23. January 2023

Happy Chinese New Year! This rare A.S. Watsons advertisement from our collection not only has a peculiar design around the auspicious character 康 (health), but tells the origin story and evolution of the famous Chinese calendar posters which were in fact pioneered by Watsons in the 1880s together with a second British firm.

21. November 2022

Before the electrification of China starting in 1882 and the introduction of battery-powered torches in the 1910s, oil lamps were the predominant means of illumination. They were cheap to manufacture & became popular promotional merchandise - most famously exemplified by the Standard Oil Company of New York (SOCONY).