Posts tagged with "1920s"



07. August 2023
A rare 1915 Cadbury's China calendar poster advertisement created by Walter Nutter & Co ("Kung-fah"), formerly Rex & Co Shanghai. From the MOFBA collection.
Although cocoa was introduced to Europe sometime in the 16th century it was not until the Industrial Revolution that new processes emerged which sped the production of chocolate and with that the development of an affordable mass market product. In 1824, John Cadbury, began selling tea, coffee and drinking chocolate in Bull Street in Birmingham, England. In 1847, John became a partner with his brother Benjamin and the company became known as "Cadbury Brothers”. The new firm began exporting...
04. June 2023
A ca. 1925 "pass book" by the grocery retailer Dombey & Son in Shanghai. From the MOFBA collection.
This ca. 1925 passbook for the provision store Dombey & Son from our collection, is the equivalent to the “order history” tab of modern ecommerce or grocery delivery apps. A unique glimpse at how advanced retail was in Shanghai already back then. Dombey & Son was a high-class grocery store established in 1899 and the location on 143 Bubbling Well Rd (today’s Nanjing West Rd) existed since at least 1909. As Shanghai grew into an international metropolis the address was renumbered...
30. January 2023
1920s Doan's Ointment advertisement (兜安氏皮膏病新篇) in Foster-McClellan's Chinese customer magazine. Illustration by 叔达. From the MOFBA museum.
A lovely and innocent Chinese girl in 1920s fashion, advertising a skin medication by Foster-McClellan in Shanghai. A check in the historic “List of American firms at Shanghai” by the US consul identifies the company as “importers of patent medicines”. What dark secrets could this fair facade possibly mask?
29. November 2021
1925 Shanghai calendar poster advertising for Sun-Maid raisins created by Carl Crow from the MOFBA collection
With community support, the California Associated Raisin Company was established in 1912 and membership comprised 85 percent of the state’s raisin growers. In 1915, the brand name Sun-Maid, coined by advertising executive E.A. Berg, was launched. Sun-Maid began developing raisin markets in Asia in 1918, and by 1922 had set up offices in Japan and China, where it immediately became a hugely popular brand. While raisins were considered to be commonly available foodstuffs by Americans, they were...
05. May 2021
Just recently China Daily reported that Shanghai had become the city with the most coffee shops in the world. Close to 7,000 venues, excluding coffee services in convenience stores and fast-food restaurants, serve the 30-million population of the Chinese metropolis. While this news may come as a surprise to coffee connoisseurs in Tokyo, London or New York, Shanghai – the city that famously never sleeps - has in fact an over 150 years history in roasting, brewing and serving the delicious...
05. May 2021