HF: I’ve been contacted by a Chinese lady who is looking into her family history and their involvement in the manufacture of thermos/vacuum flasks. This is my initial investigation into the business around the time her family were involved, the 1950s. Hopefully it will develop into something with greater order and substance. Vacuum flasks, also known as Dewar flasks, Dewar bottles […]
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York Lo: Far East Candle Works (遠東燭業) and Ki Yip Chemical Works (基業化工廠) Article about Far East Candle & Chemical Works’ booth at the 1964 HK Products Expo with a picture of its products in its booth (KSEN, 1964-12-28) Earlier in the group, we have covered Mark V, the HK-based affiliate of US retail chain Cost Plus Bazaar which was […]
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Elizabeth Ride: Extracts from reports in the BAAG Intelligence Summaries. Layout [Map reference 192583: GSGS 3868 1/20,000 HK&NT]. Sketch not found, but this Japanese map of the harbour and facilities may contain some information to readers of Japanese. 2. During the Occupation. “According to one source, many of the ships salvaged by the Japanese were taken to this dockyard for repair.” 1943 […]
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IDJ has sent this monograph of the dramatic changes that occurred in Tuen Mun in the late 1970s and early 1980s. It starts rather gloomily, “Castle Peak, in reality a string of scattered settlements along the shoreline of the Bay, a straggle of ramshackle squatter huts pushing up the creek of the Tuen Mun river…” click the pages to enlarge. […]
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York Lo: King of Towels: Lee Yiu-wah (李曜華) and Hop Hing (1950) Weaving Factory (合興毛巾織造廠) Lee Yiu-wah speaking at the formation ceremony of the HK Cotton Made-up Goods Manufacturers Association in 1963 (WKYP, 1963-5-26) In the 1950s to 1970s, Hop Hing (1950) Weaving Factory was one of the largest manufacturers of cotton towels and terrycloth in Hong Kong, earning its […]
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Our article, G Falconer & Company, Watchmakers & Jewellers, mentions that Falconer were the HK agent for Ross Optical Ltd, Clapham, London. The following information and images about Ross come from the excellent Grace’s Guide website, linked below. Ross of Optical Works, 3 North Side, Clapham Common, London, SW4 (1922) Ditto Address. Telephone: Battersea 3876-7. Cables: “Rossicaste, Phone, London”. (1929) […]
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York Lo: Kun Wing Fook Medicine Co. (靳永福藥廠) and “Coconut Tree” brand carminative oil (椰樹牌驅風油) Left: Kun Wing Fook booth at the 1971-72 HK Products Expo (HK Memory); Right: article and picture of Kun Wing Fook booth at the 1959 HK Products Expo featuring a tree with coconuts imported from Singapore (TKP, 1959-12-6) Kun Wing Fook Medicine Co, best known […]
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HF “South China Iron Works Ltd., founded in 1938 [incorporated 19th December 1938], lost much of its machinery during the Japanese occupation…but by 1949 had resumed production of diesel engines, including ‘specially designed’ three wheeled vehicles ‘especially designed for use in Southeast Asia’, and 2.5 ton trucks.” (1) The works were in Tsuen Wan according to the report below and […]
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HF: Cheoy Lee Shipyard operated at Penny’s Bay, Lantau from 1964 to April 2001. The company was founded in 1870 in Shanghai by the Lo family. In 1936 when the Japanese Imperial Army [invaded China] the yard was moved to British-controlled Hong Kong, where the Lo family thought the yard would be safe. But the Japanese took over Hong Kong, too, […]
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York Lo: South China Tea Corporation (華南茶業) and “Cocktail Tea” (鷄尾茶) Left: Outdoor advertising for South China Tea’s “Cocktail” covering the building which housed the Mayfair Studio in Kowloon (likely 3 Saigon Street); Right: a South China Tea Corp’s “China Beauty” Chinese green tea tin (Worthpoint) While the family of Southeast Asian tycoon Eu Tong-sen might be best known in […]
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