[1]

In 1878, the Post Master General’s Postal Guide contained a notification: “Box holders may mark stamps. Box holders (but box holders only) are at liberty to mark their postage stamps on the back or face, or by perforation, so as to prevent their being stolen. If a mark be on the face it must be such as not to interfere with the clean appearance of the stamp. Stamps so marked will not be purchased.”

[2]

Adamson, Bell & Co.
This Company was the direct predecessor of Dodwell, Carlill & Co. and Dodwell & Co., Ltd.. It started trading in Shanghai in 1858 as W.R. Adamson & Co., and in 1867 became Adamson, Bell & Co. when F.R. Bell joined. A successful company dealing mainly in silk, tea. and shipping, it opened an office in about 1875 at Hong Kong, adding insurance to its activities. By 1884 the Company had no less than eight insurance agencies in Hong Kong, mainly representing firms in London and Australia. The Company was taken over by Dodwell, Carlill & Co. in 1891, at a time it was reputed to be in financial difficulties.

Source: Traders of Hong Kong: Some Foreign Merchants Houses, 1841 – 1899, Solomon Bard 1993.

[3]

We had listed this company as the "American Chinese Commercial Company".

HKSC Journal 290, pg 9 reported that the name of the firm should be “Chinese-American Commercial Co.” HKPS Journal 290 p 9. The cover shown on HKSC Journal 290 gave the name and address of the firm to be: Chinese-American Commercial Co. 20 & 21 Connaught Road. The datestamp was 31 October 1903.

In the available literatures, there is not much mentioned about American traders. New group of American trader found a market for manufactured goods such as clocks, soap and canned food for the growing number of expatriate communities living in the Treaty Ports. Hong Kong had played a critical role as a platform for American traders seeking to take advantage of the opportunities created by opening up of the Treaty ports in the China market.

Frank Drake (October 2011)

[4]

See Group I - 3

[5]

A. S. WATSON & CO., LTD.
The firm of A. S. Watson & Co., Ltd., chemists, druggists, aerated water manufacturers, &c., is one of the largest business concerns in the Far East, consisting, as it does, of thirteen European shops and upwards of forty Chinese branches, giving employment to fifty Europeans and five hundred Chinese. Its origin dates back to the cession of Hongkong to the British, when a naval surgeon opened what became known as the Hongkong Dispensary for the use, principally, of sailors and soldiers. In the fifties, new premises were opened in Queen's Road, the concern having by that time passed into the hands of Mr. A. S. Watson. The business still only that of a chemist and druggist was sold in 1870 to a Mr. Bell, who, in turn, made it over to Mr. Hunt and Mr. John D. Humphreys. The latter gentleman afterwards became the sole proprietor, and in 1876 the first step was taken in the direction of expansion by the establishment of a small aerated water factory. Branches were opened in various^ districts, and the Chinese name of the firm, the Tai-yeuk-fong, became known all over China. In 1886 the concern was floated as a limited liability company, with a capital of nearly four lakhs of dollars. Mr. John D. Humphreys ceased to be general manager in 1896, and his firm of John D. Humphreys & Son became general managers. The capital was raised to $600,000 in 1890, and was further increased in 1904 to $900,000. The present partners in John D. Humphreys & Son are Messrs. Henry Humphreys, J. A. Jupp, and E. E. Humphreys.
The chief offices and premises of the firm are in Alexandra Buildings, one of the largest and most imposing blocks in the Colony, built upon the most approved modern lines. In the immediate vicinity are the Company's warehouses and soda water factory.

Source: p 220 Wright, Arnold, : Twentieth Century Impressions of Hongkong, Shanghai, and Other Treaty Ports of China: Their History. People, Commerce, Industries, and Resources. London: Lloyd's Greater Britain Publishing Company, Ltd., 1908.

[6]

20th Century Impressions of Hong Kong published in 1908 has the following

Quote
Barretto & Co.
The boycott of American flour by the Chinese in 1905-06 gave a big fillip to the trade of Australian flour, and prominent amongst the firms to benefit by this were Messrs. Barretto & Co., whose business was established, in 1895, by Messrs. A.A.H. Botelho and F.D. Barretto. The headquarters are in Queen's Building, and as merchants, commission and shipping agents, and wholesale importers and exporters their operations cover an extensive field and are increasing year by year. Probably more flour from the Australian Commonwealth has passed through thier hands latterly than through those of any other firm in the Colony. They are well represented all over the world, and are the agents in South China and Hong Kong for the Compagnie Francais des Indies et de l'Extreme-Orient; Campania Trasatlantica Royal Spanish Mail Line ( passengers' department); the Gresham Life Assurance Company; Lloyd Platino (Fire and Marine); Victoria General Insurance Company; La Nacional (Marine Insurance); and the Wine Growers' Supply Company. They have recently started the Imperial Brewing Company, Ltd., in the Colony, and have succeeded in placing the French service of night steamers to Canton on a paying basis.
Unquote.

