26. April 2025

Novartis is one of world’s largest pharma corporations and was formed in 1996 by the merger of Ciba-Geigy & Sandoz – originally three independent businesses all from the same small town of Basel, which is strategically located in Switzerland on the border to France and Germany. The surprisingly progressive 1929 calendar poster advertisement from our collection was produced for the most successful of these companies in China…

12. April 2025

Coca-Cola had been available in China since the early 20th century, when bottles were first imported from Coca-Cola’s manufacturing base in the Philippines. The American soft drink was advertised by Shanghai restaurants catering to foreigners, such as Sullivan’s, in as early as 1916. It was only in the 1920s, however that the Coca-Cola Company appointed official retailers and then bottlers in China’s largest treaty ports - the Watson’s Mineral Water Company in Shanghai and the Crystal...

31. March 2025

Vaseline is one of the most recognized brands globally and these artefacts from our collection showcase how over 100 years ago, the famous petroleum jelly already found its way into Chinese households, becoming a trusted name in health and beauty.

27. February 2025

"They detest cheese, and will not eat it under any circumstances", wrote advertising guru Carl Crow about Chinese consumers in 1937. Then what explains this marvelous Kraft cheese calendar poster from our collection, issued in Shanghai during the same year? An investigation...

14. February 2025

This rare, late Qing Dynasty wrapping paper from our collection bears the coat of arms of a family that was once among the wealthiest in the world and shaped China like no other. It tells a story filled with drugs, family feuds, and vast fortunes won and lost…

26. January 2025

Happy Chinese New Year 2025 from the MOFBA with this enchanting 1930s ad for BASF Indanthrene dye from our collection.

25. December 2024

A charming candy tin from our collection, with a Santa Claus illustration by the Ysien Dah Co. from Shanghai, China. Ca. 1920s.

15. December 2024

This ca. 1920s postcard from our collection shows a food stall somewhere in China or possibly Hong Kong. The advertisement posters on the wall emphasize just how aggressively cigarettes were mass-marketed in old China. At the peak of its activities in China in 1937, the British American Tobacco Company (BAT) manufactured and distributed approximately a stunning 55 billion machine-made cigarettes to Chinese consumers per year.

02. December 2024

This gorgeous cardboard advertising sign from our collection recalls the era when Beehive Wools illuminated Shanghai with the world’s second largest neon sign. Amid the turmoil of the war, this iconic installation briefly revived the city's spirit with a glimmer of hope during the darkest of times:

28. October 2024

Would you believe that a 362-year-old German manufacturer has been marketing & selling pencils to the Chinese for 100 years? Well, this ca. 1930s advertising card and original pens from our collection tell the story of how that indeed came about…