1907 China Shanghai Ricshaw Stand Rickshaw Pullers Sikh Policeman Postcard

Title
1907 China Shanghai Ricshaw Stand Rickshaw Pullers Sikh Policeman BPO Adelaide Postcard

Front Description
A black and white collotype postcard of a rickshaw stand in Shanghai. A long row of empty rickshaws is lined up along a bamboo fence. Their hoods are folded back to show buttoned upholstered seats, large spoked wheels and long shafts resting on the ground. Five Chinese rickshaw pullers in padded winter jackets and loose trousers pose among the vehicles. Some wear skullcaps, one has his hands tucked into his sleeves, and one sits on a rickshaw shaft. On the right stands a tall Sikh policeman of the Shanghai Municipal Police in a long dark double-breasted greatcoat with a belt and a striped turban. He is looking straight at the camera. Behind the fence are bare winter trees and a two-storey colonial building with a pillared verandah.

Printed caption at lower left: “Shanghai. – Ricshaw Stand.” (period spelling). Below it, the sender has written the date “27/5/07” in ink.

Condition: light toning, minor corner and edge wear, and some faint marks. The image is clear. See scans for exact condition.

Back Description
Printed “POST CARD.” in black with a divided back and dotted address lines. Publisher’s imprint printed vertically along the lower left edge: “Denniston & Sullivan, Shanghai. No. …” (partly hidden by handwriting).

“Via Colombo” written at top in ink.

Handwritten message in ink on the left half, continuing around the edges (some words hard to read):
“Dear Bert,
I met Uncle Bob at 6 W(?) Wharf, Sydney, & he says you have a camera belonging to him which I can have. I can capture some interesting pictures topside here, so will you please send it along per parcel post addressed to me c/o of Imperial Maritime Customs. Stan will pay you the cost of postage for me. I have only had one letter & a p.c. from Aust so far & am feeling a bit out of it. Had a touch of fever but am fit now. Life is very lazy out here, & personally I do nothing but sit around, eat & smoke. I am hoping to be transferred for a change. I have been drawn to inspect the Canadian(?) … this morning – abt 15 minutes’ walk … I do anything else today.
Sayonara(?) …”

Handwritten address:
“Mr Bert Cot(?).
C/o Mrs Skipper.
Hewitt Avenue.
Rose Park.
Adelaide.
Sth Australia.
Australia.”

Partial circular datestamp at upper right with “SH…” and “B.P.O.” visible, the British Post Office in Shanghai. No stamp present. Light toning and some edge wear.

History
The rickshaw arrived in Shanghai from Japan in 1874 and quickly became the main form of public transport in the International Settlement. Tens of thousands of pullers worked the streets, licensed and regulated by the Municipal Council. From 1884 the Shanghai Municipal Police recruited Sikh constables from the Punjab. In their red and striped turbans they became one of the best-known sights of the Settlement, especially directing traffic and managing rickshaw stands. The sender says he works for the Chinese Imperial Maritime Customs, an international service run largely by British and other foreign staff under Sir Robert Hart. It employed many young men from Britain and the Empire. The card was sent “Via Colombo” through the British Post Office in Shanghai to the same Skipper household on Hewitt Avenue, Rose Park, Adelaide, as the Singapore and Honolulu cards in this group. Denniston & Sullivan were well-known Shanghai photographers and postcard publishers.

Estimated Era
Written 27 May 1907 and posted in 1907. The sender dated the front, and the British Post Office Shanghai datestamp fits that date. The divided back with a large “POST CARD.” heading, the collotype printing and the Denniston & Sullivan imprint are typical of Shanghai postcards of about 1904–1910. The winter clothing in the photograph suggests it was taken a little before the card was sent.

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