Charles Gesner van der Voort had started his career in Rotterdam, at Holland-China Trading Company (HCHC). In 1938, he went to Shanghai for the firm. The Japanese interned him, and most other Dutch nationals, from 1943-45. In camp, he met his wife Nancy and they married after the war. After a leave in The Netherlands, they returned to the Orient, where Charles continued to work for HCHC in Hong Kong.
This postcard was found in the company archives, held by Stadsarchief Rotterdam. It shows Pottinger street in Hong Kong and has a serial number, 189. <Read more ...>
Date picture taken (to nearest decade for older photos):
M. Sternberg, No 51, Queen's Road Central, Hongkong,
Dealer in pictorial cards, and all kinds of fancy cards,
also Christmas, New Year, and birthday cards, post card albums, by retail and wholesale,
The largest assortment of Cards in the Colony.
The site Gwulo.com (<a href="https://old.gwulo.com/%3Ca%20href%3D"https://gwulo.com/node/32930">https://gwulo.com/node/32930" rel="noreferrer nofollow">gwulo.com/node/32930</a>) shows an item with the description: M Sternberg, Wholesale and Retail Postcard Dealer [c.1906-c.1914] <Read more ...>
Date picture taken (to nearest decade for older photos):
Date picture taken (to nearest decade for older photos):
1908
James Steven visited Hong Kong in 1908. He was on a world trip part pleasure, part business for his father's firm, Steven & Struthers, a Glasgow brassfounders, that sold brass and bronze ships' chandlery, propellers, pumps, and lighthouse lanterns world-wide. He brught back postcards from his trip and this was one of them. <Read more ...>
Please enjoy this 1910s photo of the Happy Valley race course. Charles' colleague Frits Kien describes how cleaning department staff won the first prize one year, you can find the story in the original Flickr page.
