Trademarks of passing time create trove of memorabilia

[freemexy]

Trademarks of passing time create trove of memorabilia

ONE way to trace the history of nearly 150 years in China is through labels — labels on clothing, food, medicine and other items that filled daily lifestyles over the decades.To get more Putuo District news, you can visit shine news official website.

The Changfeng Museum of Matchbox Labels and Trademarks, recently relocated to Jinshajiang Road in Putuo District from its previous site in the old Shanghai Match Factory, hosts a collection of 30 million old trademarks, posters and matchbox labels from 1840 to the 1970s.

Its chronology starts after the First Opium War (1840-42), when foreign products with bold, bright colors and new designs flooded into China. At the same time, national industries here were beginning to adopt Western marketing strategies of branding and promotion.

One exhibit displays the wrinkled wrapping paper of the fashion brand Xie Daxiang, founded in 1912 at a time when the city’s upper class chose tailored clothing over ready-to-wear.

Xie Daxiang, located in the downtown Yuyuan Garden area, was the first fashion label to bet on the concept that lower prices could be compensated by bigger sales. Its success sent shock waves through the clothing industry.

Another famous brand was the indigo dye called Indanthrene, which hit the market in the early 1930s. Durable and colorfast, Indanthrene became synonymous with the deep blue cloth beloved by young Shanghai ladies. The cloth was frequently used to make qipao, the stylish body-hugging, one-piece dress.

The dye’s label depicted two people. One was an old man looking somewhat embarrassed in a faded blue, motley changshan, a traditional men’s garment in China. The other was a lady attired in a chic indigo qipao that fit her body to perfection.

In 1915, boycotts of Japanese goods were widespread in China after the nation was forced to accept the “Twenty-One Demands,” which acknowledged Japanese claims to special privileges in China during World War I.

In 1918, novelist Chen Diexian quit writing and set up a family business dedicated to developing national brands to replace Japanese products.

His Hu Die, or Butterfly, toothpaste was cheaper than Japanese brands and had a flavor popular with the public. It was a huge success. Chen himself designed the label, which featured a tennis racket with the slogan in its center “Unbeatable Toothpaste.”

It was a clever marketing image. “Unbeatable” is homophonic with “butterfly” in the Shanghai dialect, and the racket carried the non-too-subtle suggestion of whacking a ball that might symbolize the rising sun on the Japanese flag.