York Lo has found this extract from the Carl Smith book linked below. One of the early business enterprises in which Tong Mow-chee and his brother, Tong King-sing, were interested was the first sugar refinery built in Hong Kong. The sugar company grew out of a business parnership between Tong King-sing, William McGregor Smith and a Mr Dahlbeck. When the […]
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IDJ has sent this account, published in 1908, of Messrs. F Blackhead & Co.’s Soap and Soda Factory which was established in Shau Kei Wan around 1896. As IDJ points out the article is mistaken in suggesting that the distance between the city of Victoria (essentially Central) and Shau Kei Wan is two miles – it is at least seven […]
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HF wrote this in response to a comment on the article below by Sally Trainor: Your comments made me dig out a book, Victoria Finlay, Colour: Travels Through the Paintbox, Sceptre, 2002, which is an extensive account of the history, origins and places of production of all the colours an artist would use. And that got me thinking about the textile […]
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York Lo: The Ho family of Tsuen Wan and Caltex in New Territories and Southern China Left: Ad for Yiu Kee Hong in the 1960s; Right: Ho Chuen-yiu and son with Caltex executives – managing director Jack Wolf, PR manager Chow Sang-wah, kerosene department head Yew Man-kit and Wah Kiu Yat Po manager Shum Choy-sang in front of Yiu Kee […]
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HF: Dan Waters wrote a short piece in 1990 about the Dairy Farm Ice and Cold Storage Company. Dan has kindly drawn my attention to this and given permission to reproduce it. This was part of a longer article, Hong Kong Hongs with long histories and British connections, published in the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Branch, Vol […]
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Eleanor Wong has written A History of the Wong Family Textile Business, a detailed account of her family’s business history in Shanghai, then in Hong Kong and finally Indonesia. She was assisted in this project by her editor, Carey Vail. Part One: Life in Shanghai is a history of the Wong family’s interests in the textile industry in the city from 1911, […]
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York Lo: Unitex (裕泰針織) Left: IPO notice of Unitex in 1972 (WKYP, 1972-12-15) ; right : article about the IPO of Unitex in 1972 (WKYP, 1972-12-5) Unitex Ltd was a leading publicly listed knitwear manufacturer in Hong Kong in the 1970s and 1980s, making shirts for the leading brands in the US and Europe. The firm was founded in 1960 by Frank […]
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Hugh Farmer: I grew up with Dinky Toys as did many British boys in the 1950s and 60s and had a good collection of battered, tyre less cars. I had always assumed they were made in England and indeed the main factory was at Binns Road, Liverpool. It is perhaps difficult to believe now that when I was a child, “in […]
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York Lo: Lee On and Ying Kee – manufacturers of safes and steel furniture Local manufacturing of safes has existed since the early 1900s and within this specialized industry, Lee On and Ying Kee were two of the oldest and largest players (which also manufacture steel furniture in addition to safes) and both happen to be founded by Cantonese industrialists […]
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York Lo: The Fourth Horse: Ma Ping-san (馬平山) of M. Ping San Co., Tin Wah Gourmet Powder Factory and On Wah Perfume Co. Left: trademark registration for M. Ping San Co. in 1938 (HK Government Reports); Right: Ma Ping-san and wife at a charity concert by the Cantonese opera troupe Sin Fung Ming (仙鳳鳴) in 1961 (WKYP, 1961-2-17) Earlier on […]
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