Finally!!! Chan Luen Hing!
Wohooo! I finally was able to get a genuine original of the vintage joss label which was used in the journal! Yay!!! ❤️
Isn’t it absolutely beautiful???
Here you see the original on the left and my printed one on the right in my journal:
Thanks so much to Andy, who was so kind to sell it to me, even it was the only one in his own collection! I totally love it! ❤️
Andy is a collector of old chinese labels and really knows a lot about it. He also wrote two books, which you can buy - they contain many amazing pictures of old beautiful labels:
He also told me incredibly interesting facts about the Chan Luen Hing joss label and allowed me to share this to all of you:
Chan Luen Hing was one of the more prominent joss stick companies from the early 1900s through the late twentieth century. The portrait depicts the company’s founder.
This label depicts a stylized building entrance, complete with a glimpse into the main floor where business can be seen taking place. This was a popular style in the early-mid 20th century. This label even shows a second and third floor balcony. In fact, the “178” was the street number for the company’s Macau branch, located at 178 October 5th Street.
The border ornamentation was rendered in a traditional style, and depicts the Eight Immortals, well known mythological figures who’s depiction was popular on all kinds of items.
The birds on the top of the border are cranes, symbolizing longevity and good things in general. Although they look like chickens, the birds at the bottom are mandarin ducks, symbolic of love and fidelity.
It is significant that your label lists Macau as the company’s location. Older versions of this label list the location as “Macao China”. When the communists took control of China in 1949, several countries banned the import of products from the mainland, and so many companies of all kinds either went out of business, moved to Hong Kong or Macau, or simply deleted “China” from their product labels. This would indicate that your label was most likely made about 1950, or maybe slightly later.
Thanks so much for your amazing help and the information about this awesome label! =)
We saw the label in S08E12 - As time goes by:
Anyone who needs it, here is a HD picture to print and use in your own journal =)
The original measurements are:
width: 5,9 cm / 2.32″
height: 10,8 cm / 4.25″
Hope you like it! =)
❤️❤️❤️