Rod

[7]

See Group I - 16

[8]

See Group I - 9

[9]

See Group I - 17

[10]

See Group I - 19

[11]

See Group I - 32B

[12]

Commercial Bank of India

Established in 1851.
Promoter and/or director:
Byramjee Jejeebhoy
Sorabjee Jejeebhoy
Limjee Monackjee
Mangaldas Nathoobhoy
All Parsee names.
Its auditors were also Parsees – Sorabjee Pestonjee Framjee

Frank Drake (October 2011)

[13]

See Group I - 23

[14]

CHINA BAPTIST PUBLICATION SOCIETY.

This organization at Canton publishes for all .Vmeric^an Baptist Missionaries in the Chinese Empire, and it also prints for the general missionary body in the two Kwang Provinces, it was organized in February, 1899, and during eight years its presses have issued over 3.000,000 volumes. Over 750,000 volumes were sent out during 1907. The Society now has 120 different titles on its catalogue, and a number of new books are being put through the press. A Chinese monthly magazine of sixty pages is issued, which circulates throughout the Empire, and also in other countries whither the Chinese have gone. The Society prints " New East," a quarterly magazine in English, which is the organ of Baptist missionaries in China. Steps are being taken to erect a new and more commodious publishing house on a large site which the Society has recently purchased. The Society has large plans for the future, which should make it one of the leading mission presses of the world. As it is backed by the entire Baptist denomination of the United States, one of the wealthiest and most numerous in the world, it should not lack for funds. The Rev. R. E. Chambers, B.A., the secretary and treasurer, has charge also of the American library at Canton, which was established and is maintained by money received as an indemnity, from the
Chinese Government, for damage done to American property during the riots some fifty years ago. Mr. R. T. Cowles is in charge of the printing works.

Source: p 796 Wright, Arnold, : Twentieth Century Impressions of Hongkong, Shanghai, and Other Treaty Ports of China: Their History. People, Commerce, Industries, and Resources. London: Lloyd's Greater Britain Publishing Company, Ltd., 1908.

[15]

The China Fire Insurance Company

Most of the early traders operated in the import and export businesses, but many shifted to trade services (insurance and shipping brokerage). Some of the big Agency Houses undertook insurance business, representing some of the leading houses operating in life, fire and marine risks. The China Fire Insurance Company was owned by the Union Insurance Society of Canton, Ltd.

Frank Drake (October 2011)

[16]

See Group I - 24b

[17]

THE CHINA MERCHANTS STEAM NAVIGATION COMPANY, LTD.
The China Merchants Steam Navigation Company is probably the largest enterprise of its kind owned and controlled exclusively by Chinese. Although of comparatively recent
origin its importance and influence are very considerable. On several occasions, especially in cases of national disturbance, it has placed its resources loyally at the disposal of the nation and been of the greatest service to the Government. During the Russo- Japanese War, for instance, a great many Chinese workpeople owed their escape from Manchuria solely to the Company, upon whose ships they were granted free passages to their homes. To Mr. Ton.g Kin Sing and Mr. Chu Yu
Chee belongs the chief credit for the foundation and remarkably successful development of the undertaking. It was some thirty-five years ago that Mr. Pong Kin Sing, compradore to Messrs. Jardine, Matheson & Co., and one of the best known business men in China, saw what a splendid opening there was for
a fleet of steamers that should be owned by Chinese, and operated in accordance with the best business principles. In conjunction, therefore, with Mr. Chu Yu Cliee, another progressive man, who can claim to have been the pioneer, also, of the Chinese Engineering and Mining Companies, he raised a capital of Tls. 1,000,000 and formed the Company. Under the able management of Mr. Tong Kin Sing, director-general, and Mr. Chu Yu Chee, his colleague, rapid progress was made. The Company's first steamer, the Aden, was purchased from the Peninsular and Oriental Company and placed on the Shanghai and Tientsin Line. The Government granted the Company the use of the transport Kong Chi for three years, and two years later the steamers Fu Sing. Lee Yncn, and Yung Citing, were added to the fleet.
Etc..

Source: p 462 Wright, Arnold, : Twentieth Century Impressions of Hongkong, Shanghai, and Other Treaty Ports of China: Their History. People, Commerce, Industries, and Resources. London: Lloyd's Greater Britain Publishing Company, Ltd., 1908.

