1974 Hong Kong Rickshaw Pullers Street Scene Taxi Cars K.P. Yuen Postcard 225

Title
1974 Hong Kong Rickshaw Pullers Street Scene Taxi Cars K.P. Yuen Postcard 225

Front Description
Colour chrome photographic view, horizontal format, taken from a slightly raised position looking down onto a sunlit street where three hand-pulled rickshaws work amid motor traffic — a classic Hong Kong image of the older and newer forms of street transport side by side.

At the right foreground is the principal group. A red-painted rickshaw with a folded black hood, a red-lacquered body with brass or chrome fittings, curved side panels, a padded seat and large spoked wire wheels with black tyres is being pulled toward the camera. The puller is a young man in a white short-sleeved singlet or T-shirt and blue shorts, barefoot in flip-flop sandals, wearing a broad-brimmed straw hat and gripping the two long timber shafts, his body leaning into the pull. His passenger is a smartly dressed woman seated upright: she wears dark sunglasses, a fitted olive-brown or khaki blouse with a gathered high neck and long sleeves, a matching straight skirt and low court shoes, with dark bouffant styled hair, and holds a small item in both hands at her lap.

Behind her stands a taxi, its bodywork two-tone with a bright red roof over a pale green lower body, a rounded windscreen with twin wipers, a chrome full-width grille with mesh, chrome bumper and a large circular headlamp. A white illuminated roof sign is lettered “TAXI” in red capitals. A chrome bonnet ornament and the model script badge, reading “ENSIGN” — identifying it as a Standard Ensign — are visible on the wing and bonnet edge. The registration plate carries the number “4028” in white on black, beside a semicircular licence plate reading “TAXI 4 SEATS”.

At the centre of the image, a second rickshaw is pulled by a middle-aged man in a pale blue open shirt over a white singlet, dark trousers and cloth shoes, walking with both shafts held at waist height. His passenger is a young woman in a bright yellow long-sleeved top seated in a rickshaw with a red-brown body and a pale folded canopy.

At the upper left, a third rickshaw is drawn by an older man in a dark short-sleeved shirt, grey shorts, socks and shoes, and a pale straw sun hat; his passenger is a young woman in a pink or lilac blouse, seated beneath a raised pale hood.

Behind and above the rickshaws, the road is filled with parked and moving motor cars of late 1950s and early 1960s British type: a dark green saloon with chrome side trim and rounded roofline at the top centre, a two-tone green and cream saloon with a wraparound rear window at the top left, a further green saloon with chrome bumper and separate headlamp at the upper right, and a red-roofed vehicle intruding at the right edge. The vehicles are shown in close-packed rows, indicating a rank or busy kerbside.

The road surface is pale grey asphalt in strong sunlight, with the long dark shadows of the rickshaws, wheels and figures thrown diagonally across the foreground. Colours are saturated in the typical chrome manner. The card has a plain white border on all four sides, with light corner and edge wear.

Back Description
Divided back, printed in olive green ink on white stock. Upper left, in two lines of capitals: “THE RICKSHAW PULLERS HONG KONG.” Centre top in large open capitals: “POST CARD”, with beneath it in spaced capitals: “FROM HONG KONG”.

Below, running across the card: “CORRESPONDENCE” at left and “ADDRESS” at right, separated by a vertical dotted dividing rule running down the centre of the card.

At the upper right, a square stamp box outlined in olive green containing three lines: “PLACE STAMP HERE”, with the series number “225” printed inside the lower part of the box.

Along the left edge, set vertically and reading upward, in small capitals: “COLOR PHOTOGRAPH BY K. P. YUEN”.

Along the bottom right, in small capitals and lower case: “Printed By GOODYEAR PRINTING PRESS LTD. Hong Kong”.

