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Han Chin Pat Sou / Han Chin Pet Soo - Part 2 - Fitted Artifacts

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Subject :Han Chin Pat Sou / Han Chin Pet Soo - Part 2 - Fitted Artifacts
Published By : None 
Location : 3, Treacher Street, Ipoh
Estimated Year : 1893
Media Type : Artifact
Source : The Committee Han Chin Pet Soo
Remark :

These two items shown in the photographs taken by Ian Anderson are fitted in Han Chin Pet Soo, the Hakka Miners' Club founded by Towkay Leong Fee. The pictures show from left to right:

  • An all glass electric light fitting which hangs just inside the main entrance to the club on the ground floor. As electricity did not properly come to Ipoh until 1930, courtesy of the Perak River Hydro-Electric Power Company Ltd, it can only be around 75 years old - the art deco period - and that ties in very well with the style of the fitting. So we are in no doubt that the owners of this building were “early adopters” back in the 1930’s and quickly took advantage of the ability to provide proper lighting to illuminate their leisure time.

    Incidentally, the first electricity available in Ipoh, in limited quantities, was in 1923 by arrangement with the Pengkalan Tin Company, Batu Gajah.

  • Still fitted in a Chinese building in Ipoh after almost 117 years is this wash hand basin, one of two on the first floor and in the Mahjong Room. Such items were quite rare in Perak in those days, apart from perhaps in the residences of the more senior colonial administrators for such things had to be imported at not inconsiderable expense. Therefore this was no cheap shophouse knocked up quickly, but a quality building with no expense spared for the building, its furniture and fittings.

    As you can see from the last picture the basin was imported from Scotland from what is probably the most famous of all sanitary ware - Shanks of Barrhead established in 1850. Having two in the same room underlines the fact that no expense was spared in fitting out the club.
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    To go to Part 3, click here.

    To read more about Towkay Leong Fee, click here.

    To read more about Perak River Hydro-Electric Power Company Ltd, click here.

    Filename : 20100207-028