[18]

See Group I - 30A

[19]

After receiving his early education in the conventional Chinese curriculum, Wu T'ing-Fang was sent to Hong Kong to enroll at the British Central School (later Queen's College), a secondary school operated by the Hong Kong government. He He was graduated in 1860. For the next decade he held various positions in the colony, including the post of interpreter in the Hong Kong Courts. He was also associated with the Chung Ngoi San Po (Chung-wai hsin-pao), the first modern daily newspaper to be published in Chinese. Although it is unclear whether he was the a founder of this paper, which appeared in 1858. Wu played a leading role as an editor of the Chung-ngoi san-po during its early years. In 1873 he joined Wang T'ao and Huang Sheng in founding another early Hong Kong newspaper, the Tsun-wan yat-po (Hsun-wan jih-pao), which becale the most successful Chinese-owned paper of that period.

Source: P 453 Biographical dictionary of Republican China, Volume 3 By Howard L. Boorman, Richard C. Howard, Joseph K. H. Cheng
1970 Columbia Unisersity Press

[20]

See Group I - 18

[21]

There was something of a scandal at the time, for in those days, before the advent of the cable, news filtered in slowly, and, in the excitement of the moment, some of the earliest recipients took matters into their own hands, grabbing notes from the bank counters, and in some cases landing themselves by their unseemly behaviour, in the police court. These causes, with the failure of Dent & Co., Lyall, Still & Co.. and other firms, added to the general depression in the trade of the Colony which characterized the years 1866 69, led ultimately to the failure or closing of the Commercial, the Central, the Hindustan, the Asiatic, the Agra, and probably other of the banks.

MR. CHU YU CHEE, who is a native of the little village of Paksan-ling. near Macao, came to Shanghai at the early age of fifteen to join his uncle, who was compradore to the old English firm of Dent & Co. He subsequently accompanied Mr. Webb, a partner of the firm, up the Yangtsze to assist in opening agencies in the Treaty ports,

Source: p 116, 566 Wright, Arnold, : Twentieth Century Impressions of Hongkong, Shanghai, and Other Treaty Ports of China: Their History. People, Commerce, Industries, and Resources. London: Lloyd's Greater Britain Publishing Company, Ltd., 1908.

[22]

I have been trying to find information on the company's history but there does not seem to be much around. Searches using the name "Davidson & Co" had not produced results. Recently, I came across a mention that a Glasgow based company, the Scottish Oriental Steam Ship Co. Ltd., had listed "Ferguson, Davidson & Co as managers" for that firm. For more information do a search on the ship "Phra Nang" and with the Lloyds Register of British & Foreign Shipping.

I am now thinking that Davidson & Co. might have been an agent in Hong Kong for the Scottish Oriental Steam Ship Co. and that their business was related to the Far East coastal service, perhaps through the buying and selling of steam vessels for the then growing coastal navigation business. The period of business activity matches that of the QV adhesives known with this marking.

Frank

[23]

See Group I - 41

[24]

See Group I - 40

[25]

On 1 May 1891, Dodwell and Arthur John Hepburn Carlill, the manager of the tea department, acquired the now bankrupt Adamson Bell & Co. and renamed it Dodwell, Carlill & Co. There were 20 European employees based in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Yokohama and Kobe. At the London head office were Thomas Dermer, Frederick D’Iffanger and Fred Dodwell, brother of the owner.

Michel Houde

See also Group I - 41

[26]

SMITH, Carl Thurman., A Sense of History: Studies in the Social and Urban History of Hong Kong, The Hong Kong Educational Publishing Co., 1995, made the following mention:

"The Italian firm of D. Musso & Co traded in Hong Kong during the period 1877 – 1879. Its founder was Dominico Musso , who also acted as the Italian Consul in Hong Kong. The business and warehouse were at Navy Bay. Dominico Muso was also involved with the establishment of Roman Catholic Insitutions at Sai Ying Pun."

Frank

[27]

