Singapore
Getting High (on Music) at the Pink Pussycat in 1970s Singapore
On 18 November 1973, The Straits Times ran an article on its front page announcing that the Liquor Licensing Board was cancelling the liquor licenses
(Regulated) Blood and Sex in 1930s Singapore
I came across this advertisement recently for a medicine for treating syphilis. The man in the picture is supposed to have third-stage syphilis. In reading
Grandma in 1933 Singapore
I came across this advertisement in a 1933 issue (August 25) of the Union Times, a Chinese newspaper from Singapore. It is for Milkmaid Brand
Drunk Russians and Loyal Natives in 1901 Singapore
I was looking at some documents from the Straits Settlements that are held in the Colonial Office in London and came across some letters and
Ah Chong and Tomato on the Tam O’Shanter
Whenever there is something in the news (and admittedly it’s not very often) about a ship running into some kind of trouble, it always amazes
Lim Boon Keng’s Ambiguous Protest
The American decision at the turn of the twentieth century to prohibit Chinese from entering the Philippines, that I wrote about below, obviously must have
Plague in Penang in 1899
In a post below I talked about how the simplicity of telegrams could hide the complexity of the issues that they were referring to. Today
Murder, Rebels, Refugees and Telegrams in Late-19th-Century Southeast Asia
A few days ago I wrote about the technology of “wireless telegraphy” and its use in areas of Southeast Asia under colonial rule in the
The Sultan of Johor’s Place in the Victorian Ecumene
In an article that she wrote in 1989 on India in world’s fairs, Carol A. Breckenridge coined the phrase “Victorian ecumene” to refer to a
Natives in US Consulates in Early-20th-Century Southeast Asia
I was looking at some dispatches from US consulates in Southeast Asia in the early twentieth century when I came across a couple of letters,
Noraini and Choo are Smarter than You
I came across these advertisements for The Chartered Bank in a magazine called Malaysia from the early 1970s. I find the logic that these advertisements
In the Darkness of a Colonial Singaporean Prison Cell
In the nineteenth century, colonial officials in Singapore were proud of their prison system, and particularly proud of their “convict prison.” This was a place
The Thai-ification of an Ovaltine Ad
Sometimes when I look at old newspapers I come across the same advertisement in newspapers from different places and in different languages. I think this
Producing Hilarity and Talking Smoothly with Coca-Bitter and Indian Cigarettes
I found some interesting advertisements from 1894 in the Straits Chinese Herald, a newspaper from Singapore. First there is this advertisement for Grimault’s Indian Cigarettes
Smart Drinks in Colonial Singapore
How did white ladies cool down after a strenuous game of tennis in colonial Singapore? With the cool clean flavor of Lemonpop; served of course, by a
How to Win a Chinese Girl’s Heart – Colonial Singapore Style
How do you win the heart of a young Chinese woman? Do you impress her with your honesty and trust? Is it humor that appeals
Bacon and Chinese Servants in Colonial Singapore
This advertisement is from the 1930s. I like ads like this because they can tell us a lot about the time and place in which
Art Deco Coconut Tree Cigarettes
I came across this advertisement for “Coconut Tree” cigarettes in a newspaper from Singapore in 1930. I like the design of the characters. It says,
Refrigerators and Female Youthfulness
I had never realized that there is a connection between refrigerators and the aging process in women. However, as this advertisement from the Straits Times
Happiness After Marriage in 1920s Singapore
I think this is from the 1920s. I forgot to make a note of when it was from. In any case, it asks at the
