLARS. SOLD IN 1937 ‘TO BALL GLASS COMPANY. IT WAS CLOSED IN 193$, BUT HAD SHOWN TEXAS’ POTENTIAL IN THE INDUSTRY. E IN LATER YEARS, FACTORY SITE BECAME LOCATION OF A WAREHOUSE. GLASS WITH THREE RIVERS CIPHER IS HIGHLY PRIZED BY COLLECTORS. (Photo by the author) Historical marker erected May 26, 1973 at the former site of the Three Rivers Glass Company.

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In many ways those of us who admire the work of the Three Rivers Glass Company are very lucky—we still have its legacy, the wonderful glass creations left behind by its artisans. There are still many thousands of pieces around, many held by collectors of Three Rivers glass, and untold many, many more owned by bottle collectors who simply admire the design of the Three Rivers bottles they have come across.

The most beautiful Three Rivers pieces are undoubtedly the beverage, or soda water bottles. These pieces display the most imagination in design, and they appear to have been the mainstay of contracts that the glass plant received. I have examined many bottles from this period and have found few that can compare with the exquisite shapes and workmanship of Three Rivers bottles. The bottle designers at the Three Rivers Glass Company were obviously proud that their product could withstand “over six times the minimum tensile strength requirements for commercial glass,” as this was a strong point often emphasized by company salesmen to customers.

The Three Rivers Glass plant also produced many other less distinctive pieces for foods, medicines, and other miscellaneous products, and some designs were very ordinary according to the requirements of the customer. Even these pieces are highly collectible however, and, as all other glass products from the glass factory, they were marked with the distinctive Three Rivers “star” logo in several variations.

The most common logo variation was “3 RIVERS,” in all capitals, followed immedi- ately by a five-pointed star. Less commonly found is “THREE RIVERS” in all capitals followed by the star. Rarely seen is “THREE RIVERS” in all capitals with the five-pointed star appearing between the two words.

Another common variation is “3R” followed by the five-pointed star. Often a numeral (usually the number “7”) will follow the star.

The star is the only constant in identifying a piece of Three Rivers glass. Interestingly, stars appear on many pieces as part of the design, and were apparently a popular theme for many of the Three Rivers Glass Company’s customers.

The logos generally appeared in two places on the glass pieces: either on the bottom of a bottle or jar, or on the side near the base. Apparently, the “3R”-star logo was always placed on the bottom of a piece, with the other variations appearing on the bottom or sides.

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Spotting a piece of Three Rivers glass will sometimes require a sharp eye—we have observed that some logos will be somewhat worn away, especially on those pieces with the logos appearing on the sides. It’s a good idea when bottle hunting to hold a piece to a strong light if you suspect you may have found a Three Rivers bottle but no mark is readily apparent.

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3 THE PRICE LIST

3.1 ABOUT THE PRICE LIST

The prices in this book should not be construed as any offer to purchase by the author, but rather indicate an observed price range that bottle and jar dealers are asking for these pieces. This price list is a subjective attempt to give the Three Rivers glass collector an idea as to the rarity of the various pieces, and therefore establish a set amount that a willing collector might pay to add to his collection. The price ranges given for each piece are based upon perfect examples—bottles and jars with chips, cracks and other defects are worth far less. Generally collectors do not want an imperfect specimen. Finally, this price list is by no means a complete listing of all the glass pieces pro- duced by the Three Rivers Glass Company. Rather, it is a compilation of the more distinctive bottles and jars that we hold in our collections and have seen in others.

3.2 PRICE LIST

BOTTLE SUGGESTED PRICE

1. “Anderson’s Soda Water” - Property of Coca-Cola Bottling Co 10.00 – 12.00

2. “Austin Bottling Works” - Austin, Texas 12.00 – 15.00

3. Beer bottle (clear glass - classic “longneck” style) 5.00 – 7.00

4. Beer bottle (amber glass - classic “longneck” style) 9.00 – 11.00

5. “Big Chief - Blackburn Bros.” - Clarkesville, Texas 10.00 – 12.00

6. “Bluebonnet Beverages” - Rusk, Texas … 15.00 – 17.50

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7. “Brandimist” - Atlanta, Georgia 10.00–12.00