The firm was established in 1858 when W R Adamson and Company (silk dealers) set up in London, with its head office in Shanghai and branches in Hong Kong, Foochow and Hankow. It began to build up an export business in tea and silk, and also a general import business, and began to acquire shipping agencies. The name changed in 1867 to Adamson, Bell and Company.
In 1872 George Benjamin Dodwell joined the company in Shanghai, and in 1891, by which time both Adamson and Bell had retired, he formed Dodwell, Carlill and Company to take over Adamson Bell's agencies. Also in 1891 the head office moved to London. By this stage the firm was exporting tea, porcelain, silk and other Chinese produce from Hong Kong, Shanghai, Yokohama and Kobe, and importing flour and lumber from Tacoma on the Pacific coast.
In 1897 a branch was opened in Colombo, chiefly exporting tea to Russia. In 1899 Dodwell and Company Limited was registered as a private limited company. G. B. Dodwell was its first chairman. From 1899 to the First World War, tea sales declined and general merchandising and the shipping agencies became more important. Japan also became more important to the company, chiefly through the export of coal to Singapore and Shanghai.
From the 1920s onwards, Dodwell's trade in the Far East generally fluctuated for various reasons, including the Second World War and the Chinese revolution. However, post-war recovery in Japan was rapid, and the company had begun meanwhile to expand in other directions, including rubber and textiles, and also motor vehicles. Dodwell Motors, a subsidiary, was formed in Hong Kong after the war. It amalgamated in 1969 with Inchcape's Metro cars to form Metro-Dodwell Motors Limited, which took over all British Leyland franchises in Hong Kong.
From the mid 1950s, Dodwell specialised as buying agents for department and chain stores throughout the world, opening their own retail stores in some places, including Kenya and Hong Kong.
In 1972 the whole share capital of Dodwell and Company Limited was acquired by Inchcape and Company Limited. Dodwell had offices successively in Billiter Street and St Mary Axe.

© 1998 - 2008 AIM25 Archives in London and the M25 area.

[28]

See Group I - 34

[29]

See Group I - 36

[30]

See Group I - 45A

[31]

I refer to Peter's comments on the II-38, with the set of initials comprising - E. S. K & Co. - that the firm's identity might be the Ellis S. Kardoorie & Co.

I think the connection might be right. This marking is found on the KEVII issues in the early 1900s and used in Hong Kong. This matches the timing when Elly (later Sir Elly) S Kadoorie, a Baghdadi Jew, started his own business in Hong Kong around the 1890. He had arrived in the Colony sometime during the 1880 and initially worked for the Sassoon family.

What is uncertain to me is the exact name for the firm. Is it Ellis S. Kadoorie & Co. or is it Elly & Sons Kardoorie & Co.? Or had both versions of the names been used, perhaps one to designate business operations in Hong Kong and the other in Shanghai? This clarification might need some further researching.

Frank

See Group I - 79C

[32]

Gilman & Co.

One of the oldest of the British firms in China, Gilman & Co. was founded by Richard James Gilman, who is said to have started as a tea-taster with Dent & Co. at Canton. His name appears among the foreign residents of Canton in the Chinese Repository for 1837.

In 1842 Gilman formed a partnership with Abram Bowman as Gilman, Bowman & Co., and moved to Hong Kong shortly after. The premises were on Queen's Road Central. When Bowman retired in 1847, the firm became Gilman & Co. and has so remained. The Company exported silk and tea from Foochow and imported textiles; branches were established at Foochow, Hankow, Shanghai, and in Japan. The opium and tea traffic was then booming, and since the
Company owned or chartered the clipper Taeping, it may be assumed that it traded in both.
Richard Gilman retired in 1855 and left for England with a fortune, it was said, made in the China trade. The firm continued to expand with considerable success, especially in the 1860s. In 1864 Gilman & Co. played an important part in promoting the formation of the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank. They acted as the agents for the India and China Marine Insurance Company, and became known as general merchants, commission agents, shipping and insurance agents, coal and coke merchants, ship owners, and chandlers.
By 1871-72 the partners in the firm were R.J. Gilman, C.A. Wild, H.B. Lemann, W. Lemann, E.H. Lavers, H.F. Ramsey, and F. Gilman.
The late 1870s brought difficult times; the London firm of Ashton & Co. bailed Gilmans out becoming business partners in the process. Though tea exports declined, the Company fared well as the agents of the Australian Sandalwood Company, importing sandalwood into South China where it was used for making joss-sticks. The Company recovered until in 1876 ill fortune descended on its silk business; branches at Hankow and Shanghai were temporarily closed and Ashton & Co. itself went into liquidation. Gilman & Co. survived in Hong Kong, a testimony to its flexibility and toughness, and from then continued successfully
into the twentieth century, diversifying into many new enterprises, including the motor-car trade. In 1917 it registered as a limited liability company; and in 1968 was absorbed into the Inchcape Group of Companies, a few years after Gibb,
Livingston & Co., and like the latter, its name being retained. Its memory is preserved also in the streets named after it - Gilman's Bazaar and Gilman Street.

Source: p 60 Traders of Hong Kong: Some Foreign Merchants Houses, 1841 – 1899, Solomon Bard 1993.

