Douglas Lapraik – watchmaker, shipowner and co-founder of the Hongkong & Whampoa Dock Company

Douglas Lapraik arrived in Hong Kong in 1842 in apparently somewhat straitened circumstances from Macau. Things changed for the colourful Mr Lapraik. In 1863, together with Thomas Sutherland and Jardine, Matheson & Co,. he co-founded the Hongkong and Whampoa Dock Company (Kowloon Docks) which at its peak was the largest shipyard in Asia. The following article has been extracted from […]

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The King of Shoes: Tse Family of Kam Shing and Silver Eagle

Kam Shing Shoes Image 1 York Lo

York Lo: The King of Shoes: Tse Family of Kam Shing and Silver Eagle Arthur Tse with some of his shoes in the 1990s From the 1960s to the 1990s, the family of TseHei (謝熹) earned the reputation of “King of Shoes” through the publicly listed Kam Shing and Silver Eagle, which went public in 1973 and 1992 respectively and […]

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Texwood (德士活) and “Apple Jeans”(蘋果牌牛仔褲)

Texwood Jeans Detail Image 1 York Lo

York Lo: Texwood (德士活) and “Apple Jeans”(蘋果牌牛仔褲) In March 2020, Texwood closed its flagship Apple Jeans store on Argyle Street inMongkok after 35 years, leaving only one store in HK in Diamond Hill although the jeans giant remains a major player in the mainland. Founded in 1959, Texwood was one of the major local brands of jeans in HK along […]

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Canton Brothers Rubber Co (廣東兄弟樹膠) – China’s and HK’s First Manufacturer of Rubber Shoes

Canton Brothers Rubber Company Detail Image 1 York Lo

York Lo: Canton Brothers Rubber Co (廣東兄弟樹膠) – China’s and HK’s First Manufacturer of Rubber Shoes Left: Canton Bros poster, likely from the 1930s; Right: Canton Brothers Rubber ad in HK in 1941 (A Century of Commerce) Founded in Canton in 1919, Canton Brothers Rubber Co was the first rubber shoe manufacturer in China and opened its factory in Hong […]

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The Peak Tram – How it works

Peak Tram The Heart Of The Matter How It Works D Detail Main Engine Overhaul Overhaul Team Appear To Be Taikoo Dock Technicians IDJ

“With its outstanding record of safety and continuity, the Peak Tramways Company has always been conscious of the requirement to keep the Tramway’s operational heart in top shape. Surprisingly, since the beginning, the haulage plant has seen only one complete change – in 1926 when the original boilers and steam engine were replaced with an electrically-powered system.” Many thanks to […]

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Cheong Sun Development (昌生興業) and the Trio Behind the Firm

Cheong Sun Development Image 11 York Lo

York Lo: Cheong Sun Development (昌生興業) and the Trio Behind the Firm Cheong Sun Development was a notable listed property developer in the 1970s which was founded in 1972 by a trio from Shanghai (K.S. Cheng, T.O. Liu and K.L. Kung) and acquired by Far East Consortium in 1981. Most of the buildings in HK starting with the character “Cheong” […]

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A S Watson & Company Ltd aka The Hong Kong Dispensary – a Timeline 1841 to 1945

A S Watson Chemist Detail Advert China Mail 1.8.1878

3rd June 2021 An additional image and information sent in by Dheeraj Khiytani was added. See 1907. HF:Watson’s is possibly the oldest retailer still in existence in Hong Kong and unquestionably among a tiny few that have opererated continuously since the early days of the colony… By 1941 Watson’s was already the largest chemist, retailer of health and beauty products, […]

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N. Lazarus (明晶洋行)– Leading Opticians of the Far East

N. Lazarus, Opticians Detail Image 2 York Lo

York Lo: N. Lazarus (明晶洋行)– Leading Opticians of the Far East Left: N. Lazarus store in Central; Right: ad for N. Lazarus in HK in 1900 (China Mail, 1900-4-10) Eyeglasses is a big business in Hong Kong and one of the first opticians in record in the city was N. Lazarus, started in the late 19th century by oculist-optician of […]

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Rose, Downs and Thompson – Engineers, Hull and London, branch offices opened in Shanghai and Hong Kong in 1910s

Rose, Downs And Thompson Offices And Showrooms 1917 Courtesy Virtual Shanghai

Rose, Downs and Thompson of Hull, UK was a manufacturer of plant for processing edible oils for making animal feeds and  was also involved in supplying dredgers and excavators. This company biography suggests that in the first decade of the 20th century the company opened branches in both Shanghai and Hong Kong. 1777 Company established. 1871 Christiana Rose, of Rose and Downs, […]

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Ching Cheong Weaving & Dyeing Works (禎昌織染布廠)

Ching Cheong Weaving Detail Image 1 York Lo

York Lo: Ching Cheong Weaving & Dyeing Works (禎昌織染布廠) The Ho family at the 70th birthday celebration of Ho Cheuk-yau in 1956 (TKP, 1956-9-23) Ching Cheong Weaving & Dyeing Works was one of the largest and oldest weaving and dyeing mills in Hong Kong founded in 1923 by Ho Cheuk-yau (何卓猷, 1886-1960)and run by his family until the 1980s. A […]

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