references · updated 2026-09-01
Catalogued Three Rivers Ware — Smith 1989
confidence: single-source weakest: ev-0039
Lookup table of 75 items from Smith's 1989 price list identifying Three Rivers bottles and jars with collector values
This is a reference lookup table. It reproduces the 75-item collector price list from page 39 of Michael David Smith’s Texas Glass (1989) so that the question “is this a Three Rivers bottle?” can be answered in one place. Every numbered entry below is Smith’s own identification and his suggested 1989 collector price range. The table is a report of what Smith listed; it is not an independent inventory and it does not assert that every identification is correct.
Two supplementary entries follow the main table: one from the Hoffmann & Hayman online catalog and one from Smith’s own photo plates. Both document Three Rivers ware that the numbered price list omits.
Price list (p. 39)
| # | Product | Price Range (1989) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Anderson’s Soda Water | $10.00—$12.00 |
| 2 | Austin Bottling Works | $12.00—$15.00 |
| 3 | Beer Bottle (Clear Glass, Longneck) | $5.00—$7.00 |
| 4 | Beer Bottle (Amber Glass, Longneck) | $9.00—$11.00 |
| 5 | Big Chief — Blackburn Bros. | $10.00—$12.00 |
| 6 | Bluebonnet Beverages | $15.00—$17.50 |
| 7 | Brandimist | $10.00—$12.00 |
| 8 | Burns | $8.00—$12.00 |
| 9 | California | $20.00—$25.00 |
| 10 | Carmine Bottling Works | $8.00—$12.00 |
| 11 | Coca-Cola Bottling Co. (Bastrop) | $10.00—$12.00 |
| 12 | Coca-Cola Gills (Beeville) | $18.00—$20.00 |
| 13 | ”Contents 6 1/2 Fl. Oz.” (Uvalde) | $8.00—$10.00 |
| 14 | Crown Bottling Co. | $10.00—$12.00 |
| 15 | Delaware Punch | $12.00—$15.00 |
| 16 | Diamond K Beverages | $15.00—$17.50 |
| 17 | ”DP Soda — Dr. Pepper” (Uvalde, melted appearance) | $18.00—$21.50 |
| 18 | Dr. Pepper Bottling Co. (Eagle Lake) | $10.00—$12.00 |
| 19 | ”Dr. Pepper — Good For Life” (10-2-4 design) | $20.00—$22.50 |
| 20 | Dr. Pepper Bottling Co. (Laredo) | $10.00—$12.00 |
| 21 | Dr. Pepper Bottling Co. (Mt. Pleasant) | $12.00—$15.00 |
| 22 | Dr. Pepper (Paris) | $20.00—$22.50 |
| 23 | Dr. Pepper (Temple) | $18.00—$20.00 |
| 24 | Dragon — Dragon Bottling Co. (San Antonio) | $15.00—$18.00 |
| 25 | Edward’s | $8.00—$10.00 |
| 26 | Evangeline Pepper Sauce (St. Martinville, La.) | $12.00—$13.50 |
| 27 | F. J. Piwetz Bottling Wks. (Fayetteville, early style) | $10.00—$12.00 |
| 28 | F. J. Piwetz Bottling Wks. (Fayetteville, later style) | $10.00—$12.00 |
| 29 | Fizzon — Joy-Synth | $10.00—$12.00 |
| 30 | Gebhardt Eagle Chili Powder | Lg $10.00—$12.00; Sm $8.00—$10.00 |
| 31 | The Famous Milwaukee Drinks | $10.00—$12.00 |
| 32 | Giddings Coca-Cola Bottling Co. | $12.50—$15.00 |
| 33 | Holt Beverage Co. (Waco) | $10.00—$12.00 |
| 34 | H & H Coffee (Crystalvac Jar) | Clear $20.00—$22.50; Amber $60.00—$75.00 (+$10 w/ lid) |
| 35 | H. Cuellar (Zapata) | $12.50—$15.00 |
| 36 | Hondo Bottling Works | $10.00—$12.50 |
| 37 | Ideal Bottling Co. (dual-marked: 3 Rivers + Ball) | $35.00—$40.00 |
| 38 | ”It — The Whole Tired World Wants It” (San Antonio) | $15.00—$17.50 |
| 39 | Julep (Pearsall) | $15.00—$16.00 |
| 40 | Jumbo (bottom marked “SBC”) | $12.00—$15.00 |
| 41 | Kist | $12.00—$15.00 |
| 42 | Klasek’s Bottling Works | $10.00—$12.50 |
| 43 | Kraus Bottled Purity (Fredericksburg) | $12.00—$15.00 |
| 44 | Knightcap | $18.00—$20.00 |
| 45 | Mexi-Pep (screw-type top) | $7.50—$9.00 |
| 46 | Milk Bottles and Dairy Jars (multi-variant) | see below |
| 47 | Milwaukee Drinks (short, squat bottle) | $10.00—$12.00 |
| 48 | Mistletoe | $15.00—$18.00 |
| 49 | Nehi Beverages | $10.00—$12.00 |
| 50 | Nicholson Brand (El Paso) | $10.00—$12.00 |
| 51 | ”No. 1 in Quality and Size” — Rodriguez Root Beer (16 oz.) | $12.50—$15.00 |
| 52 | ”No. 1 in Quality and Size” (15 oz., double-marked) | $13.50—$16.00 |
| 53 | Orange Crush | $10.00—$12.50 |
| 54 | Pepsi Cola (Austin) | $10.00—$12.50 |
| 55 | Pickoff — Sign of Purity (Taylor) | $9.00—$10.50 |
