A heavily laden wheelbarrow in a shopping street, Shanghai
Collection
Identifier
Wr-s099
Notes
University of Bristol - Historical Photographs of China reference number: Wr-s099. Sign in English on the left: DRESSMAKER. Signs in Chinese along the left side of the street, starting from the foreground: [Black sign:] 时式車衣 'shishi che yi' ( meaning, the latest fashion sewed with a sewing machine). [White sign:] 家用新衣 'jiayoung xin yi' (possibly meaning: new home clothes or new clothes for domestic use). [Black sign:] 廣洋雑貨 'Guang yang za huo' (possibly meaning: various/miscellaneous products from Guangdong and the West, or various/miscellaneous Cantonese and Western products). [Black sign:] 生漆 'shengqi' (=raw lacquer). [White/gilded sign:] 公煙? 'gong yan'? (literally ‘public smoke’, if the second character is indeed ‘yan’ – possibly a cigarette shop?). Signs along the right side of the steet, at street level, starting from the foreground: [First sign before pole:] 恆義生號 'Heng yi sheng hao' [possibly a name followed by shop/establishment: Heng Yisheng shop]. [Second sign before pole:] 文茕?朝蒂 [could be 'wen qiong? chao di' (which could be a name or ‘Buddha’s morning glory’?). Signs along the right side of the street, on the first floor: [White sign:] 押 'ya' (= pawn) [which often indicates a pawnshop]. [White sign:] 㲖?鞋 'xiao? xie' [=Xiao shoes?] or perhaps 瓶? 鞋 'ping? xie' [=Ping/bottle? Shoes]. This appears to be a shop selling or repairing shoes.
Location
Estimated Date
1910
Material
Paper
Media
Black and white photograph
