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.

20. December 2021

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.

19. July 2021

05. October 2020

1930s advertisement poster by Japanese skincare brand "Rolling" (珞玲牌化粧品) together with matching original products. Incl. a spelling mistake of the manufacturers Name T. Matsumoto Co.. Little is known about the company except that it was from Osaka and that it's China head office was in Harbin, then part of the Empire of Manchuria.

31. August 2020

In the 22nd year of the Republic of China (1933) the Trademark Office of the Ministry Of Industry compiled the first volume of "Trademark Transactions of the Ministry of East Asia" (東亞之部商標彙刊). The publication of the book was a significant event in the industrial and commercial circles of the time. It received extensive attention from all walks of life. Over 100 senior government officials, celebrities and scholars such as Lin Sen, Yu Youren, Sun Ke, Song Ziwen, Li Zongren, Wang...