Chinese Export Silver & Far East Trade Information

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YAOQUANXING

Chengdu, Sichuan


An example of the work and mark of Yaoquanxing:





Member rauls wrote:

It's a Chinese silver box. I saw a lot of repeated marks, don't know why so much were used, but at least I can explain what them means:
1) 蓉(Rong) - it's the shortened form of Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province in China.

2) 姚泉興(Yaoquanxing) - an important silver store in Chengdu (possibly 19c~194x).

3) 票銀 - means pure silver/sterling silver as well. It was mainly used in southwest provinces of China, Chengdu is just one of them.




Member denmarkhill wrote:

The right one reads 票銀 (Piaoyin).
The left one reads 姚泉興(Yaoquanxing, a maker based in Chengdu, Sichuan).

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XIE YI HAO

GuangDong


An example of the work and mark of XieYiHao:





Member denmarkhill wrote:

Picture 2:
正銀白 ZhengYinBai
Although the word "Yin" indeed means "silver", I found an article in Mandarin showing the same mark and it indicates that the material is "white copper".

Picture 3:
廣東 GuangDong (location)
協益號 XieYiHao (maker)

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Section 4 - Manufacturing

Silverware
35. Seven additional workshops with a combined monthly production capacity of 8,500 dozen tableware items started operations in December, bringing the total number of factories and workshops to 85. Spoons, forks and knives totaled 89,107 dozens for December compared with 74,584 the previous month. An additional 5,882 other items of kitchen and tableware were produced in December.

Antimony Ware
36. Antimony ware production declined approximately 10 percent from 47,200 pieces for November to 42,500 pieces for December due to lack of electric power in the 37 operating factories.

Source: Summation Non-military Activities in Japan, Issue 28 - January 1948

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HOWE TACK TRADING Co.

Hong Kong



Howe Tack Trading Co. - Hong Kong - 1950

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Notes on the Philippines

Consul-General J.T. Du Bois at St. Gall, Switzerland, writes to the State Department that during the past few years the Swiss trade with the Philippine Islands has not been as flourishing as formerly, although a considerable quantity of Swiss goods, such as Spain cannot manufacture, has found its way into the islands and has been in fair demand. Among these goods may be mentioned watches and musical instruments, such as music boxes and musical clocks, in which a fair business is done.

What are known as vegetable gems are found in the Philippines. The bamboo is empty normally and one might cut open a jungle of the giant grass and find unaltered hollowness. But once in a million times or more accident brings to light in the bamboo stem a gem; nature has moulded into a lump a little of the flinty material which makes the outer stem so hard. The nodule usually presents the appearance of an opal, and several specimens are in the museums which reproduce the characteristic lines of that gem. These nodules are known as tabaceer. The first chemical and mineralogical examination of them was made by James Smithson whose munificence established the first of the scientific bureaus of the American Government.

The ripe cocoanut is filled with a white spongy mass, rich in the finest oil which the nut produces. This sponge is exposed to the hot sun for two or three days in a wooden trough until thoroughly pulped. The last of the oil is then extracted by squeezing the soft sponge in the hands. Very rarely this careful handling has developed the presence of small spheres which have much of the luster of the pearl. Eight or 10 of these cocoanut pearls, all discovered in the Philippines, are treasured in European museums. They range from the size of a pin head to that of a very small pea. Regarding cocoanut pearls, Edwin W. Streeter, in his “Pearls and Pearling Life,” says: “It is worth noting that in the Malay Archipelago certain pearls are said to be found in cocoanuts. They are of a light yellow color, generally of the size of a small marble, and it is difficult to distinguish them from ivory, or from the yellow porcellanous pearls that are produced probably by some univalve mollusc, and often seen in the East. These pearls, reputed to have had their birth in cocoanuts, are frequently offered for sale by the natives, and Europeans are occasionally tempted to purchase them at high prices.”

Isaac M. Elliott, when consul at Manila, wrote to the State Department in February. 1896, the following regarding the pearl fisheries of the Philippines: “There are no pearl fisheries near Manila, although an occasional pearl is found in the oysters gathered by the natives for the Manila market. The great pearl fisheries are situated far to the south, in the neighborhood of Ceylon. I might say a few pearls are found in the Sooloo sea and around the islands of the southern part of this group (the Philippines). The market for pearls is either Colombo, Penang or Singapore; only a few find their way to Manila, and then only for sale by the jewelry stores, mounted and set for the trade. I give the names of two good firms, who might enter into negotiations with a responsible house in the United States Uhlman Bros, and Levy Hermanos, Manila and Paris, France. I saw a pearl today that was found in a common oyster. I should say it weighed five carats and was perfect in shape and of good color, but such a find is rare in the vicinity of Manila.”



The illustration herewith is reproduced from the Illustrated Supplement of the New York Times. It shows the main street of Manila which contains a jewelry store of considerable size, as may be seen. No text accompanied the engraving in the Times.


Source: The Jewelers' Circular - 27th July 1898

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REGOLD & Co.

