04. May 2023
Advertising is known to use subliminal messaging, but this cloth banner advertisement from our collection, tells the incredible story of a brand that not only shaped fashion trends but allegedly paved the way for Japan’s invasion of China in 1937 with a secret code.
24. April 2023
This stunningly illustrated 1933 advertisement for Federal cigarettes from our collection tells the history of the British company Major Drapkin, which was one of the last foreign companies to ever advertise in Republican China. Major Drapkin & Co was a tobacco manufacturer founded in England in 1898. Its best-selling brand was The Grey’s, named after the Royal Scots Greys cavalry regiment of the British Army. The company eventually became part of the United Kingdom Tobacco Co which got...
17. April 2023
These artefacts from our collection tell the history of an infant formula brand, that by itself would not be particularly noteworthy in China. A 1936 law suit in Shanghai involving Cow & Gate, however reveals the impressive stunts and dirty tricks its ad agency and distributors pulled off…
05. December 2022
The crumb trail of Bakerite leads us back to the American James David Sullivan, who after serving in the Spanish American War, came to China at the turn of the century and established the Denniston & Sullivan photo supplies store on Broadway (today’s Daming Rd.) in the Shanghai International Settlement. In June 1906 Sullivan sold the business to former employees Messrs. L.L. Hopkins and J.J. Gilmore who continued to operate it but moved it to Nanking Rd. (todays Nanjing East Rd.)
20. June 2022
A beautiful (and unopened!) art-deco design tea tin of "Selected Tea" by the Sincere Co. Shanghai. Sincere was the first Chinese-owned department store in Shanghai, opened in 1917. It was also the first of the "4 Big Department Stores" of Old Shanghai, followed by the Wing-On, the Sun Sun and the Sun. The relentless competition between them spurred modern retail innovations throughout the 1920s, 30s and 40s, such as in this case consumer packaged goods under "Sincere's" own private label brand...
14. May 2022
For what kind of product might this mysterious trademark be, that appears to show tablet PC's from outerspace orbiting the earth? From our 1933 Chinese Trademark directory.
11. October 2021
An edited and enhanced version of this article was published on Historic Shanghai. If you are based in Shanghai we highly recommend their historic walking tours.
13. September 2021
Presumably early 1920s as the eventual (and extremely popular!) Chinese brand name 老刀牌is not yet used, the key visuals cannon although is already trivialized. Read the brands back story and evolution here.
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