8. “Burns” (no bottling location indicated) 8.00–12.00

9. “California” - Dallas, Texas 20.00 - 25.00

10. “Carmine Bottling Works” (no bottling location indicated) 8.00 - 12.00

11. “Coca-Cola Bottling Co.” - Bastrop, Texas 10.00 -12.00

12. “Coca-Cola Gills” - Beeville, Texas 18.00-20.00

13. “Contents 61⁄2 Fl. Oz.” - Uvalde, Texas …8.00-10.00

14. “Crown Bottling Co.” - West (Texas?) …10.00 -12.00

15. “Delaware Punch” (no bottling location indicated) 12.00 -15.00

16. “Diamond K Beverages” - Kingsville, Texas 15.00 -17.50

17. “DP Soda - Dr. Pepper” Uvalde, Texas (bottle has unique “melted” appearance) 18.00-21.50

18. “Dr. Pepper Bottling Co.” - Eagle Lake (smooth bottle, large “#2” embossed on neck). 10.00 -12.00

19. “Dr. Pepper - Good For Life” (“10, 2 & 4” design - bottled at various locations) … 20.00 - 22.50

20. “Dr. Pepper Bottling Co.” - Laredo, Texas (bottle has crackled appearance) 10.00

    • 12.00

21. “Dr. Pepper Bottling Co.” - Mt. Pleasant (ribbed bottle w/diamonds circling the neck & base) 12.00-15.00

22. “Dr. Pepper” - Paris, Texas (bottle has raised dots and vertical ribs) 20.00 - 22.50

23. “Dr. Pepper” - Temple, Texas (cracked appearance and vertical ribs) … 18.00 - 20.00

24. “Dragon” - Dragon Bottling Co. San Antonio, Texas (embossed dragon on bottle neck) 15.00 - 18.00

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25. “Edward’s” (no bottling location indicated) …8.00-10.00

26. “Evangeline Pepper Sauce” - Made in St. Martinville, La. U.S.A, (approximately 4 1/2” tall) 12.00–13.50

27. “F. J. Piwetz Bottling Wks” - Fayetteville, Texas (smooth bottle, earlier style) 10.00–12.00 (diagonal design on neck and base of bottle). 18.00 - 20.50

28. “F. J. Piwetz Bottling Wks.” Fayetteville, Texas (diagonal design on bottle, later style) …10.00 – 12.00

29. “Fizzon - Joy-Synth” (no bottling location indicated) 10.00-12.00

30. “Gebhardt Eagle Chili Powder” (large size) 10.00 -12.00 “Gebhardt Eagle Chili Powder” (small size) …8.00 - 10.00

31. “The Famous Milwaukee Drinks” (no bottling location indicated) 10.00-12.00

32. “Giddings Coca-Cola Bottling Co.” (not classic “Coke” bottle design) 12.50 -15.00

33. “Holt Beverage Co.” - Waco, Texas 10.00 - 12.00

34. “H & H Coffee” clear glass 20.00 - 22.50 amber glass 60.00 - 75.00 (add $10.00 to value if an “H & H” bottle has the original screw-on lid that reads “We Roast It - Others Praise It”)

35. “H. Cuellar” - Zapata, Texas 12.50-15.00

36. “Hondo Bottling Works” - Hondo, Texas …10.00 - 12.50

37. “Ideal Bottling Co.” (no bottling location indicated - this particular bottle was apparently produced after the Ball Bros, took over the Three Rivers Glass Co. because both the “3 Rivers” mark and the “Ball” logo appear on the bottle - very unusual) 35.00 - 40.00

38. “It - The Whole Tired World Wants It” - San Antonio, Texas (a very distinctive bottle, but not uncommon - we have found several over the years) 15.00-17.50

39. “Julep” - Pearsall, Texas 15.00-16.00

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40. “Jumbo” (no bottling location indicated - bottom reads “SBC” - possibly Southern Bottling Co. in Corpus Christi) 12.00 - 15.00

41. “Kist” (no bottling location indicated) … 12.00-15.00

42. “Klasek’s Bottling Works” (no bottling location indicated) 10.00 -12.50

43. “Kraus Bottled Purity” - Fredericksburg, Texas . 12.00 -15.00

44. “Knightcap” (embossed knight on bottle) …18.00 - 20.00

45. “Mexi-Pep” (screw-type top) 7.50 - 9.00

46. Milk bottles Quart (plain) 10.00-12.00 Pint (plain) 8.00-10.00 Half-Pint (plain) 8.00-10.00 “Mistletoe Creameries” (quart) 18.00-21.00 “Mistletoe Creameries” (half-pint) 15.00 -18.00 “Lone Star Creamery” - Houston, Texas (pint) 14.00 -16.50 “Phoenix Dairy - Milk - The Ideal Food” (quart) 25.00 - 28.00 “Roselawn Farms” - Three Rivers, Texas 25.00 - 28.00 -41-

