Postcard view of the J.K. Hughes No. 1 McKee well near Corsicana and Powell, Texas.  On May 8, 1923, the well blew in at 8,000 barrel of oil per day from a depth of 2,850 feet.  Within 24 hours a spark ignited the oil and gas.  Sixteen men died as a result of the fire; thirteen at the derrick and three later in hospital.  The fire was extinguished on May 20^th.   Mexia, Texas photographer J.D. Buie took this photograph.

Probably not the most tasteful oilfield view/caption to use for an advertisement, the reverse of this postcard is a very early Baroid sales pitch, presumably, for their drilling mud additive.

The National Pigments and Chemical Company was a subsidiary of National Lead Company. Their St. Louis plant produced paint-grade barite for use in drilling mud and was marketed under the brand name Baroid. In 1926 the company began efforts to secure a patent.  Baroid Sales Company was formed in 1931 (Caenn, Ryen, Darley, H.C.H, and George Gray, 2011, Composition and properties of drilling and completion fluids; Gulf Professional Publishing, 720 pp.).