Hong Kong Around and About, Peplow & Barker, 1931

SH Peplow and M Barker’s Hong Kong Around and About, first published by the Commercial Press (a long standing and still existing press in Hong Kong – its history here) and then republished in a second edition in 1931 by the charmingly named Ye Olde Printerie, Ltd. of Hong Kong (more on that fascinating publisher later in another post). The first edition had a tan cover, the second a green one. Peplow and Barker designed the book as a guide for new arrivals to the colony – a lot of short entries of life, sights, customs etc and with a fold-in map of Hong Kong (all for a quite expensive at the time HK$5). Peplow was a Hong Kong colonial official of long standing (fully the land bailiff in 1927 and district officer in 1930 for the Southern District of the New Territories) while Barker, I think, was something of an expert on Chinese village life and traditions.