Batu Road, Kuala Lumpur



Regold & Co. - Kuala Lumpur - 1922

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MATSUMOTO-DO

Tokyo



Matsumoto-Do - Toyko - c.1910


Matsumoto-Do - Toyko - c.1910


Matsumoto-Do - Toyko - c.1910


Matsumoto-Do - Toyko - c.1910



Matsumoto-Do - Toyko - 1913


Matsumoto-Do - Toyko - 1916

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P.H. HENDRY

21, Malay Street, Kuala Lumpur



P.H. Hendry - Kuala Lumpur - 1922

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YAMAKIN UMBRELLA Mfg. Co.Ltd.

26, Kaji-cho, Kanda, Tokyo

Detail from a 1922 Tokyo Chamber of Commerce publication:



Yamakin Umbrella M.F.G. Co., Ltd. - Tokyo - 1922

Established in 1919.

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CRISPULO ZAMORA

5, later, 30, Crespo, later, 351, R. Hidalgo, Quiapo, later, 423, Sales Street, Manila



Crispulo Zamora - Manila - 1901


Crispulo Zamora - Manila - 1907


Crispulo Zamora - Manila - 1908


Crispulo Zamora - Manila - 1922


Crispulo Zamora - Manila - 1947


Crispulo de Mendoza Zamora (b.10-6-1871 – d.11-10-1922)

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JUAN C. REYES

732, Misericordia (now known as Tomas Mapua Street), Sta. Cruz, Manila



Juan C. Reyes - Manila - 1931

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WIGET, UEBELHARDT y Ca.

Escolta 23-25, Calle Nueva 1, Manila



Wiget, Uebelhardt y Ca. - Manila - 1901

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LEVY & BLUM, Inc.

345, Echague, Manila



Levy & Blum, Inc. - Manila - 1931

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KEMLEIN & JOHNSON

66, Escolta, Manila



Kemlein & Johnson - Manila - 1909

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C. ALKAN

159, later, 100, Escolta, Manila



C. Alkan - Manila - 1901


C. Alkan - Manila - 1908

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Demands For Latest Styles In Jewelry

It may be noted that Manila keeps fully abreast of the latest styles in the jewelry line, and that it is not a place that can be used as a dumping ground for articles unsalable elsewhere. There is in the Orient a chain of foreign jewelry firms, covering Hongkong, Shanghai, Tientsin, and Yokohama, that receive from Berlin, Paris, etc., the latest designs, exhibit them for a while at one place, and then forward the remainder to the next place. Some of these shipments are diverted to Manila and sold there, and the jewelry stores of Manila are filled with the best in their line.

Source: Summary of Commerce of the Philippine Islands - United States. Bureau of Insular Affairs - 1907

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H.E. HEACOCK Co.

Lack & Davis Building, 21-23, Calle Echague, later, 72-74, Escolta, Manila



H.E. Heacock Co. - Manila - 1908


H.E. Heacock Co. - Manila - 1908


H.E. Heacock Co. - Manila - 1909


H.E. Heacock Company - Manila - 1923


In September, 1930 the H. E. Heacock Company removed from its old quarters to its fine new million-peso, eight-story building immediately across the Escolta at the same intersection, Escolta and David. The main entrance on the Escolta opens into Heacock’s proper, the jewelry store; then comes Denniston’s, the photographic department, with its valuable Eastman agency, and then the office equipment department. The jewelry store is L-shaped; one of the illustrations gives a good view of it:



In the new building the Heacock store occupies the main and mezzanine floors, both handsomely finished and artistically arranged. The second floor is also all occupied by the Heacock company; the offices are there, and the stock, accounting, mail order, wholesale and optical departments. Four rooms on the third floor are given over to stock and records; the other rooms of that floor are rented as offices, as are the rooms and suites of the fourth, fifth and sixth floors. These rooms, all of them desirable because of their location and the building they are in, offer great latitude of choice.

The seventh floor accommodates Heacock’s engraving and printing, watch-making, metal engraving, jewelry repairing and manufacturing departments; also the optical shop, Denniston’s photo laboratories, and stock of the office equipment department.

The basement, under the entire building, counts as the eighth floor. It is to accommodate automobiles during the day. Seventy-five cars will not crowd it; a wide ramp opens from Calle David, egress and ingress are safe and convenient. This public service in connection with the Heacock building will materially mitigate the downtown parking nuisance.

Source: American Chamber of Commerce Journal - September 1930



Heacock's - Manila - 1937

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FELIX ULLMANN & Co.

Escolta 141, Manila



Felix Ullmann & Co. - Manila - 1901

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S. OGAWA

Cu-Un-Jieng Building, 117, Escolta, Manila



S. Ogawa - Manila - 1931

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PHILIPPINE EXPORT TRADE 1916-17


Commercial Agent J. F. Boomer, Manila, has submitted a report to the Department of Foreign and Domestic Commerce, Washington, D. C, regarding Philippine trade for the first six months of 1917. The report lists the exports of jewelry from January to June, 1917, as valued at $582. as compared with $190 from January to June, 1916. Pearls valued at $1,916 were sent out between January and June, 1917, as compared with $5,425 from January to June, 1916.

Source: The Jewelers' Circular - 7th November 1917

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