15. April 2024
The “father of makeup” Max Factor created the signature looks of famous Hollywood icons such as Marlene Dietrich and Marilyn Monroe, but items from our collection show how his Oscar-winning cosmetics were not limited to American stars only and already enchanted common Chinese women since the 1930s.
24. December 2023
The Mei Foo Shield was the "monthly magazine published by the Standard Oil Company of New York in the interests of its Far Eastern Staff". More on SOCONY in our previous article here.
13. December 2023
This EWO promotional calendar from our collection tells the story of a beer once brewed in China & exported around the world incl to India. Yet it also contains a touch of false advertising which tragically leads us to one of the most sardonic murder cases of Old Shanghai.
08. December 2023
LUX soap was the first brand in the world to use celebrities as endorsers. This 1920s Chinese trade card from our collection though shows, that before capitalizing on the grandeur and allure of Hollywood it relied of more classical motifs, but which were no less juicy... LUX soap was created by the firm Lever Brothers, now known as Unilever, in 1899. Marketed as a laundry product for over 20 years, only in the 1920s, the company conducted a contest that led them to a very interesting...
01. December 2023
This advertising poster from our collection tells of an incredible streak of bad luck for the German pharma giant Bayer during a both glamorous and troublesome period of history in the Middle Kingdom.
24. November 2023
The Astor House Hotel was once the oldest and most reputable establishment in Shanghai, but in 1910 an unthinkable crime occurred at one of the most famous hotels of the world, that almost tarnished its reputation forever. Items acquired by us in the USA help solve the century-old mystery...
16. November 2023
For for information on Old Shanghai's largest & longest-standing beer brand please visit our previous blog post here.
30. October 2023
Halloween Special! Here's how foreign brands and local businesses advertised for the celebration in Shanghai in October 1938. Clippings from an original North-China Daily News paper in the MOFBA collection.
25. October 2023
The bottle indicates that it was a private label product created for the Danish trading firm Jebsen & Co. (捷成洋行), which is one of the few old China trading firms, so called “Hongs”, that is still active today. More on the company in our previous blog post here.
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