| 56 | Reed Bros. (Luling) | $10.00—$12.00 |
| 57 | Real Shine (shoe polish, 2.5 oz.) | $6.50—$7.50 |
| 58 | Rio Rey | $5.00—$7.50 |
| 59 | Royal Crown Root Beer (Morgan City, La.) | $18.50—$20.00 |
| 60 | San Benito Bottling Works | $10.00—$12.50 |
| 61 | Sharry Prod. Co. (Mission, “Rio Rey” bottom) | $10.00—$12.50 |
| 62 | Sharry Products Co. (Mission, wire-clamp stopper) | $12.00—$15.00 |
| 63 | Southern Bottling Co. (Corpus Christi) | $10.00—$12.50 |
| 64 | Southwest Ice Co. (Georgetown) | $10.00—$12.50 |
| 65 | Staat’s Beverages (New Braunfels) | $12.00—$15.00 |
| 66 | Standard Bottling Works (San Antonio, “Never Sold”) | $10.00—$12.50 |
| 67 | Taylor Bottling Works | $10.00—$12.50 |
| 68 | ”Texas” (Waco) | $12.00—$15.00 |
| 69 | Threemor (Temple, 6.5 oz.) | $10.00—$12.00 |
| 70 | Trappey’s Food Products | $6.50—$8.00 |
| 71 | Trappey’s Tabasco Peppers | $6.00—$8.00 |
| 72 | Trinity Bottling Works (Trinity) | $10.00—$12.00 |
| 73 | Union B. Works (Houston) | $12.50—$15.00 |
| 74 | Victory Bottling Works (El Paso) | $15.00—$18.00 |
| 75 | Yoakum C.V.C. Co. (Yoakum) | $12.00—$15.00 |
[@ev-0039, p. 39]
Bottle #46 breakdown: Milk Bottles and Dairy Jars
Smith catalogues eight dairy-container variants under a single number [@ev-0039, p. 39]:
| Variant | Price Range (1989) |
|---|---|
| Plain quart | $10.00—$12.00 |
| Plain pint | $8.00—$10.00 |
| Plain half-pint | $8.00—$10.00 |
| Mistletoe Creameries quart | $18.00—$21.00 |
| Mistletoe Creameries half-pint | $15.00—$18.00 |
| Lone Star Creamery (Houston) pint | $14.00—$16.50 |
| Phoenix Dairy quart | $25.00—$28.00 |
| Roselawn Farms (Three Rivers, Texas) quart | $25.00—$28.00 |
Beyond the numbered list
UNEEDA Bottling Works — Beaumont, Texas
The Hoffmann & Hayman online catalog documents a confirmed Three Rivers customer bottle not in Smith’s 75-item price list: a clear, 9-inch bottle embossed UNEEDA / BOTTLING WORKS with the 3 Rivers star on the heel, marked MIN. CONT. 8 FL. OZ. [ev-0006]. No collector price was assigned. This is the first physically documented customer beyond the numbered list and evidence that the price list undercounts the customer base.
Jay Bee Liquid Bluing
A Three Rivers customer bottle documented only in Smith’s photo plates, not his price list. Photographed on p. 51 of Texas Glass alongside Reed, Big Chief, Blackburn Bros., Austin Bottling Works, Ideal, Edwards, and HP [@ev-0039, p. 51]. A non-beverage product (laundry bluing) otherwise absent from the roster. No company, city, or collector price was recorded.
Crown Brand Dill Pickles
A one-quart Three Rivers jar photographed on p. 55 of Texas Glass with its original paper label surviving: “Crown Brand Dill Pickles” with a stylized barrel design [@ev-0039, p. 55]. Smith notes any Three Rivers piece with the original label is a rare find. Unlike the embossed entries above, this documents a packer filling stock Three Rivers jars rather than a private-mold customer. The packer behind the Crown Brand label is unidentified.
What this catalogue does not cover
This catalogue records only what Smith documented. Known gaps:
- Unlisted embossed customers. The UNEEDA and Jay Bee entries prove Smith’s price list undercounts. Bill Lockhart’s El Paso/Alamogordo scholarship documents additional customers (Empire/Dr Pepper, Lone Star Bottling, Crystal Beverage of Alamogordo NM, Dairy League) not in Smith’s list.
- Generic ware. The Crown Brand jar illustrates the systematic gap: stock bottles and jars sold without customer embossing carried paper labels that rarely survive. The true customer base for generic ware is unrecoverable from bottles alone.
- Pre-1925 hand-blown ware. The maker’s marks appear only on machine-made bottles (post-1925). Any hand-blown Three Rivers ware from 1922—1925 is unmarked and unidentifiable by mark alone.
- Non-surviving product lines. Smith’s list reflects what collectors had found by 1989. Products that did not survive in collections are absent by definition.