47. “Milwaukee Drinks” (no bottling location indicated - this is a short, squat bottle) … 10.00-12.00

48. “Mistletoe” (no bottling location indicated) . 15.00-18.00

49. “Nehi Beverages” (this is the classic Nehi bottle that was used for over forty years

    • sometimes bottling location is indicated as Columbus, Ga) 10.00 - 12.00

50. “Nicholson Brand” - El Paso, Texas 10.00 - 12.00

51. “No. 1 in Quality and Size” - Rodriguez Root Beer Bottling Co. - San Antonio, Texas (16 oz. bottle with large sun embossed on front) … 12.50-15.00

52. “No. 1 in Quality and Size” (this bottle is identical to above except in a 15 oz. size with no bottler information indicated - also, we have observed that the “3 Rivers” mark appears twice on this piece - both on the bottom [3R*] and the side [3 Rivers *]) . 13.50 - 16.00

53. “Orange Crush” (some pieces indicated Kenedy, Texas as bottling location, some indicated New Braunfels, Texas and some have no bottling location indicated) 10.00-12.50

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54. “Pepsi Cola” - Austin, Texas 10.00-12.50

55. “Pickoff - Sign of Purity” - Taylor, Texas (noted by a large “HP” enclosed by a circle) …9.00 - 10.50

56. “Reed Bros.” - Luling, Texas 10.00-12.00

57. “Real Shine” (21 /z oz. bottle - apparently a shoe polish container) 6.50 - 7.50

58. “Rio Rey” (stippled surface with smooth band around center of bottle) 5.00 - 7.50

59. “Royal Crown Root Beer” - Morgan City, La … 18.50 - 20.00

60. “San Benito Bottling Works” - San Benito, Texas … 10.00 -12.50

61. “Sharry Prod. Co.” - Mission, Texas (bottom reads “Rio Rey” - 6 oz. bottle with crackled effect) … 10.00 - 12.50

62. “Sharry Products Co.”, Mission, Texas (bottle has a composition stopper with a wire clamp) … 12.00 - 15.00

63. “Southern Bottling Co.” - Corpus Christi, Texas … 10.00 -12.50

64. “Southwest Ice Co.” - Georgetown, Texas … 10.00 -12.50

65. “Staat’s Beverages - Property of Coca Cola Bottling Co.” - New Braunfels, Texas … 12.00 -15.00

66. “Standard Bottling Works…Never Sold” - San Antonio, Texas 10.00 - 12.50

67. “Taylor Bottling Works” (Taylor, Texas?) …10.00-12.50

68. “Texas” - Waco, Texas 12.00-15.00

69. “Threemor” - Temple, Texas (6 1/2 oz. bottle with cracked appearance) 10.00 -12.00

70. “Trappey’s Food Products” (no bottling location indicated) 6.50 - 8.00

71. “Trappey’s Tabasco Peppers” (no bottling location indicated) 6.00 - 8.00

72. “Trinity Bottling Works” - Trinity, Texas … 10.00 -12.00

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73. “Union B. Works” - Houston, Texas 12.50 -15.00

74. “Victory Bottling Works” - El Paso, Texas - Phone M2590 15.00- 18.00

75. “Yoakum C.V.C. Co.” - Yoakum, Texas … 12.00 -15.00

3.3 PHOTOGRAPHS OF SELECTED THREE RIVERS BOTTLES

The following pages of photographs of Three Rivers bottles will illustrate some of the variety of glass pieces that were produced from 1923 to 1937. These photographs are not a complete representation of all of the pieces created by the Three Rivers Glass Company, but will serve as a sampling of some of its works.

(Photo by Charles Arnott) (l-r) Nehi, “It”, Delaware Punch, Threemor, Nicholson Brand, Kraus Bottled Purity, Royal Crown Root Beer

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(Photo by Charles Arnott)

(l-r) Staat’s Beverages, Burns, Hondo, DP Soda-Dr. Pepper, Julep, Anderson’s Soda Water, Rio Rey.

