York Lo: Union Ceramic Industries and Heart Brand Enamelware Left: Union Ceramic Industries’ ad from 1949 (China Mail 1949-5-26); Right: Union Ceramics’s factory (Source: Ta Kung Pao, 1956-1-1) During the heyday of the HK enamelware industry between the 1940s and 1960s, Union Ceramic Industries (一心搪瓷, hereafter referred to as UCI), the maker of Heart Brand enamelware, had the distinction of being […]
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York Lo: Lo’s Mee Kwong and Join-In Shirt Left: the name Lo’s Mee Kwong lives on in the LMK Development Estate in Kwai Chung; Centre: an advertisement from the early 1980s promoting the “colorful world” of Join-In Shirt; Right: Early 1980s picture of Join-In Estate (now Prosperity Centre) in Kwai Chung. From the late 1970s to early 1980s, Join-In Shirt (鍾意恤) […]
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Edward Schneider: The Orient Tobacco Manufactory works was on a site in Kowloon bordered by Nathan Road, Dundas Street, Soy Street and Kwong Wa Street. It had a total surface area of 307,095 sq.ft. (approximately 3 hectares) and was registered as Lot numbers 1421 and 2629. It was acquired as a grant on 1 January 1908 for $86,124.40. The buildings cost $278,485.45. […]
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Carles Brasó Broggi writer of our article, Shanghai Spinners: Pioneers of Hong Kong’s industrialization, 1947-1955, linked below, has sent the following introductory information about Texas Cotton Mills Ltd. If you can provide further information about, or images of, this company, we would be delighted to hear from you. With the establishment of Texas Cotton Mills Ltd. in June 1959 the […]
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James Chan: I found this 1889 map while looking through an archaelogical assessement of the MTR West Island line. The map shows Kennedy Town. On it are a silk works betwen Cadogan and Davis Streets. And a rope works along Forbes Street between Davis Street and Smithfield. What does anyone know about either of these two works? This article was […]
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Elizabeth Ride: A selection of information reported in the BAAG Intelligence Summaries. 1. Layout. September, 1944. [From indistinct original] The sketch plan and its key have been extracted from BAAG KWIZ Report #68 dated 29th September 1944 sent in by Elizabeth Ride. During the Battle of Hongkong, December 1941. * At the outbreak of war, HMS Moth was […]
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Carles Brasó Broggi, the author of this very early article on the website has kindly invited any person involved in the companies mentioned in it, or related companies, to contact him at carlesbraso@gmail.com or by leaving a comment attached to the article. He says he can dedicate the following months to carrying out further research, but any help would be […]
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York Lo: The Tales of the Two Smart Shirts – Standard Shirts Dyeing, Weaving & Finishing Mills and Smart Shirts Manufacturers Ltd In the history of the garment industry in Hong Kong after WWII, there are two “Smart Shirts” and both had ties to Shanghai. The first “Smart Shirt” (司麥脫) is a popular shirt brand made by Standard Shirts Dyeing, Weaving […]
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The only information we have about the South China Toys Factory can be seen in York Lo’s article, Wong Pui-kow (黃佩球): the HK Toy Industry and Chinese Products Store Pioneer, linked below. HF:Is this same company as the South China Toys & Metal Ware Factory? (seen in HK History Museum Library). Can anyone provide further information about and/or images of […]
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York Lo: Unsung Kingmakers – the low-key Song Brothers who conquered the Shanghai Bund and Victoria Harbor and backed the development of several key industries in post-War Hong Kong V.J. Song (left) and V.K. Song in Hong Kong in the 1950s (Wendy Song) Before the emergence of Chinese tycoons such as Li Ka-shing and Sir Y.K. Pao in the 1970s, […]
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