Dodwell & Company (天祥洋行) was one of the leading British merchant firms, active in China and Japan during the 19th and 20th century. It was a direct rival to Jardine, Matheson & Co. “It was established in 1858 when W R Adamson and Company (silk dealers) set up in London, with its head office in Shanghai and branches in Hong Kong, […]
» Read more
Carles Brasó Broggi’s article China Engineers Ltd 1928 Shanghai – 1937 Hong Kong, concludes, “During the 1960s, China Engineers expanded in the Southeast Asian markets establishing one of the first spinning and dyeing industries in the Philippines as well as electrical installations for high rise buildings in Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei. The company also opened offices in Korea, Japan and Taiwan. They […]
» Read more
Amelia Allsop: The Hong Kong Heritage Project (HKHP) Archive was established with the mission to collect, interpret and make accessible the historic records of the Kadoorie family and their business and charitable endeavours. The HKHP Archive has been accessible to the public since 2009 and holds an extensive collection of historic records and photographs. Amongst this collection are papers relating to […]
» Read more
York LO: Lea Hin Co (立興公司) and “Butterfly” and “Tingkwon” Kerosene Lanterns Left: Lea Hin founder Woo Kai Lea (Nanyang Siang Po, 1977); Center: Butterfly kerosene lantern trademark; Right: early Chinesead of Lea Hin in Singapore promoting its Tingkwon Star brand lanterns in 1936 (南洋商报, 2 May 1936, Page 8) While the kerosene lanterns manufacturers covered earlier on the website […]
» Read more
York Lo: The King of Watchbands: Poon Yuen-sang (潘遠生) and Yuen Sang Hardware (遠生金屬) Poon Yuen-sang delivering a speech as chairman of the HK & Kowloon Watch and Clock Merchants Association in 1961. Left to right: Mrs. Gertrude Kwok (郭贊夫人), Poon Yuen-sang, Lau Kam-fat (劉錦發), Lun Tin-lok (倫天樂), Chan Peng-fei (陳鵬飛) (WKYP, 1961-9-10) In the 1950s and 1960s, the HK […]
» Read more
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, […]
» Read more
York Lo: Red Capitalist: the life and ventures of K.C. Wong (王寬誠,1907-1986) Left: Portrait of K.C. Wong from the 1950s; Right: K.C. Wong meeting with Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping in the early 1980s When it comes to Hongkong’s “Red Capitalists”, Henry Fok (whose biographical entry I wrote for the Dictionary of HK Biography) is probably the first name that came […]
» Read more
York Lo: Bakilly – the forgotten maker of perfumes, hair cream, toothpaste and other personal care products HF: York added four images to his original article in March 2019. These are indicated by an asterisk in the captions. Founded in the 1910s, Bakilly (百家利) was a major local personal care product brand in Hong Kong for over half a century […]
» Read more
York Lo: Makers of Preserved Fruits – Wong Wing Kee, Lee Wah Mui, Hing Ah, Lee Sin Kee, Yam Hop Hing and Koon Wah I wrote an article earlier on the website about the “Five Treasures” of the HK sauce industry. Another traditional Chinese food product industry which is closely associated with sauce is preserved fruit (eg. Dried plums) as […]
» Read more
IDJ has kindly sent this article about the Hong Kong Rubber Manufactory Company extracted from the Hong Kong Sunday Herald 26th July 1936. HF: Even when enlarged the original article was not always easy to read, indicated by [] in the retyped version, and I would be grateful to have any errors pointed out in my attempt to retype the […]
» Read more