To follow the history of the Kwan family is to trace a complete history of Hong Kong graphic design. In 1845 the ‘China Trade’ artist Kwan Chuk Lam, known to the West as ‘Lamqua’ settled in Hong Kong. He was the only known pupil of the English painter G. Chinnery, and had exhibited paintings at the Royal Academy in the […]
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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 […]
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York Lo: Yu Yat Kee Watch Co (余日記) Yu Yat Kee Watch’s main store on Johnston Road in Wanchai in 1960 (Paul Almasy, Artnet) Yu Yat Kee Watch Co was one of the leading watch retailers in HK from the 1920s through the 1970s alongside firms, such as Lam Yuen Fong and Budson, which were covered in earlier articles, with […]
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HF: I am very happy to offer a little publicity to Lindsay Varty and the recent publication of her book, Sunset Survivors: Meet the people keeping Hong Kong’s traditional industries alive. This has been receiving excellent reviews and I understand from Lindsay that the first print has already sold out. Lindsay first contacted me in March wondering if she could […]
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York Lo: Kwong Fat Yuen Hong (廣發源行) – the 150 year old King of Leather Leather trademarks registered by Kwong Fat Yuen Hong in the 1930s with the HK colonial government – “Lion” brand in 1936 on the left and”Unicorn” and “Tank” brands in 1937 on the right (HK Government Report) Founded in 1867, Kwong Fat Yuen Hong is one […]
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York Lo: Three Generations and Three Industries: From Budson Watch to Casey Diamonds to Ingrid Millet The Liu family in 1949. Budson Liu (second row, second from right), his sons Pak-fei, Wan-fei, Casey and Ping-cheong (back row left to right) and their spouses and children. For close to a century, three generations of the Budson Liu family have been at […]
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York Lo: Chan Ching-pow (陳清雹) and Po Wah Land Investment (寶華置業) – Real Estate Developer from the 1960s Po Wah ad in 1964 advertising four of its properties in Kowloon – Po Kwong, Po On, Po Fung and Po Tai (WKYP, 1964-10-9) During the property boom in the early 1960s, one of the most active developers in Hong Kong was […]
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York Lo: Chan Chak-man(陳澤民) – Forgotten Knitwear Tycoon from the 1960s Chan Chak-man (second from left) greeted by his family after returning from the opening of his factory in Portugal in 1964 (WKYP, 1964-6-17) In the early 1960s, Chan Chak-man was a major figure in the HK knitwear industry who was a founding director of Hong Kong Woollen Knitting Manufacturers’ Association (香港毛織業廠商會, […]
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York Lo: Cheong K. (章記) – Real Estate Pioneer from the 1950s and 1960s Ad for Cheong K’s Kam Hoi Mansion at the former site of the Coca Cola bottling plant in North Point in 1962 featuring Cheong K’s logo on the right (KSDN, 1962-10-4) Left: Swiss House (瑞士樓) on 983-987A King’s Road, Quarry Bay with “Cheong K Building” (章記樓宇) […]
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York Lo: Goodyear(嘉年): The Rise and Fall of a Real Estate Giant Pang Kwok-chan’s lecture for the HKU Department of Extramural Studies (precursor of SPACE) in 1966 about the 5 stages of post-War development of the HK real estate industry with the only picture of him available in the public domain (香港工商日報, 1966-10-26) Goodyear was a major Hong Kong real […]
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