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 later 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.
The collection comprises photographic and printed material relating to John Charles Oswald and the Oswald family, primarily during the period they were resident in Foochow [Fuzhou], China. The photographic material consists of eight photograph albums and a number of loose photographs. Seven of the albums contain photographs of the Oswald family at their homes in Foochow and Kuliang [Guling], formal and social occassions, horse racing, and locations in China including the port at Foochow. The eighth album contains photographs of Cambodia and Indonesia. Many of the photographs were taken by John Oswald, although the albums contain photographs taken by others as well as commercially available photographs. The albums may have been compiled by Nina Louisa Oswald, John Oswald's wife. The printed material consists of publications relating to China, some of which were given as gifts to John or Nina Oswald.
Only albums 1 through 5 have been digitised to date.
A more complete description of the collection may be found in the Archives & Special Collections catalogue online.
Sources:
'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
Correspondence with the family of J.C. Oswald