Description
Not your typical photo book!
David Bellis, founder of the popular local history website Gwulo, shows you a selection of his favourite photos of old Hong Kong. So far, so familiar.
But then he takes you on a deep dive to discover and understand the photos’ most minute and revealing details. Plague-ridden rats, flapper hats, and chocolates are just a few of the surprising clues you’ll investigate. Finally, David helps you piece the clues together to uncover the photos’ hidden stories.
- “David’s ability to discern useful details from historical pictures of Hong Kong is exemplary. This book and Gwulo.com are essential resources for anyone curious about this city’s past.” — Dr Kwong Chi Man, Assistant Professor, History Department, Hong Kong Baptist University
- “Listeners to my show on RTHK know David as a great teller of quirky Hong Kong stories. He brings the same insight and meticulous research to this, his new book. Good to see it is Volume 1 – looking forward to the rest of the series!” — Annemarie Evans, Producer & Presenter, Hong Kong Heritage, RTHK Radio 3
- “David Bellis has an obvious love for Hong Kong, where he operates Gwulo, a local history website, and this book is, the cover states, Volume 1. Let’s hope the next one comes out soon, perhaps with others to follow. Local historians approach their subjects with a love and enthusiasm sometimes lacking in more academic productions, and books like this are to be cherished for their informality and accessibility to readers…” — John Butler, Asian Review of Books
- “… eye for detail marks out amateur historian’s book from the pack” — Adam Wright, SCMP
- “This is an example of Bellis’s deft way of story-telling.” — May Holdsworth, Journal of the HK Branch of the RAS
About the author
David Bellis loves putting old Hong Kong photographs under the magnifying glass to uncover their hidden secrets and discover their stories. He shares what he finds through his website, his books, and a series of illustrated talks.
His website, www.Gwulo.com, hosts a lively community of people who are interested in Hong Kong’s history. It is also a valuable historical resource in its own right, hosting over 34,000 pages, including over 20,000 photos.
You can sign up for David’s free weekly e-mail newsletter at www.Gwulo.com/subscribe or get notified of new issues via Twitter @Gwulo or Facebook.com/Gwulo
David is originally from Wales, first visited Hong Kong in 1989, and has lived there since 1992. He hated history lessons at school and studied computer science. But apart from the odd bit of computer programming to keep the website running, he now spends most of his time writing about history. It’s a funny old life!