Gilman and Company
Richard James Gilman, who started out working for Dent & Co. in Canton, founded one of the oldest of the British firms in China, Gilman & Co. In 1842 Richard Gilman formed a partnership with Abram Bowman as Gilman, Bowman & Co., and moved to Hong Kong shortly after. When Bowman retired in1847, the firm became Gilman & Co. and has so remained. The Company exported silk and tea from Foochow and imported textiles. Branches were established at Foochow, Hankow, Shanghai and in Japan. The Company owned or chartered the clipper Taeping, and was engaged in the then booming opium and tea trade traffic. In 1864 Gilman & Co played an important part in promoting he formation of the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank. The firm became well known as general merchants, commission agents, shipping and insurance agents, coal and coke merchants, ship owners, and chandlers. In the twentieth century, it continued to diversify into many new enterprises, including the motor-car trade. Gilmans was taken over by Duncan Paterson of Perth, Western Australia in 1917 and converted into a private limited company. In 1968, it was absorbed into the Inchcape Group of Companies, a few years after Gibb, Livingstoin & Co, and like the latter, its name being retained.

Frank Drake

[33]

In researching the development of the Wan Chai area in Hong Kong Island, I came across the firm's name of George Fenwick & Co., engineers and shipbuilders, which gave its name to Fenwick Street on the Praya East Reclamation. I am of the view that the security marking with the initials " G. F. & Co." belongs to this firm.

Reference source: SMITH, Carl Thurman., "A Sense of History: Studies in the Social and Urban History of Hong Kong", The Hong Kong Educational Publishing Co., (1995), pg 123, IBSN 962-290-313-4

Frank

For the record it is listed in the following directories 1889/1891 George Fenwick & Co. engineers
Wanchai,1892/1893 George Fenwick & Co. Ltd. engineers Wanchai 1904/1905 George Fenwick & Co.Ld. engineers & shipbuilders Praya East, 1914 Geo.
Fenwick & Co. Ltd (in liquidation) liquidators: Percy Smith, Seth & Flening - 5 Queens Rd., Central.

Peter

[34]

See Group I - 54

[35]

This is probably Geo. R. Stevens & Co. See p. 85 Traders of Hong Kong: Some Foreign Merchant Houses, 1841 - 1899, Bard S.. Also listed in Chronicle & Directory for Hong Kong and the Treaty Ports 1889/1891/1892/1893.
Their business seems to have continued from 1889 up to about 1900.

Peter

[36]

A. Heard & Co.
Augustine Heard arrived in China from Boston, Mass. in 1830 to join the successful American firm of Russell & Co. at Canton, as a step towards an independent business career of his own. In 1837 he left the Company, and in 1840joined Joseph Coolidge Jr. to form at Canton A. Heard & Co. The firm expanded quickly, so that by 1846 there were three partners and three staff members, and by 1856six partners, four of them members of the Heard family (Augustine, Augustine Jr., Albert, and John). Branches had been opened at Foochow and Shanghai, but as the clouds of the Second Opium War were gathering over Canton the Company moved to Hong Kong in 1858 for safer trading. Duting this period it had had business dealings with Jardine, Matheson & Co.

From 1858 the US Government forbade American firms from selling opium to China. Whether A. Heard & Co. complied with the order or not, the firm's business was booming, so much so that the Hongkong Directory for 1859 listed it as having nine members of staff, which by 1861expanded to five partners and 23 assistants, distributed among offices in Hong Kong and at Canton, Shanghai, Foochow, and Yokohama. A. Heard & Co. in Hong Kong continued to enjoy, from their premises on Hollywood Road, throughout the 1860s a prosperity one of the sources of which was the lucrative local steamer traffic. In 1867, Russell & Co. and Heard & Co., the latter now matching the former in size and importance, agreed to divide the steam-boat traffic between them, with Hong Kong, Macao, and Canton shipping for the Heard's, and the Yangtse River shipping for the Russell's.

In the 1870sthe Company was experiencing difficulties, and by 1875 was in such serious trouble that the next year it failed. There were many reasons put forward to explain the demise of a company which did so brilliantly before, among them the misappropriation of funds by an associated company, the general business depression - especially the sudden lack of quick profits-and from 1871 the absence of by far the ablest member of the firm, Augustine Heard.

Source: p 80 Traders of Hong Kong: Some Foreign Merchants Houses, 1841 – 1899, Solomon Bard 1993.

