Shanghai Brand & Matchbox Label Museum (11/3/2012)

Saturday, November 3, 2012
Ha! Tried once again to have lunch at a Vegetarian Lifestyle restaurant, trying a third address, and struck out. Okay, time for burgers.
It was getting overcast, so we decided to go to the Shanghai Brand and Matchbox Label Museum.
Take Metro Line 2 to the Loushanguan Lu station. Take Exit 4 and head west on Tianshan Lu. Turn at the next right onto Gubei Lu. You will see the road rise to go over a bridge. Stay on the sidewalk to reach the stairs taking you up on the bridge. Once you cross the bridge, you will see the museum on the right.

You will have to continue walking to the next corner to find the entrance.
There are matchstick columns:

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The entrance to the museum is on the right side:

The ground floor displays the evolution of company logos, somehow starting with cave-dweller paintings?
There was a miscellaneous display of older Chinese labels.
Florida Water was apparently a toilette water:

Not GE:

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More labels:

A tin box:

Foreign company logos:

BASF is included in the bottom row.
There were labels from the industries along Suzhou Creek.
And finally a few matchbook covers:

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A book on collector's items from the USA?

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We figured there had to be more and went out to the stairwell and up to the second floor. Yes, there was more, this time on the history of fire/matches.
Starting with Colorful Fire-takings:

Early match holders:

Different displays of matchboxes, by shape and size:

Early Chinese matchboxes:

A Japanese kimono matchbook:

In a display about the technology of fire, this man was featured:

I think it is George Stephenson, the "Father of Railways."
Alfred Nobel, inventor of dynamite:

Fire technology continued with graphics about cars, ships, airplanes, and missiles.
The third floor had framed matchbox labels by the hundreds. At first they were sorted by country of origin.
Here is the Flaming Roo, made in Indonesia:

Soviet Union:

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Dominoes:

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Traffic signs from Switzerland:

Impregnated (?!) zebras from South Africa:

An eclectic collection from the USA:

Kirby, the Salishan Lodge is for you!
NFL matchbooks:

There was another level just off the third floor, with an immense collection of matchbox labels:

It looked like they simply mounted every album page from the collection:

Do you recognize a few of these film stars?

Some typical propaganda type labels:

And one for the Tanakas:

As we returned to the subway, we saw this:

You know it will soon be winter when they start selling the toilet seat covers!

Sunday, November 4, 2012
A walk through Grand Gateway Shopping Center. It's hard to see, but there are pointed studs on the toes of these boots:

The Columbia sportswear display had booths where perhaps you could test the jackets:

From left to right, in rain, wind, and cold.
Outside, you couldn't miss this shiny BMW:

Our residential tower is reflected on the hood:

Today we had hoped to see the roof garden of the Shanghai Post Office Museum, but it is still under reconstruction.
Post office atrium decoration:

The Shanghai Post Office across Suzhou Creek:

You can see the roof garden takes up lots of space and has great views!

Oh, well.
A Shanghai fox-dog: