Paperweight McLane Grocer Cameron Texas c1895 Walmart

Pricing & History

Sold for
Start Free Trial or Sign In to see what it's worth.
Sold Date
Source eBay

Collectible Paperweight c1895 Merged with Walmart in 1990! Background: Company History: McLane Company, Inc., is one of the largest wholesale distribution companies in the United States. McLane serves customers in all 50 states, and has a total base of over 44,000 customers. Of that total, 26,000 customers are convenience stores, making McLane the world's largest supplier to that market. In addition, the company is a major importer of gourmet and ethnic foods through its specialty food division. Other McLane divisions are engaged in foodservice, trucking, data processing, and food processing. McLane is owned by Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., the largest retail operation in the world. Since its acquisition by Wal-Mart in 1990, grocery distribution has played a growing role in McLane's business, which had previously focused even more heavily on convenience stores. The history of McLane Company dates back to 1894, when founder Robert McLane opened his first grocery store in Cameron, Texas, a farming community in the central part of the state. McLane's, as the store was called, was successful from the outset, and by 1895 McLane had doubled the size of his store and added a receiving platform. A few years later he put up another building nearby, which he leased to Rotan Grocery Company, one of his wholesale suppliers. When Rotan was bought out by another company in 1903, the wholesale business in that building was shut down. McLane decided to fill the void himself, and within the year he launched his own wholesale operation. He staffed the new firm, dubbed the Robert McLane Company, with three full-time employees. Back Shows "Doodles" & Purple Arrow Denotes Area Glass Chipped Off The company performed well over the next decade, and by 1912 McLane had 12 people working in his office. In 1913 McLane opened a second warehouse, located in the nearby town of Caldwell. The company bought its first two trucks in 1915. The trucks were used only for local deliveries, while shipments to outlying areas were still made by rail. By this time, McLane had a seven-man sales force that roamed the countryside. This enabled Robert McLane to scale back his traveling and spend more time at the company's Cameron headquarters. A year later, the company erected an adjoining building to the original Cameron warehouse. A third building, a garage for servicing the company's growing fleet of trucks, was added to the complex in 1919. Deliveries by truck to locations outside of Cameron were begun the following year. In 1921 Drayton McLane, Robert's son, joined the company on a full-time basis. He had worked in the business on a part-time basis throughout his childhood. After more than twenty years of quick and steady growth, the company's fortunes finally began to level off around this time. Central Texas was hit with a series of alternating floods and droughts that devastated its agricultural economy during the 1920s. This in turn had a negative impact on retailers and wholesalers who depended on farmers for most of their business. Nevertheless, McLane was able to emerge from this period relatively unscathed, although the company did not undertake any significant expansion projects. Offering: Robert McLane Company Wholesale Grocers Cameron Texas Glass Paperweight. Made by Cruver Mfg Co, Chicago, ca 1895. Thick Heavy Clear Glass. Measures: 4 1/2" long x 3 " wide x 3/4" thick. Original Heavy Paper card on bottom.(profuse doodles on back-see image above) Condition: Good-Very Good-Some paper loss to card in TEXAS area (as shown) One chip out of back side edge area(mentioned for full accuracy-see image above)glass surface very shiny and translucent but does have many micro scratches when closely inspected. RARE-McLane Now Owned By Walmart! Early ca 1895....Possibly unique! Nice! collectible. HEAVY.ship wt 2 lbs !!! Probably Unique !!! Terms: Ships by U.S. Mail. The Buyer will be pleased! International buyers please email us first before purchasing for shipping q... read more

Items in the Price Guide are obtained exclusively from licensors and partners solely for our members’ research needs.

Flag item for content or copyright

If this item contains incorrect or inappropriate information please contact us here to flag it for review.

If you are the originator/copyright holder of this photo/item and would prefer it be excluded from our community, contact us here for removal.