[37]

See Group I - 59B

[38]

See Group I - 62B

[39]

See Group I - 64

[40]

In 1887 Stiebel left {Reiss & Co.}and was replaced by Roderick Mackenzie Gray, while a Mr Adler was in charge of the Shanghai office. In 1893 Hongkong Directory & List the firm is on Duddell Street. Reiss & Co. did well in business for the next twenty years, but failed in the slump of 1921-22, being liquidated in 1923; it was immediately taken over and re-organized under new management as Holyoak, Massey & Co. Ltd. of Hong Kong, Shanghai, Canton, and Chefoo. P.H. Holyoak became a prominent member of the Hong Kong business community, and was at one time Chairman of the Hong Kong Chamber of Commerce and a member of the Legislative Council. He died in England in 1926.

Source: p 76 Traders of Hong Kong: Some Foreign Merchants Houses, 1841 – 1899, Solomon Bard 1993.

[41]

See Group I – 125

[42]

See Group I - 68

[43]

See Group I - 62

[44]

See Group I - 73

[45]

See Group I - 74

[46]

See Group I - 76

[47]

See Group I - 79A

[48]

Johnson Stokes & Master are a firm of solicitors that started in Hong Kong in 1863, initially known by the name Edmund Sharp at that time, the sole proprietor. By the time the firm joined the Hong Kong Chamber of Commerce in 1895 it was known as Johnson Stokes & Master. In the early years, the firm was active in handling shipping cases in the Admiralty Court. The Shanghai office was set up in 1893 at the International Settlement in Shanghai. The firm was the legal adviser to The Hongkong & Shanghai Banking Corporation.

Frank
Jan 8, 2011

[49]

KELLY & WALSH, LTD.
The firm of Kelly & Walsh, Ltd., publishers, printers, bookbinders, booksellers, and stationers, has been established for over thirty years, and has branches in Hongkong, Shanghai, Singapore, and Yokohama. The Hongkong branch was formerly situated in Queen's Road Central, whence it was removed a few years ago to the present handsome premises in York Building. Chater Road. The local printing office is situated in Duddell Street, and is thoroughly well equipped. Messrs. Kelly & Walsh carry a very large stock of books, and make a feature of those dealing with the Far East.

Source: p 224 Wright, Arnold, : Twentieth Century Impressions of Hongkong, Shanghai, and Other Treaty Ports of China: Their History. People, Commerce, Industries, and Resources. London: Lloyd's Greater Britain Publishing Company, Ltd., 1908.

[50]

See Group I - 86

[51]

See Group I - 88

[52]

See Group I - 87B

[53]

The firm of Lamke and Rogge was formed in 1890 as shipbrokers. They were a German firm and the principles were listed as Johannes Lamke and Carl Heinnich Rogge. Mr. Lamke had been an assistant in Blackhead & Co. and then with Arnhold, Karberg & Co. In 1889, he had his own shipbrokering office until he and Mr. Rogge became partners. Mr. Rogge began his business career in Hong Kong with Melchers & Co. In 1914, Lamke and Rogge was listed as ship, freight and coal brokers.

Frank

[54]

L. M. ALVARES & CO.
A POPULAR delicacy at home is the preserved ginger imported largely from China. The Hing Loong ginger factory in Canton is noted for producing some of the finest qualities, the export of which is controlled by Messrs. L. M. Alvares & Co., of No. 8a, Des Voeux Road, Hongkong. The ginger is prepared by a secret process suggested by Mr. Alvares. Another important business in which Messrs. Alvares & Co. are engaged is the export of feathers, which are purchased in China and cleaned in the firm's own factory at Kowloon the only establishment
of its kind in the Colony equipped with the latest machinery, and housed in a building specially designed to meet the exacting requirements of the Sanitary Board. The firm do a considerable and important business with Europe and America, and have an excellent reputation as experts in the selection of Chinese produce. The business was established in 1896 by Mr. L. M. Alvares, the present managing partner, who was educated
at St. Joseph's College, Hongkong. In 1903 he took Mr. J. M. Alves into partnership.

Source: p 222 Wright, Arnold, : Twentieth Century Impressions of Hongkong, Shanghai, and Other Treaty Ports of China: Their History. People, Commerce, Industries, and Resources. London: Lloyd's Greater Britain Publishing Company, Ltd., 1908.

[55]

See Group I - 87B

[56]

See Group I - 89

[57]

Mercantile Bank of India Ltd.
The predecessor for this bank was the Chartered Mercantile Bank of India, London & China. In 1893, the Chartered Mercantile Bank of India, London & China had been compelled to surrender its charter. In 1893, the bank relinquished its charter and was reconstituted as the Mercantile Bank of India Ltd. In 1958, the bank changed its name to The Mercantile Bank, Limited.

