08. December 2023

LUX soap was the first brand in the world to use celebrities as endorsers. This 1920s Chinese trade card from our collection though shows, that before capitalizing on the grandeur and allure of Hollywood it relied of more classical motifs, but which were no less juicy... LUX soap was created by the firm Lever Brothers, now known as Unilever, in 1899. Marketed as a laundry product for over 20 years, only in the 1920s, the company conducted a contest that led them to a very interesting...

01. December 2023

This advertising poster from our collection tells of an incredible streak of bad luck for the German pharma giant Bayer during a both glamorous and troublesome period of history in the Middle Kingdom.

24. November 2023

The Astor House Hotel was once the oldest and most reputable establishment in Shanghai, but in 1910 an unthinkable crime occurred at one of the most famous hotels of the world, that almost tarnished its reputation forever. Items acquired by us in the USA help solve the century-old mystery...

16. November 2023

For for information on Old Shanghai's largest & longest-standing beer brand please visit our previous blog post here.

08. November 2023

If you look closely you will discover, that not only do we have this very rare 1930s Chinese Lever Brothers advertisement in our collection, but also an original matching soap bar, just as depicted on the poster. The company was once the largest soap producer in China and its traces remain visible in the country to this day. We have retold its 150-year long history, internationally and in the Middle Kingdom specifically across multiple posts in the past: Lever's Health Soap still sold here The...

30. October 2023

Halloween Special! Here's how foreign brands and local businesses advertised for the celebration in Shanghai in October 1938. Clippings from an original North-China Daily News paper in the MOFBA collection.

25. October 2023

The bottle indicates that it was a private label product created for the Danish trading firm Jebsen & Co. (捷成洋行), which is one of the few old China trading firms, so called “Hongs”, that is still active today. More on the company in our previous blog post here.

19. October 2023

For more on the history of Sun-Maid Raisins in China please visit our previous blog post here.

13. October 2023

This 1946 Shanghai magazine ad for Eng Aun Tong features a puzzling key visual - we certainly don't recommend using Tiger Balm as a sunscreen... The well-known heat rub was created in the 1870s by a Chinese herbalist in Burma. His sons took over the company in 1908 and developed it into a highly successful business empire which exported to China, Japan, and across Southeast Asia. In 1920 the headquarter was moved to Singapore where it continues to be manufactured to this day.

04. October 2023

Pirate was one of the first Western cigarette brands introduced to China in the late 19th century and was also one of the longest-lasting. More on its history in our previous article here.