York Lo: Tung Fong Hat Factory (東方帽廠) Left: Tung Fong Hat Factory’s booth at the 1957 HK Products Expo (WKYP, 1957-12-29); Right: Lee Kung-po delivering a report at a CMA board meeting in 1958 (WKYP, 1958-5-16) Founded in 1928, Tung Fong Hat Factory was one of the leading hat manufacturers in Hong Kong from the 1930s to the 1960s alongside […]
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York Lo: The Kwan Family – Theatre Owners and Movie Producers From the 1930s to the 1970s, the families of Kuan Ka-pak and his brother Kuan Ka-yue (the next generation used the English spelling of Kwan instead for their surname) played an important role in the HK movie industry as the owners/operators of at least a dozen movie theaters known […]
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Hugh Farmer and “Tide Swell”: New information in red. These are introductory notes about Jan Hendrik Marsman, b1892 Netherlands, d1956 [exact dates needed], known as Hank to his friends. He started his working life as an engineer. He developed extensive business interests in the Philippines. As elaborated on below he became involved through his company Marsman Hong Kong China Ltd, in […]
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Mary Anne Le Bas has sent an SCMP article, Six home-grown Hong Kong trades at risk of dying out, published on 21st June 2015. The first of these is the Tuck Chong Sum Kee Bamboo Steamer Company about which we already have an article linked below. The article begins: “Lam Ying-hung runs the Tuck Chong Sum Kee Bamboo Steamer Company. Bamboo […]
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York Lo: Fou Wah Weaving Mills, Kia Fung Textile and Wing Wah Textiles Left: Chao An-chung (left) and S.C. Lok (right) in 1963; Right: Chao An-chung at Kia Fung Textile in the early 1960s Fou Wah Weaving Mills, Kia Fung Textiles and Wing Wah Textiles are three textiles companies founded in HK after the War by three Shanghainese entrepreneurs who […]
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York Lo: Vincent and Wesintex: two local apparel brands from the 1960s to 1980s Vincent and Wesintex were two popular local apparel brands which were manufactured by Winner Co Ltd and Wu Wei Shing Knitting respectively with similar sounding Chinese names. Both brands have since faded into history. Winner (永南) and Vincent Shirt (永勝恤) Print ad for Vincent shirt in […]
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HF: In 1909 Sir AR Binnie and Son merged with another UK engineering consultancy to become Sir Alexander Binnie, Son and Deacon. Later this company became Binnie & Partners and from the 1990s it has been part of the multi-national Black and Veatch consultancy. Binnie & Partners had a close connection to Hong Kong from 1930. The company was involved […]
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Martyn Cornell has kindly given permission for extracts from his article, A Short History of Beer in Hong Kong, to be posted on our website. The article was published in the Journal of the Brewery History Society, Brewery History, Issue 156, 2012 Martyn has his own blog, Zythophile – Beer now and then, linked below. Despite its title the article is […]
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York Lo: Cardboard Millionaires: Pioneers of the HK Corrugated Paper Products Industry Group picture at the 1st anniversary of the HKCPMA in 1965. Left to right:supervisor Chen Kim-cheong, honorary president Fung Kam-chung, president Choi Chik-leung, vice president Wong Kam-yuen The corrugated paper products industry in HK was founded in the 1950s by a group of enterprising industrialists who saw an […]
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HF: Our article, Beer in Hong Kong – Part Three – The Oriental Brewery 1908-1912, includes “It was announced early in March 1913 that the [Imperial] brewery had been purchased:-by Mr Arratoon V Apcar of Messers Arratoon V Apcar and Co, Hongkong … on behalf of a syndicate of which Mr Apcar is a member…” I had not heard of this company before. HK […]
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