Detail
Collection Simpson Family
Summary
A collection of amateur films from the Simpson family, featuring the Bradford Dyers Association, Shanghai, with additional views of Beijing, Canton and rural towns and villages in China, from ca. 1927 to 1935.
Collection ID | 960 | Reference code | SASE 070609 |
---|---|---|---|
Title | Simpson Family | ||
Dates | 1920s - 1930s | ||
Production | William G. Simpson Charlotte L. Simpson | ||
Materials | FILM 16mm | ||
Access status | Contact Screen Archive South East for details |
Description
This collection of amateur films by the Simpson family offers a portrait of 'British' family life in China from late 1920s to 1930s. The collection includes several short films highlighting the work of the office of the Bradford Dyers Association in Shanghai, where Mr and Mrs Simpson lived and worked, accompanied by visits to a rural community and travel to tourist hotspots in Shanghai, Peking (Beijing), Hong Kong and Hangzhou.
Mrs Simpson was born in rural China to British parents and Mr Simpson emigrated to China, to work for the Bradford Dyers Association. The couple married in Shanghai Cathedral in the 1930s.
Films in this collection:
Showing 11 results.
![[Home at Shanghai [?]; Trip to Hong Kong; Armistice Day] (ca.1928) a still from [Home at Shanghai [?]; Trip to Hong Kong; Armistice Day] (ca.1928)](/wp-content/uploads/films/7090/image_a_thumb.jpg)
[Home at Shanghai [?]; Trip to Hong Kong; Armistice Day]
Date | [ca. 1928] | ID | 7090 |
---|
This film opens with the Simpsons filming each other outside a house and the couple aboard a boat, playing games on deck. The next film shows highlights of an Armistice Day memorial event in Central Hong Kong. At the Cenotaph officers and men lay wreaths, surrounded by armed forces veterans and spectators.
![[Summer Palace Peking; Tientsin] (ca.1929) a still from [Summer Palace Peking; Tientsin] (ca.1929)](/wp-content/uploads/films/7085/image_a_thumb.jpg)
[Summer Palace Peking; Tientsin]
Date | [ca. 1929] | ID | 7085 |
---|
This black and white film starts with a bear in chains being made to perform tricks in a Chinese park. Mr & Mrs Simpson visit the Summer Palace in Peking and enjoy a meal in a traditional Chinese restaurant. The film ends with a shot of a printed advert for the Bradford Dyers Association on a billboard.
![[Visit to Peking; The Forbidden City] (ca.1929) a still from [Visit to Peking; The Forbidden City] (ca.1929)](/wp-content/uploads/films/7084/image_a_thumb.jpg)
[Visit to Peking; The Forbidden City]
Date | [ca. 1929] | ID | 7084 |
---|
This black and white family film provides views of the Forbidden City, Beijing and the surrounding buildings. The second film opens with views from a balcony overlooking a courtyard, and shots of the Simpson family car surrounded by a group of local men within a ring of rickshaws.
![[Hong Kong Scenes] (ca.1929) a still from [Hong Kong Scenes] (ca.1929)](/wp-content/uploads/films/7087/image_a_thumb.jpg)
[Hong Kong Scenes]
Date | [ca. 1929] | ID | 7087 |
---|
This film opens with coastal views of a bay in Hong Kong, followed by the Simpson group on a day out exploring the countryside, attending a horse race event and visiting the beach at Repulse Bay.
![[Launch; Picnic; Friends] (ca.1929) [Launch; Picnic; Friends] (ca.1929)](/wp-content/uploads/films/7088/image_a_thumb.jpg)
[Launch; Picnic; Friends]
Date | [ca. 1929] | ID | 7088 |
---|
This film shows a group trip aboard a large boat named 'Thistle'. The film show scenes on board, with the group sitting together on deck and a young boy in a sailor uniform. The group play games on the beach, and go for a swim wearing one-piece swimwear. They dive into the sea from a board on the boat. Shots are taken from a small boat on the water.
![[Visit to Foochow; Bradford Dyers Association in Shanghai] (ca.1929) a still from [Visit to Foochow; Bradford Dyers Association in Shanghai] (ca.1929)](/wp-content/uploads/films/7089/image_a_thumb.jpg)
[Visit to Foochow; Bradford Dyers Association in Shanghai]
Date | [ca. 1929] | ID | 7089 |
---|
This black and white film features coastal and rural scenes of Fuzhou with boats and smaller trading vessels in a bay. The second part of the film highlights street scenes from 'The Bund', Shanghai with interior and exterior shots of a colonial office building of the Bradford Dyers Association. Street scenes outside show everyday life, with street traders and children playing in the street.
![[Bradford Dyers Association Shanghai; Courtyard] (ca.1929) a still from [Bradford Dyers Association Shanghai; Courtyard] (ca.1929)](/wp-content/uploads/films/7091/image_a_thumb.jpg)
[Bradford Dyers Association Shanghai; Courtyard]
Date | [ca. 1929] | ID | 7091 |
---|
Film of people in the Bradford Dyers Association (BDA) office in Shanghai, and socialising in a courtyard.
![[Canton; The Lion Steamer and Friends] (ca.1929) a still from [Canton; The Lion Steamer and Friends] (ca.1929)](/wp-content/uploads/films/7092/image_a_thumb.jpg)
[Canton; The Lion Steamer and Friends]
Date | [ca. 1929] | ID | 7092 |
---|
This film follows Mrs Simpson boarding a steamer, touring the rural countryside and visiting the bustling city of Canton with friends.
![[Simpsons Wedding in Shanghai Cathedral] (ca.1928) A still from '[Simpsons Wedding in Shanghai Cathedral]' (ca.1928)](/wp-content/uploads/films/7086/image_a_thumb.jpg)
[Simpsons Wedding in Shanghai Cathedral]
Date | 31 October 1928 | ID | 7086 |
---|
This short film shows a newlywed couple at their garden reception in Shanghai having their wedding photographs taken with the bridesmaids and pageboys. The group are dressed in co-ordinated western style clothing.
![[Wedding] (ca.1930) a still from [Wedding] (ca.1930)](/wp-content/uploads/films/7093/image_a_thumb.jpg)
[Wedding]
Date | [ca. 1930] | ID | 7093 |
---|
This film shows post wedding events and family scenes outside a house in (Shanghai) China.
![[Hangzhou and a trip to the Baochu pagoda] (ca.1930) a still from [Hangzhou and a trip to the Baochu pagoda] (ca.1930)](/wp-content/uploads/films/7094/image_a_thumb.jpg)
[Hangzhou and a trip to the Baochu pagoda]
Date | [ca. 1930] | ID | 7094 |
---|
This film opens with shots of West Lake, Hangzhou with structures built into the river bank. The Simpsons and their group go on a guided walk, ride on traditional open Jiao or sedan-style litter chairs through the rural countryside and tour the lake.
Showing 11 results.