Photograph, 'Singapore Harbour'
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Material Information

Title:
Photograph, 'Singapore Harbour'
Alternate Title:
Singapore harbour
Creator:
[s.n.]
Publication Date:

Notes

General Note:
also known as Pelabuhan Singapura
General Note:
VIAF (name authority) : Oswald, John C. : URI http://viaf.org/viaf/68383133
General Note:
1 photograph
General Note:
Donated to SOAS Library in 2004
General Note:
John Charles Oswald (1857-1930), tea merchant, was born in Croydon and educated in Heidelberg. Aged 16, he started work with a tea importers in London, with whom he remained for the next 13 years. Oswald then left Britain for China, travelling to Foochow [Fuzhou] in the late 1880s. In 1888 Oswald was working for Odell & Co., merchants, as a clerk. By 1890 he had moved to Bathgate & Co., where he was to stay, becoming manager in the 1890s. -- In addition to his work for Bathgate & Co. Oswald did work for other companies, including Fairhurst & Co. in the 1900s and Gilman & Co. at a later date. Oswald was also a consul for the Netherlands from the 1890s and later vice-consul for Norway. -- Oswald married Nina Louisa Day, the daughter of Reverend A.B. Day, of Fishponds, near Bristol, on 4 May 1896. The couple had three children, Yvonne, Cynthia ('Bunch'), and John. -- In Foochow, Oswald lived in his house 'Tai Hing' (which was the hong, or registered Chinese name, of Bathgate & Co.). Along with many of the foreign merchants in Foochow, Oswald spent parts of the summer at Kuliang (Guling), which provided a cooler escape from the city. He was active in local social circles, including serving in a variety of positions on the committee of the Foochow Club (of which his son was also a member). In the stables at 'Tai Hing' Oswald kept racehorses, and he rode as an amateur jockey at Foochow racecourse. He was also a keen photographer – a photograph of him in one of his albums is captioned 'Mr Camera' (see MS 380876/06/101). -- Oswald received the Order of the Double Dragon from China, the Order of St Olaf from Norway, the Order of Orange-Nassau from the Netherlands, and a medal from the Red Cross for famine relief work. -- Oswald died in 1930. His remains were returned to Britain after cremation in Foochow. -- Source: 'The Directory & Chronicle for China, Japan, Corea, Indo-China, Straits Settlements, Malay States, Siam, Netherlands India, Borneo, the Philippines, &c.' Hongkong: Hongkong Daily Press Office. 1888-1922 [title varies] Wright, A. 'Twentieth Century Impressions of Hongkong, Shanghai, and Other Treaty Ports of China'. 1908; p.838. -- Source: Correspondence with the family of J.C. Oswald
General Note:
Related collections at SOAS include those associated with the Chinese Maritime Customs, such as Francis Arthur Aglen (MS 211355); Edward Charles Mackintosh Bowra and Cecil Arthur Verner (PP MS 69); Reginald Follett Cordrington Hedgeland (PP MS 82); Hugh Gordon Lowder (PP MS 81); and Frederick Maze (PP MS 2). Other collections relating to business in China include John Swire & Sons Ltd (JSS) and the China Association archive (CHAS). Other collections including photographs of China are Henry Rue (MS 381233); Robert Ruxton (MS 381142); and the Godsil and White families (MS 380511)
General Note:
For permission to publish, please contact Archives & Special Collections, SOAS Library in the first instance

Record Information

Source Institution:
SOAS University of London
Rights Management:
May be used in accord with Creative Commons license, Attribution/Non-Commercial/Share-Alike (by-nc-sa). The digital image is the physical property of SOAS University of London. Contact us for commercial uses.
Resource Identifier:
196 ( Album photograph number )
MS 380876, Oswald, Box 6
MS 380876/06/001 (Calm reference)