Ho Sun Hing Printers 

Ho Sun Hing Printers, 2020, letterpress and risograph book, risography by Moniker Press and letterpress printing by artist, 8.0” X 5.0”.

Ho Sun Hing Printers first began as a rubber stamp company in 1908 by Lam Lat Tong. Lam grew his business to become Canada’s first Chinese-English print shop; the shop provided Vancouver’s Chinatown community with fine printing services. In the autumn of 2013, Ho Sun Hing Printers announced their plan to shut down through a series of closing out sales. The print shop officially closed in 2014 after over a hundred years in business.

For this book, I managed to access Chinese letterpress blocks from the WePress Collective and lead type from Emily Carr University both originating Ho Sun Hing Printers. This book retells the story of the Lam family’s business. The Chinese text in this book was translated by Jodie Mak of Yarrow Intergenerational Society. An interview with Norman Lam, Lam Lat Tong’s grandson, is also included.

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