{"id":52576,"date":"2026-05-16T09:11:13","date_gmt":"2026-05-16T08:11:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metaltype.co.uk\/wpress\/?page_id=52576"},"modified":"2026-05-16T09:44:10","modified_gmt":"2026-05-16T08:44:10","slug":"the-legendary-hong-kong-types-revisited","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/metaltype.co.uk\/wpress\/the-legendary-hong-kong-types-revisited\/","title":{"rendered":"The Legendary Hong Kong Types Revisited"},"content":{"rendered":"

Text of presentation given by Ronald Steur, former Chairman of the Foundation Type Foundry Westzaan, on February 22, 2025.<\/p>\n

The quest for the Chinese printing types that were used for more than a century in the Netherlands began with a simple question in 2015: Do the matrices still exist and if so, where are they now? The answer is: the matrices still exist and are housed in the depot of the Wereldmuseum in Leiden.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In between these two statements lies a period with many surprising facts, discoveries and exciting activities, culminating in the invitation of HKOP to give you a short overview of the period. I feel honored to be here, since it has been a great pleasure being involved in this adventure.<\/p>\n

My overview will consist of three parts:
\n1 – Historical overview of the Dutch State Collection of Chinese Matrices and Signs.
\n2 – The recasting of the Hong Kong types
\n3 – Follow up after the casting experience<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

1 – Historical overview<\/h3>\n

I will begin by providing a historical context of how and why the Chinese matrices and types ended up in the Netherlands.<\/p>\n

In the middle of the 19th century the need for improving the communication with the Chinese population in the Dutch East Indies (modern day Indonesia) was felt and the Dutch Governor asked to educate translators. It was Prof. Hoffman who got the task to start the Sinology Department at Leiden University.<\/p>\n

After a extensive survey he ordered more than 5000 types in Hong Kong. After the arrival of the HK collection in 1859, the Sijthof printing house made a printed specimen of these types, the \u2018Proef\u00ad druk\u2019. To use these HK types Tetterode electro\u00ad copied them and made matrices for the production of type. For these and for expanding the collection the Minister for the Colonies provided 12,000 Guilders. The collection grew to around 9000 types in 1875. At the time, it was the most complete collec\u00adtion of Chinese types in Europe.<\/p>\n

In 1875, Brill Publishing House bought an exclu\u00adsive license for the right of use. In the official act it was stated that (1) the Dutch government was the owner of the Staatsverzameling Chinese Matrijzen en Tekens (National Collection of Chinese Matrices and Signs), that (2) Tetterode would store the matrices and a set of types, that (3) the Ministry paid for the insurance and (4) that \u00adTetterode could sell the type abroad with consent of the government.<\/p>\n

Although the agreement was clear and signed by Brill, Tetterode and the government, in 1929 the acting Sinology Professor in Leiden was assigned the task to describe the situation regarding the Chinese matrices and types anew. And in 1979 and 1981, there were renewed inquiries about the type. All this information is available in the Tette\u00adrode Archive (part of the collections of the Allard Pierson Museum of the University of Amsterdam), the National Archives and the records of the Royal Academy of Sciences. In addition to these sources, I consulted numerous, mainly retired employees of Tetterode. I learned a lot during this research:
\n\u00adespecially that not everything you are told or find in documents is true. And also that more research should be done: I came across a letter from 1875 of the Dutch Ambassador in the USA to the American Minister of Trade, offering the Dutch collection of Chinese types. The communication between Tetterode and prof. Hoffman also reveals a lot about how Prof. Hoffman expanded the collection.<\/p>\n

The publishing house Brill was the main user of the Chinese type collection and also printed for foreign publishers. In 1965, the type was used for the last time. The Brill printing department closed down in 1979 and the types were disposed of.<\/p>\n

But after all this research, the matrices were not yet found. The very moment I intended to give up my quest into the past, I received some letters that should have been part of the Tetterode Archive. In 2019, they surfaced when a retired manager cleaned up his personal library. A folder from the Tetterode Archive with the title \u2018China\u2019 was discovered. This revealed a discussion in 1981 with the government about the ownership of the type and where the matrices and types should be stored. The Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations ordered that the matrices and the types should be delivered to the Wereldmuseum in Leiden. A month later, the matrices were discovered between gamalans and Balinese temples, in the external warehouse of the museum. The type, kept by Tetterode for more than a century, unfortunately has not been found. Time to go to the Type Foundry Westzaan and Hong Kong.<\/p>\n

2\u2002 The recasting of the Hong Kong types<\/h3>\n

In 2018, I participated in a conference in Korea organised by the International Association of Printing Museums. There I met Ms. Yung Sau Mui and learned about the \u2018Legend of the Hong Kong types\u2019.<\/p>\n

Reading the dissertation of Ching Su (1996) I understood how the Hong Kong Types were devel\u00adoped by missionaries and played a crucial role in the development of Chinese Printing.<\/p>\n

Ms. Jung expressed great interest in my search for the matrices and we kept in close touch. She was preparing the exhibition \u2018Between the Lines\u2019 around the Hong Types and welcomed the recasting of the original Hong Kong types.<\/p>\n

After my first visit to the warehouse of the Wereldmuseum I did some experiments with a single matrix in the Type Foundry in Westzaan. Some practical problems had to be solved. Our Monotype Supercaster was not designed for the 19th century matrices. But with some adaptation of the matrix holder we managed to recast one of the Hong Kong types.<\/p>\n

In December 2019 Ms. Yung finally came over to Amsterdam, where we visited the Tetterode Archive in the University Library, the Wereldmuseum and the Foundry in Westzaan. The printed specimen of that first type marks the moment that an intensive cooperation started.<\/p>\n

