The Commercial Press is the longest standing modern publishing house in China. Guided consistently by the principle of fostering cultural enhancement and intellectual enlightenment, its impact on the history of cultural and educational publishing in modern China has been profound and far reaching. The Commercial Press (HK) Ltd is devoted to promoting cultural and educational enterprises in this new age […]
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HF: Tang Fun Kee was incorporated on 23rd May 1951 and appears to be still in operation. “…Tang Fun Kee occupied a five-storey building in Larch Street [Tai Kok Tsui – note the advert below has the company at 32-40 Fuk Tsun Street], producing headlight cases, square torches and watches. Electroplating was on the first floor; the production of torches […]
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York Lo: Reiss Bradley (泰和洋行) – the Forgotten Hong Left: Article about the formation of Reiss Bradley in 1936 (HK Telegraph, 1936-6-30); Right: Reiss Brothers warehouse on Quay Street in Manchester, UK (Manchester Libraries) In an earlier Q+A on the website questions were raised about the origins of Reiss Bradley, which was the parent company of Far East Flying School […]
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James Chan: Ten years ago any shop in Hong Kong would have had a landline which you could use, and for free… then quite quickly the number decreased. As one of the few people in Hong Kong without a mobile phone I came to rely on any MTR station to be able to phone on the odd occasion when something was […]
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Edward Schneider, Carl Ingenohl’s great-grandson, has sent these photos taken inside the Orient Tobacco Manufactory Company’s factory which occupied a large site between Yau Ma Tei and Mongkok on Nathan Road. A couple of the images are fairly self-explanatory. If you can elaborate on what is happening in the others it would be good to hear from you. We have […]
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York Lo: Kowloon Flour Mills (九龍麵粉廠) Aerial view of Kowloon Flour Mills. Kowloon Flour Mills (hereafter referred to as “KFM”) at 161 Hoi Bun Road in Kwun Tong is the only surviving flour mill in Hong Kong and received a lot of attention in 2011 when the then Secretary for Development Carrie Lam cited the mill as an example of […]
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Elizabeth Ride has sent this brief extract from BAAG Intelligence Summaries written during the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong, World War Two. Among the smaller shipyards, the greatest activity reported in 1944 was at the Tsunan Shipyard in Tokwawan, North of Bailey´s Yard. Between 40 and 50 small wooden auxiliary vessels were constructed during the year. The yard also builds […]
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A festival of light in Hong Kong this week will, among other things, champion the city’s neon signage. As well as teaming up with artists to create 16 works at sites on Hong Kong Island and in Kowloon, Lumieres Hong Kong, which runs from November 23 to 25, has joined forces with the Hong Kong Neon Heritage group to draw […]
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Born in 1918, Lo Koon-chiu first learned the art of traditional Chinese painting in his high school days and later graduated from the Guangzhou Municipal School of Fine Arts in 1938 with a major in Western painting. After moving to Hong Kong in 1947 Lo founded the full colour children’s comic book Children’s Paradise in 1953 in the capacity […]
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York Lo: Annam Pak Kwei Yeow (安南白桂油) Left: Pak Kwei Yeow’s booth at the 1960 HK Products Expo; Right: Pak Kwei Yeow ad In the late 1950s, early 1960s, a Chinese medicinal oil by the name of Annam Pak Kwei Yeow was a prominent feature at the annual HK Products Expo with its eye catchy pagoda booth and its proprietor by […]
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