Wilks & Jack Ltd – early 20th century Engineers and ship designers

Wilks & Jack Ltd Shop Image Early 20thC HK University Library

“This firm was founded in 1902 by Mr. E. C. Wilks, as a marine engineers’ and surveyors’ bureau. Mr. Wilks was joined in 1903 by Mr. W. C. Jack, formerly Ingenieur en Chef of the Tonkin River Mail Service, and late assistant manager at the Kowloon establishment of the Hong Kong and Whampoa Dock Company. During the five years of […]

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The ‘Vital Spark’ – last steam powered vessel to be licenced by the HK Marine Department 1988

IDJ: In 1984 The Hong Kong Society of Model & Experimental Engineers (HKSMEE) was officially registered. A major project by a member was a coal fired steam-engine powered launch, the ‘Vital Spark,’ based at Hebe Haven. The substantial steam engine and its accessories were built in a ‘home’ workshop with the hull constructed and fitted out near Hebe Haven. Vital Spark was […]

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Gande, Price & Company Ltd – Hong Kong agents and wine and spirits merchants

Gande, Price & Co Ltd, Premises In Shanghai 1917 Virtual Shanghai

The firm was established in 1892. It had branches in Hong Kong, Kobe and Taipei.(1) And Shanghai. This calendar poster of Gande, Price & Co., Ltd. was designed by Kwan Wai-nung and printed by Asiatic Lithographic Printing Press. The lady in cheongsam leaned against the Western-styled sofa. The English name of the Company was printed on the top of the […]

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The film The Sand Pebbles – replica of the USS San Pablo built at Vaughan & Yung Engineering Co Ltd

York Lo’s recent article, J.H. Vaughan – An American Shipbuilder in Hong Kong, mentions that the yard built the replica of the USS San Pablo for the well known film The Sand Pebbles. The article has prompted IDJ to send the following: The Sand Pebbles – Production Notes THE BACKGROUND When the late Richard McKenna’s first and only novel, “The Sand Pebbles,” […]

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The Hong Kong Ivory Industry

James Chan: A controversial subject with a long history in Hong Kong. Chief Executive, Leung Chun Ying, announced plans to ban the domestic ivory trade during his 2016 Policy Address. CY said that the government “will kick-start legislative procedures as soon as possible to ban the import and export of elephant hunting trophies.” Recent SCMP articles: SCMP 29th June 2016 Destruction of […]

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China International Motors (鎧興汽車) – Distributor of Bedford, Vauxhall and Buick automobiles

China International Motors Detail Image 7 York Lo

York Lo: China International Motors (鎧興汽車) – Distributor of Bedford, Vauxhall and Buick automobiles Left: China International Motors ad from the 1950s; Right: Vauxhall ad in the HK Police Magazine in 1956 The American auto giant General Motors (GM) once had a significant presence in the HK automobile market from the late 1940s to the 1960s with its Chevrolet and […]

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Emcolon Fashion Wigs (愛其麗免恤髮品)

Emcolon Fashion Wigs Detail Image 1 York Lo

York Lo: Emcolon Fashion Wigs (愛其麗免恤髮品) Emcolon Wigs lucky draw at the 27th HK Products Expo in 1969-70. Nelson Lee (left) assisting Chuang Chung-wen of Chuang’s Cutlery and CMA (centre) who was the guest of honor. (HK Memory) One of the wig manufacturers that was not covered in an earlier article on the HK wig industry [see link below], is […]

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Thomas De La Rue and Co, UK – Hong Kong banknote manufacturer, 1984-1996

De La Rue plc is a banknote manufacturer, security printing, and papermaking company with headquarters in Basingstoke Hampshire, England. It currently also has a factory on the Team Valley Trading Estate, Gateshead, and other facilities at Loughton, Essex and Bathford, Somerset all also in England. From 1984 to 1996 Thomas De La Rue plc operated a HK banknote printing plant in […]

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Chan Chi Kee Cutlery, in business since the 1920s, Shanghai Street

Chan Chi Cutlery Image Courtesy SCMP

Chan Chi Kee Cutlery has been in business since the 1920s, currently at 316-318 Shanghai Street, specializing in hand-pounded woks and its famous cutlery. ‘Alongside Wo Shing Goldsmith are a few other long-term shopkeepers, who have seen the rise and fall of Hong Kong’s manufacturing industry – selling kitchen tools, especially stainless steel products. Chan Chi Kee Cutlery, for example, […]

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