03. April 2023

This historic postcard from our collection of a Japanese barricade beneath a Coca-Cola billboard, undoubtedly portrays one of the most surreal moments in Shanghai’s history. A closer investigation of the multiple depictions of this scene however leads to a surprising realization. Firstly, the location is given as near the Isis Theatre. This establishment was just outside of the International Settlement boundaries in Hongkew district on the corner of North Szechuen Rd & Jukong Rd (todays...

21. March 2022

Beijing-based art collector Tong Bingxue today voiced his concerns on Twitter over the authenticity of a piece currently on auction at Sotheby's. We love ourselves a good old China mystery (especially when it possibly is around false advertising) and were quickly able to not only confirm suspicions over the provenance of "the earliest known dated photograph by a Chinese photographer" but uncover a shocking lack of research and fact-checking across reputable auction houses such as Christie's,...

20. February 2022

Not advertising related, but this has to be one of the most bizarre Old Shanghai tales we’ve come across. Here is what went down on March 7th 1936… Lu Fuzhi (陆敷之), the president of the 'Shanghai Commercial Fraternal Joint Trade Union', on this 40th birthday, took his 'wife' Yang Xiaoe taking off in a hot air balloon - made in France – apparently from the eastern side of Mogan Mountain, expected to arrive in Huzhou before sunset. However, the couple never arrived in Huzhou that...