Taikoo ships and buildings

For readers interested in the photographs of shipping that can be found in the collections, notably those of G. Warren Swire, or the architectural history of the treaty ports, there are two new sites to investigate. John Swire & Sons (‘Taikoo’, 太古/Taigu) have recently launched WikiSwire, as a tool for building up and presenting historical information about the company’s various activities. They have started by posting to the site profiles and sketches of each of the company’s historic China Navigation Co. ships. As it is a wiki, of course, you are encouraged to augment and add to the site. Elsewhere online photographer Nicholas Kitto has added new special collections to his excellent website, profiling the surviving former buildings of Butterfield & Swire in China, and surviving Chinese Maritime Customs Service buildings. More survives than you might think, for now.