York LO: Blood Protection Co (保血有限公司) and Fish brand mosquito incense Left: old package of Blood Protection Co’s Fish mosquito destroyer featuring the portrait of its founder H.L. Sum (right) and his brother/son. Right: Blood Protection Co’s ad from the early 1960s – the tagline reads what’s the point of having money when you cannot protect your blood. The warm […]
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York Lo: HK Cutlery Manufacturers from the 1960s and 1970s – Chuang’s, Trinity, Foo Kwong, HK Tableware and Good Friend In the 1960s, the cutlery industry emerged in Hong Kong thanks to the UK government’s policy of Commonwealth preference which favored imports from HK over Japan. The industry grew very rapidly in the early 1960s, with total exports grew from […]
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York Lo: Promotors – the first manufacturer of television sets in Hong Kong Booth of the Promotors at the 29th HK Product Expo in 1971 featuring its TV sets. (HK Memory) 2017 marks the 50th anniversary of TVB and the launch of free wireless TV broadcasting in Hong Kong in 1967, which turned television from a limited media channel for a […]
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York Lo: Bethlehem Knitting (百利恒織造廠) and Hing’s Underwear (興士牌) Left: Hing’s print ad from the early 1970s. Right: actual package of Hing’s underwear From the 1950s to the 1970s, Hing’s was a popular local brand of cotton underwear manufactured by Bethlehem Knitting Factory. Founded in 1950 by C.T. Shiu (邵之道), the firm moved into its current location at 483 Castle […]
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York Lo: Yankee Needle: American Merchants and the development of the Swatow lace industry in China and the garment industry in HK Left: Swatow women working on needlework at Lida Ashmore’s school (Lida Ashmore’s The South China Mission of the American Baptist Foreign Mission Society, p.94) Right: Lida Ashmore (sitting, second from the right) with her colleagues laying the foundation […]
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York Lo: Behind the Shades: David Miao (繆德維 1912-2006) – the low-profile partner of George Ho behind many high-profile products (Minolta cameras and copiers, Philips radios …) and services (Commercial Radio, ABC Paging) in HK David Miao (right) and George Ho at the 30th anniversary party for Commercial Radio in 1989. As the leading radio station in town, Commercial Radio […]
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York Lo: Far East Motors – distributor of Chevrolet, Cadillac, Holden and Standard automobiles and operator of Avis Rent-A-Car in HK Left: Used car ad from Far East Motors in 1938 (Gwulo); Right: Cadillac ad in 1949 from Far East Motors Recently, articles have been posted about Far East Aviation and Far East Flying School in which FEA’s auto dealer […]
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York Lo: Conic – HK Electronics Giant of the late 1970s, early 1980s Picture of Conic board in 1976, left to right: Simon Tam Hon-kong, Tam Chung-sing, Alex Au, Lam Chung-kiu and Yim Shun (absent – Chan Chun-cheung). The quote is somewhat ironic considering the aggressive expansion at the time which ultimately led to the demise of the group within […]
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York Lo: Notable Players in the HK Wig Industry in the 1960s and 70s In the 1960s, the US wig market exploded and grew from less than US$10 million a year in 1960 to US$1 bllion within a decade, with over 40% of American women owning more than one wig and importing over 1 million wigs from Asia on a […]
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York Lo: Leader of the Battery Pack: Hing Wah and Five Rams Batteries Left: Five Rams batteries ad in 1955 (Source: IDJ); Right: Hing Wah’s HK plant in the 1950s (Source: HK Memory) Founded in Canton and expanded to Hong Kong in 1938, Hing Wah Battery Factory (興華電池廠) was one of the oldest and largest players in the batteries industry in […]
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