University of Bristol - Historical Photographs of China reference number: Wr-s099. Sign in English on the left: DRESSMAKER. Signs in Chinese along the left side of the street, starting from the foreground: [Black sign:] 时式車衣 shishi che yi ( meaning, the latest fashion sewed with a sewing machine). [White sign:] 家用新衣 jiayoung xin yi (possibly meaning: new home clothes or new clothes for domestic use). [Black sign:] 廣洋雑貨 Guang yang za huo (possibly meaning: various/miscellaneous products from Guangdong and the West, or various/miscellaneous Cantonese and Western products). [Black sign:] 生漆 shengqi (=raw lacquer). [White/gilded sign:] 公煙? gong yan? (literally ‘public smoke’, if the second character is indeed ‘yan’ – possibly a cigarette shop?). Signs along the right side of the steet, at street level, starting from the foreground: [First sign before pole:] 恆義生號 Heng yi sheng hao [possibly a name followed by shop/establishment: Heng Yisheng shop]. [Second sign before pole:] 文茕?朝蒂 [could be wen qiong? chao di (which could be a name or ‘Buddha’s morning glory’?). Signs along the right side of the street, on the first floor: [White sign:] 押 ya (= pawn) [which often indicates a pawnshop]. [White sign:] 㲖?鞋 xiao? xie [=Xiao shoes?] or perhaps 瓶? 鞋 ping? xie [=Ping/bottle? Shoes]. This appears to be a shop selling or repairing shoes.