Frank Drake (October 2011)

[58]

See Group I - 93

[59]

See Group I - 103

[60]

OSAKA SHOSEN KAISHA.
A QUARTER of a Century ago there were about 120 steamers under different ownership running out of Osaka to the inland and coast ports of Japan. Competition between them was so keen that, although cargo and passengers were plentiful, the owners suffered heavy losses. At this juncture, in order to prevent a crisis, the Japanese Government
advised amalgamation. This advice was wisely acted upon, and resulted in the formation, on May i, 1884, of the Osaka Shosen Kabusluki Kaisha (Osaka Mercantile Steamship Company) Limited Liability Company, registered and having its head ofiice in Osaka. At first the new Company encountered much difficulty in running the steamers
at a profit, but gradually the conlidence of the general public was obtained and the Company entered upon an era of prosperity. Regular services with first-class steamers were started to all inland ports and coast ports of Japan, to North China and Korean coast ports, Formosa and South China, Hongkong, and Shanghai, via China coast ports,
and between Shanghai and Yangtsze ports. This latter service, however, has since been transferred to the Nisshin Kisen Kaisha, Occasional service is maintained between Japan and Java ports, &c. Six new ships are under construction (each over 6,000 tons, and to have a speed of over 14 knots) for a
trans-Pacific service which is to be inaugurated shortly. At the present day, therefore, the Osaka Shosen Kaisha may be said to rank among the premier steamship companies of Japan.
…
To meet the Company's ever-widening sphere of activity the fleet has been increased from time to time. In 1884, the Company owned 3 iron and steel and 93 wooden steamers, aggregating 17,056 tons ; while in 1907 the fleet consisted of 76 iron and steel
and 33 wooden steamers of 108,037 gross tonnage. At the present time 10 steel steamers of 42,450 tons gross are under construction.

Source: p 205 Wright, Arnold, : Twentieth Century Impressions of Hongkong, Shanghai, and Other Treaty Ports of China: Their History. People, Commerce, Industries, and Resources. London: Lloyd's Greater Britain Publishing Company, Ltd., 1908.

[61]

See Group I - 111

[62]

See Group I - 112B

[63]

See Group I - 113

[64]

See Group I - 116

[65]

Reuter, Brockelmann & Co.

Located on Queen's Road, the firm of Reuter, Brockelmann & Co. was a direct successor of Pustau & Co. becoming highly successful in the 1880s in general imports and exports. It had branches at Canton and Shanghai and in Europe. In 1896 it opened at Tientsin, where it produced carpets at its wool-dyeing factory. Except for the period of the First World War, the Company continued trading in Hong Kong to the beginning of the second.

Source: p 103 Traders of Hong Kong: Some Foreign Merchants Houses, 1841 – 1899, Solomon Bard 1993.

[66]

Russell Sturgis (1805-1887) was a Boston merchant active in the China trade, and later head of Baring Brothers, London.
Sturgis was born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1805, a grandson of the noted merchant Russell Sturgis (1750-1826), went to Harvard College at twelve, and in 1828 first sailed abroad. For a time he practiced law in Boston, but in 1833 sailed for Canton on behalf of the opium smuggler John Perkins Cushing. In Asia he entered succession of family firms (Russell & Sturgis of Manila; Russell, Sturgis & Co. of Canton; Russell & Co.), and in 1842 he became a full partner.
In 1844 Sturgis retired to Boston to rejoin his children, sent there to school after their mother died in 1837 in Manila. He remarried, to Julia A. Boit, but then decided to return with his family to China in 1851. The steamer on which they crossed the Atlantic arrived too late to catch the onward ship from London. In their interval there, Sturgis was asked by the senior member of Barings Bank to become a partner. He accepted, ultimately becoming head of the firm.
Sturgis never returned to the United States, and died in England in 1887.

Wikipedia

[67]

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[68]

The Sing Hwa Savings Bank was the 8th bank in China, according to assets in 1919. It had, most probably, a branch in Hong Kong.

Philippe October 2011

[69]

See Group I - 35

[70]

See Group I - 122

[71]

See Group I - 132

[72]

See Group I - 133

[73]

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[74]

Vogel, Hagcdorn and Co opened a branch at Shanghai in 1871 under the management of Charles Vogel and Theodore Schneider (DP 1 Aug. 1871). About the year 1883 Vogel and Co ceased doing business in Hong Kong.

Heinnch Kuchholf became a partner of Vogel, Hagedorn and Co. in 1868 and remained with the company when its name was changed to Vogel and Co. He was successively in Canton and Shanghai. After Vogel and Co. closed, he traded as a partner in the dim of Kirchhoff and Levogt at Shanghai, where he died in September 1883 (DP 3 Oct. 1883).

Emile Ernest William Vogel had previously been an assistant in the large American firm of Russell and Co. After Mr. Hagedorn and Mr Vogel dissolved then partnership, Vogel continued in business as Vogel and Co. until he left Hong Kong in 1881/82.