(Photo by Charles Arnott)

(l-r) clear H & H Coffee, amber H & H Coffee

(Photo by Charles Arnott)

(l-r) clear beer bottle, amber beer bottle, Orange Crush (earlier style), Orange Crush (later style), Dr. Pepper (classic “10-2-4” logo), Dr. Pepper - Temple, Texas, Dr. Pepper

• Paris, Texas

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(Photo by Charles Arnott)

(l-r) Pepsi-Cola, Milwaukee Drinks, Dr. Pepper - Laredo, Texas, Kist, Yoakum C.V.C. Co., Coca Cola Gills, Brandimist, Southern Bottling Co, H. Cuellar

(Photo by Charles Arnott) (l-r) Reed, Big Chief, Blackburn Bros., Austin Bottling Works, Jay Bee Liquid Bluing, Ideal, Edwards, HP (Photo by Charles Arnott) (l-r) Rio Rey, Bluebonnet Beverages, The Famous Milwau- kee Drinks, Diamond K Beverages, F. J. Piwetz Bottling Works (early style), F. J. Piwetz Bottling Works (later style), Giddings Coca Cola Btlg. Co. (Photo by Charles Arnott)

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(l-r) “No. 1 in Quality and Size” - Rodriguez Root Beer Bottling Co. (16 oz. size), Jumbo, Dragon.

(Photo by Charles Arnott) An example of several bottling companies using the same mold, (l-r) Klasek’s Bot- tling Works, Dr. Pepper Btlg. Co. - Mt. Pleasant, Taylor Bottling Works, Crown Bottling Co., San Benito Bottling Works (Photo by Charles Arnott) (l-r) Carmine Bottling Works, Dr. Pepper Bottling Co. - Eagle Lake, Standard Bottling Works, “Pickoff - Sign of Purity.”

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(Photo by Charles Arnott)

(l-r) Quart juice bottle w/stars, Mistletoe Creameries (quart), Roselawn Farms, Mistle- toe Creameries (half-pint), half-pint milk bottle (plain)

 (Photo by Charles Arnott)

(l-r) Evangeline Pepper Sauce, ringed Pepper bottle, Gebhardt Eagle Chili Powder (larger), Gebhardt Eagle Chili Powder (smaller), unidentified bottle, unidentified bottle, hot sauce bottle, Trappey’s Food Products, pepper bottle, Trappey’s Food Products.

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(Photo by Charles Arnott)

Another example of several bottlers using the same stock mold (l-r) Holt Beverage Co., Southwest Ice Co., Coca-Cola Bottling Co., Bastrop, Tx., Trinity Bottling Works, Dr. Pepper Bottling Co., - Mt. Pleasant

(Photo by Chartes Arnott)

Some examples of one-quart Three Rivers glass jars. Note jar on left with paper label remaining-it reads “Crown Brand Dill Pickles” and has a stylized barrel design. Any Three Rivers piece with the original paper label is a rare find, and is valued accordingly.

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(Photo by Charles Arnott) Some examples of one-pint Three Rivers glass jars.

(Photo by Charles Arnott) Some examples of relatively plain jars. The second and third from left once con- tained cherries or olives, while the “Real Shine” bottle on the far right held shoe polish. If there are questions or comments regarding this book, or if the reader would care to discuss his own Three Rivers Glass collection with the author, please write: MICHAEL DAVID SMITH 4400 Adelphi Lane Austin, Texas 78727

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List of Figures

1 From a promotional poster dated approximately 1930. (Photo courtesy David and Martha Tips.) … … … … … … … … . 4

1.1 An artist’s rendition showing a milk bottle mold. The lettering or trade- mark design is die cut into the interior of the mold. When molten glass is deposited into the mold, then followed by a blast of air, the glass is forced outward against the walls of the mold, thus forming a bottle… 9 1.2 These large air compressors provided the air pressure required when the Three Rivers Glass Company made the transition from hand-blowing to mass production glass-making… … … … … … … 10 1.3 A Three Rivers Glass Company employee stands next to the “hopper”, where quartzose sand and other raw materials began a three-day process to become completed glass products. During the glass company’s peak years over forty-five tons of molten glass was produced daily… … 11 1.4 The Hartford-Empire molding machine. Twenty seconds after a deposit of molten glass was dropped into the machine, a bottle or jar emerged, ready to be tempered… … … … … … … … … 12 1.5 Another molding machine in the Three Rivers Glass plant. This special- ized apparatus produced only milk bottles… … … … … . 13 1.6 A mold-maker at work. The Three Rivers Glass Company held thousands of trademarked molds for their customers, and their design staff was constantly developing new ones during the peak years… … … 14 1.7 This artist’s rendition illustrates Three Rivers bottles just out of the mold machine receiving a fire finish, which melted any sharp edges from the glass… … … … … … … … … … … … 14

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1.8 Technicians testing batch samples for quality in the laboratory of the Three Rivers plant… … … … … … … … … . . 16

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Todo list

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