The card is written but unposted: there is no stamp and no postmark, and no recipient’s postal address has been entered. The back carries a lengthy handwritten message in blue ballpoint, in a flowing cursive hand, filling both the correspondence panel and much of the address side. Transcribed verbatim:

“FEB. 15th ’74”

“DEAR Aunty Dot + Uncle Harry, Hope all is well at home. Your house sounds lovely now that you’ve Re-decorated it. The life here is still very exciting – only is the weather + social outings get you down at times. It hardly seems fifteen months that we’ve been away – Miss you all. I think this experience is the most wonderful ever – to live in China !!”

Written at the top right, with an arrow drawn back toward the salutation, indicating additional addressees:

“Jan + Allan. + family”

Within a hand-drawn box on the address side, underlined:

“GOD BLESS + lots of love. Jo + ROB xxx”

Light age toning is present, with minor corner wear at the lower left.

Estimated Era
The card was written on 15 February 1974, giving a firm terminal date, and it was almost certainly bought and sent during the writers’ residence in Hong Kong at that time. The photograph itself is somewhat earlier: the Standard Ensign taxi, the surrounding British saloons of late 1950s and early 1960s type, and the women’s tailored dress and bouffant hairstyles all indicate an image taken in the early to mid 1960s. The card is therefore best described as an early-to-mid 1960s photographic image, printed by Goodyear Printing Press Ltd., Hong Kong, in the same numbered K. P. Yuen series as the Kai Tak (203), street scene (209), firework display (210) and Cheung Chau (215) cards, and remaining in circulation into the 1970s, when this example was written. Hand-pulled rickshaws, once numbering in the thousands, were in steep decline by this period; no new licences were issued after 1975, and the surviving pullers worked chiefly around the Central ferry piers as a tourist attraction. K. P. Yuen was among the most prolific Hong Kong colour photographers of the 1950s and 1960s.

• Please
  closely inspect the photos to understand the condition of the coins or
  banknotes before proceeding with your purchase, as grading can be
  subjective and varies from person to person.
• Please do not place too much hope on grading companies to grade the notes accurately, as they can be notoriously inconsistent.
• Different graders have different opinions, eye factors, and knowledge that influence the final grading.
• Even grading companies do not guarantee that you will get the outcome of your desired grading.
• If
  you have any questions or require additional information, I am more
  than happy to assist. Please feel free to contact me anytime.

Shipping Information

• Combined Shipping:
  We offer combined shipping for all banknotes. To take advantage of this
  offer, please add the items to your cart together and only proceed to
  checkout once you are ready to pay. The combined shipping is calculated
  at the checkout page. Please do not pay for items individually, as the
  shipping costs will not be combined that way.
• Customs, Duty, Tariff Fees: Buyers are responsible for any applicable customs, duty or tariff fees.
• International Shipping:
  Shipping duration can vary, typically ranging from 14 to 60 business
  days for standard delivery. Please be aware that these shipping times
  are estimates and depend on the operational efficiencies of the shipping
  companies, which we cannot control.
• Postage Costs:
  Please note that international shipping via Australia Post is not
  cheap. We strive to keep the shipping costs as low as possible,
  sometimes even absorbing a portion of the costs. All orders are sent
  with end-to-end tracking for safety and reliability.
• Untracked Shipping Requests:
  If a buyer insists on requesting an untracked, cheaper shipping option,
  we reserve the right to grant or refuse the request. If untracked
  shipping is granted, please be aware that we have no way of tracking the
  mail, and the buyer is strictly responsible for any losses in transit.
• Tracking and Logistics:
  Please check Australia Post for tracking status. Since we do not own
  Australia Post, we have absolutely no control over their handling times
  and methods. Australia is a huge continent, and logistics are
  challenging, coupled with one of the highest minimum wages in the world,
  making costs and operations tough. Please check with your postal
  service or local post offices if any unattended mail notes are left, as
  we absolutely can’t control that remotely.

Customer Conduct

• Please be respectful when communicating with us. We do not tolerate abusive behaviour from buyers.
• If you do not agree with the postage cost or any other terms, please refrain from making a purchase.