This was at the Stewart Building office (1906-1973) at Fannin and Preston. According to the Bayou City History blog (2012 June 5), it was the first reinforced concrete building in the city.
1) Picture of Estate staff at desks. The clock above the rolltop desk advertises “G.A. Pfeiffle[?] Watch Inspector, S.S.&S. Ry, Greenville,Tex.” This would have been the Sherman, Shreveport, and Southern Railway, which had its offices in Greenville and was sold to the MKT in 1901.
2) Estate employee at desk with the latest in communication devices: Candlestick telephones, typewriter (behind him), and what appears to be a telegraph on the windowsill on the far-right. A box telephone with two bells on top is just visible in the right lower corner of the photograph. The cylindrical machine on the desk is a check writer or check protector, which impressed the payment amount on a check and made it more difficult to forge or alter.

The McGovern Historical Center (MHC) is the historical and special collections department for The TMC Library. The MHC maintains rare book and archival collections. Artificial collections have been created to provide access to materials without clear provenance in order to increase discoverability. Soon after his arrival in Houston, Dr. McGovern became one of the Library’s most staunch supporters, annually supplying funds for the purchase of rare books and travel support for the librarians to attend meetings of the American Association for the History of Medicine. In 1977, The Library formed a new department with new quarters to collect historical materials and to enhance the rare book collections. In 1982, Dr. McGovern donated his personal collection of rare and historical books to the Library. In 1996 the Library’s Board of Directors named the historical department in his honor.