Source: THE GERMAN SPEAKING COMMUNITY IN HONG KONG 1846 -1918, CARL T.SMITH
Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Branch - Vol. 34 (1994 )

Vogel and Company summary
Vogel, Hagedon & Co. was a German trading firm, established in Hong Kong in 1868. They were general merchants. Frederick William Hagedon began his business career in Hong Kong in 1864 working as an assistant in another German trading firm. With partners, he formed the firm, Hagedon & Co. in 1865. In 1867, he took on two new partners, Emil Vogel and Heinrich Kirchhoff, and the firm's name changed in1868 to Vogel, Hagedon & Co. The firm traded under this name until 1877, when Fredrick Hagedon retired, and Emil Vogel continued in business as Vogel and Co. until he left Hong Kong in 1882.

Frank Drake

[75]

Frederick William Hagedorn began his business career in Hong Kong in 1864 as an assistant in the firm of Hesse, Ehlers and Co. In July 1865, he and Richard H. Radecker became partners. He continued the business when Mr. Radecker left the firm in 1867 (GG 1 July 1865, 5 Jan. 1867). Hagedorn and Co. took on two new partners in 1868 and the name of the firm was changed to Vogel, Hagedorn and Co. The new partners were Emil Vogel and Heinrich Kirchhoff (GG 15 Feb. 1868) In 1877, Mr. Hagedorn retired from this company (DP 3 Sept. 1877).

Source: THE GERMAN SPEAKING COMMUNITY IN HONG KONG 1846 -1918, CARL T.SMITH
Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Branch - Vol. 34 (1994 )

Emil Ernest William Vogel had previously been an assistant in the large American firm of Russell & Co.

In 1877, Mr Hagedom retired from the company (DP 3 Sept 1877). After Mr Hagedom and Mr Vogel dissolved their partnership, Vogel continued in business as Vogel & Co until he left Hong Kong in 1881/82.

About the year 1883 Vogel and Co ceased doing business in Hong Kong.

Heinrich Kirchhoff became a partner of Vogel, Hagedorn & Co in 1868 and remained with the company when its name was changed to Vogel & Co. He was successively in Canton and Shanghai. After Vogel and Co closed, he traded as a partner in the firm of Kirchhoff and Levogt at Shanghai where he died in September 1883 (DP 3 Oct 1883)

Frank

(See also: Group II – 98)

[76]

Wetmore, Cryder & Co.
William S. Wetmore and Samuel Wetmore Jr. were long-time residents and merchants at Canton, where from 1835 they managed a company under the name of Wetmore & Co., located in the "Imperial Hong" of the factories. By 1845 William Wetmore: was back in New York and Samuel Wetmore Jr. had been joined by three other partners, including S.B. Rawle, later of Rawle, Duus & Co.

The firm established a branch in Hong Kong as Wetmore, Cryder & Co. of Queen's Road in 1860, by which time there were two partners, W. Shepard Wetmore and W. Wetmore Cryder, with 14 assistants. In addition to the original branch at Canton, there were also branches at Shanghai and in Japan. The firm closed in 1867.

Source: p 84 Traders of Hong Kong: Some Foreign Merchants Houses, 1841 – 1899, Solomon Bard 1993.

[77]

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[78]

William Meyerink & Co.

Heinnich Friedrick Meyerink was admitted a partner in Meyer & Co. in 1878. He left the firm by 1884. From 1890 he was connected with the firm of William Meyerink & Co. The head office was in Shanghai, and a partner, Max Tiefenbah, was in Hamburg.

Frank Drake (October 2011)

[79]

Could it be be Walter Nutter of London?
They opened a branch at Shanghai in 1881 operating until at least 1907. However the examples I have all have c.d.s of Hong Kong. This would mean that a branch was opened here after 1907. With British firms this is a distinct possibilty.

Peter Pugh

[80]

W. R. Loxley and Company
W. R. Loxley is a British company with strong trading links with South-east Asia, importing rice and lumber from Thailand and shipping a wide range of commodities and acting as commission agents.

Frank Drake

I am interested in finding out more information about my second great-grandfather, William Richard LOXLEY. He was born in Banbury, Oxfordshire, in 1851 to parents William Clemens LOXLEY and Anne PAGE. He married Clara CROSBY at St. Pancras, London, in Sep 1884.

William was a shipping merchant who imported rice and china to England from Hong Kong (where all of his children were born). I know that he was alive in November 1917 (he attended my great-grandmother's wedding), but have been unable to locate his death information.

Val Campbell
campbells@canada.com

[81]

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