Vanishing Hong Kong crafts: the unique magic of movable type
Peter Lam On witnessed the rise and fall of letterpress printing in his six decades in the trade, and to him it is irreplaceable. Now retired, he’s passing on his skills to a young generation
For Peter Lam On, printing was his life – and maybe his lifesaver: from a troubled family, he was homeless and roaming the streets of Hong Kong’s Central district when he was apprenticed to a printer at the age of 10. “At least you’ll have food to eat and a place to stay,” said the friend who recommended he enter the trade.
Now he is passing on a lifetime’s skills to a new generation at the Hong Kong Open Printshop in Shek Kip Mei, to which he donated his precious Heidelberg letterpress printer when he closed his business, Wing On Printing Press in Aberdeen Street, Central, three years ago.
The word “apprentice” brings to mind a diligent trainee receiving instructions and tips from a master; however, that was hardly the case. To retain their skilled employees and avoid a brain drain, masters at the time would not immediately pass on the skills of operating a printing press or directly teach the apprentices. Instead, Lam learnt most of the trade’s techniques by secretly observing the more experienced workers at the printing shop in Gutzlaff Street, Central.
He spent the first five to six years there assembling boards of movable lead type, meticulously picking out the blocks he needed – character by character – from cabinets. It was the humble beginning to a career that would span six decades, during which Lam witnessed the rise and fall of the printing industry in Hong Kong.