At that time Seewhy NG joined the project. During the Covid lockdown, she was able to identify the 5000 Hong Kong types in the overall collection of 9000 and she assisted with the casting of the type. And finally, we were able to produce a set of type just in time for the exhibition \u2018Between the Lines\u2019, where the recast Hong Kong types formed a high\u00adlight.<\/p>\n

The technical challenges encountered during the recasting however meant that the original plan to recast the entire collection of 5000 types was not feasible. 25 types a day was the maximum amount we could handle. Adjusting the caster for each indi\u00advidual type took 5 to 10 minutes. Type lovers should also realize that the European standard is based on Didot points and the Hong Kong (English) system on Picas. Another consideration is the difference in type height. Furthermore, the matrices were not all of the same depth. We solved these problems by planing down the type to the correct height after casting. The character size of the original Hong Kong Types and those in the Dutch collection is exactly the same.<\/p>\n

\"Monotype<\/p>\n

3\u2002 Follow up after the casting experience<\/h3>\n

There is a growing interest in the history of the Hong Kong types in the Netherlands as well in Mainland China, Singapore and the UK.<\/p>\n

Students and type designers started to study the legend of the Hong Kong types. In Hong Kong, a novel was written, Hong Kong Type, a love letter; in the Netherlands a master thesis was written by Mrs. Yun Xie, Republic of Characters; at a conference in Parish the role of the missionaries was discussed.<\/p>\n

Reading the dissertation of Ching Su, I discovered that the story started in Batavia. I am sure that many historians and type designers will be fascinated by the legend of the Hong Kong types. In the Asian Pavilion of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, the HK types are a recent addition to the collection of the Museum and featured in a small exhibition.<\/p>\n

I expect that further study of the archives will reveal interesting facts about the cooperation between Prof. Hoffman and Tetterode. The archive contain a lot of relevant documentation. And I am wondering if Hoffman kept in touch with the missionaries in Hong Kong during the expansion of the collection.<\/p>\n

Personally, I would like to know more about the electrocopying done by Tetterode and how the side figures in the casting were realized. Expanding the recasting using historical type casters could also be an interesting challenge.<\/p>\n

\"Casting<\/p>\n

An exciting follow up after the intensive coop\u00aderation with the type and design world in Hong Kong, was the five days\u2019 workshop of 17 students of the Hong Kong Design Institute. This was initiated by the enthusiasm of Mr. Keith Tam during a visit to an event of Drukwerk in de Marge (\u2018Printing in the margins\u2019) and Typefoundry Westzaan. It was a pleasure to see how students made themselves familiar with historical technology as a base for modern design possibilities.<\/p>\n

I would like to end this overview of my involvement with the Hong Kong types by thanking the Hong Kong Open Printshop and particularly Ms. Yung Sau Mui for the intensive cooperation. I feel extremely honored that she invited me to come to Hong Kong at the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Hong Kong Open Printshop and the start of Printing Art Contemporary.<\/p>\n

I hope I can contribute to the legend by pre\u00adsenting her with a digital reprint of the \u2018Proefdruk\u2019 from 1859 of the freshly arrived types from Hong Kong, illustrated with pictures made during the period of the cooperation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Text of presentation given by Ronald Steur, former Chairman of the Foundation Type Foundry Westzaan, on February 22, 2025. The quest for the Chinese printing types that were used for more than a century in the Netherlands began with a simple question in 2015: Do the matrices still exist and if so, where are they … Continue reading “The Legendary Hong Kong Types Revisited”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,7,12,20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-52576","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","category-composition","category-historic","category-other","category-storiesanecdotes"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Legendary Hong Kong Types Revisited - Metal Type<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The quest for the Chinese printing types that were used for more than a century in the Netherlands began with a simple question in 2015:\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/metaltype.co.uk\/wpress\/the-legendary-hong-kong-types-revisited\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Legendary Hong Kong Types Revisited - Metal Type\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The quest for the Chinese printing types that were used for more than a century in the Netherlands began with a simple question in 2015:\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/metaltype.co.uk\/wpress\/the-legendary-hong-kong-types-revisited\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Metal Type\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-05-16T08:44:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/metaltype.co.uk\/images\/content\/type.webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@MTPrinting\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"8 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metaltype.co.uk\\\/wpress\\\/the-legendary-hong-kong-types-revisited\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metaltype.co.uk\\\/wpress\\\/the-legendary-hong-kong-types-revisited\\\/\",\"name\":\"The Legendary Hong Kong Types Revisited - Metal Type\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metaltype.co.uk\\\/wpress\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metaltype.co.uk\\\/wpress\\\/the-legendary-hong-kong-types-revisited\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metaltype.co.uk\\\/wpress\\\/the-legendary-hong-kong-types-revisited\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metaltype.co.uk\\\/images\\\/content\\\/type.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-16T08:11:13+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-05-16T08:44:10+00:00\",\"description\":\"The quest for the Chinese printing types that were used for more than a century in the Netherlands began with a simple question in 2015:\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metaltype.co.uk\\\/wpress\\\/the-legendary-hong-kong-types-revisited\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/metaltype.co.uk\\\/wpress\\\/the-legendary-hong-kong-types-revisited\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metaltype.co.uk\\\/wpress\\\/the-legendary-hong-kong-types-revisited\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metaltype.co.uk\\\/images\\\/content\\\/type.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metaltype.co.uk\\\/images\\\/content\\\/type.webp\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metaltype.co.uk\\\/wpress\\\/the-legendary-hong-kong-types-revisited\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metaltype.co.uk\\\/wpress\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Legendary Hong Kong Types Revisited\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metaltype.co.uk\\\/wpress\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metaltype.co.uk\\\/wpress\\\/\",\"name\":\"Metal Type\",\"description\":\"Yesterday\u2019s Technology . . . 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