For latest updates please see items highlighted in blue. On 19th November 2020 information about William Elias Hughes, and images of him and his family were added. HF: We have been sent information about a couple of employees of the Asiatic Petroleum Company in China and one in the UK. We have also received requests for information about two more […]
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New information, posted 19th November 2020. Brian Hughes has been in touch about his father: My father William Elias Hughes from the Conway Valley in North Wales was employed by APC (North) up to the War in Shanghai following his sailing from London on the ‘Nyanza’ on 28/06/1913. I believe he first worked in Customs. My mother followed, having met […]
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York Lo: Mak and Mark: the century-old tales of two Nam Pak Hong families with the same surname In the early 20th century, Mak Kwong and Adolfo Mark were leading merchants in the Chinese medicine business in the traditional Chinese business district of Nam Pak Hong with global network of buyers and suppliers. Their Mak Kwong Kee and Yick Wo […]
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Our article about Harry Long working for the Kung Lee Steam Ship Company mentioned that “he was a superintendent and engineer on boats taking cargo upriver from Canton. It was a dangerous job and he often had to use firearms to fend off pirates.” This prompted Stephen Davies to recall an incident near Samsui (aka Samshui) where the HK, Canton & […]
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HF: Can anyone supply information about the period when these toys were made in Hong Kong? “In 1893 William Britain Jr., a British toy manufacturer, invented the process of hollow casting in lead, and revolutionized the production of toy soldiers. The company quickly became the industry leader, and was imitated by many other companies, such as Hanks Bros. and John Hill […]
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York Lo: Sau Tao and Chewy – Noodle Giants Aside from “Doll” noodle covered earlier in the group, two of the leading local manufacturers of instant noodles are Sun Shun Fuk, maker of “Sau Tao” brand and Chewy, which were founded in the 1960s and 1970s respectively. Sun Shun Fuk (新順福食品) and “Sau Tao” brand (壽桃牌) Left: Sun Shun Fuk […]
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York Lo: J. Ullmann (烏利文) – Swiss Watchmaker and Jeweler in HK and China Pictures of the interior and exterior of J. Ullmann’sTientsin store in the 1900s. (Directory and Chronicle of China, 1905) Founded in HK in the 19th century by a Swiss native of the same name, J. Ullmann & Co was a leading watchmaker not just in Hong […]
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York Lo: The Office Appliance Co. and Scientific Service Co. – distributors of office equipment The Office Appliance Co (hereafter referred to as OAC) and Scientific Service Co were two major distributors of office equipment and other products in HK and beyond but has since faded into history like the typewriters it represented. Below are their profiles: The Office Appliance […]
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York Lo: Cheung Lai Chun Jewellery and Shing Chai Tong Herb Co. Left:Cheung Lai Chun Jewelry (left) and Shing Chai Tong Herb (center) from an old picture of Queen’s Road Central. Right: picture of HK Jewellery Building (center) at the same location today Cheung Lai Chun Jewellery and Shing Chai Tong Herb Co were two famous firms with a long […]
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HF: With thanks to moddsey for pointing out a couple of sources. The banking industry began in Hong Kong in 1845 with the opening of a branch of the Oriental Banking Corporation, which had its headquarters in India. This Bank was also the first bank in Hong Kong to issue banknotes when in 1847 “it put in circulation $56,000 worth of […]
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