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James Hong photograph album, 1932-1941

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Hong, James, approximately 1917-
Title
James Hong photograph album
Dates
1932-1941 (inclusive)
Quantity
1 photo album and 14 loose photographs (1 box)
Collection Number
PH1582
Summary
Photograph album of a Chinese American man, James Hong, of his life in California, Idaho, and Washington
Repository
University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections
Special Collections
University of Washington Libraries
Box 352900
Seattle, WA
98195-2900
Telephone: 2065431929
Fax: 2065431931
speccoll@uw.edu
Access Restrictions

Entire collection can be viewed on the Libraries' Digital Collections website. Permission of Visual Materials curator is required to view originals. Contact Special Collections for more information.

Request at UW

Languages
English
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Biographical Note

James Hong was born in Oakland, California in about 1917. As a young man he worked in a Vallejo, California National Dollar Store. He moved to Spokane, Washington around 1939 and went to work for the National Dollar Store there. He lived in a boarding house in Spokane with four other Chinese-American men who also worked at the National Dollar Store. One of the men, Alfred Hing (misidentified in the 1940 census as Alfred King) appears in photographs in the album.

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Historical Background

The National Dollar Store, at which Hong and his associates worked, was a chain of discount stores in the American West. The first location was opened by founder Joe Shoong in Vallejo, California in 1901 as Sang Lee Dry Goods. The company underwent multiple name changes, adopting the name National Dollar Store in 1928. Despite its name National Dollar Store never enjoyed national distribution, but it did open several dozen locations across the Western United States and Hawaii.

The National Dollar Store chain was notable for being owned by a Chinese-American and managed predominately by Chinese-Americans. The chain’s founder, Joe Shoong, enjoyed and earned a reputation as the richest Chinese-American of his day and was one of the first Chinese-American millionaires. Shoong also maintained strong ties to China over the course of his professional life, using his success in business to found and fund schools in China, Chinese language schools and cultural centers in America, and to support recent Chinese immigrants.

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Content Description

Photograph album of a Chinese American man, James Hong, who was born in Oakland, California, depicting his activities with his friends and family in the Oakland and Vallejo area of California, and also in Idaho and Spokane, Washington. It also includes photographs of the National Dollar Store in Spokane where he worked.

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Other Descriptive Information

Note: photographs identified as members of the Lee family were removed before the album was acquired.

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Use of the Collection

Alternative Forms Available

View the digital version of the collection

Restrictions on Use

Restrictions may exist on reproduction, quotation, or publication. Contact Special Collections at University of Washington Libraries for details.

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Administrative Information

Acquisition Information

Source: Fairlook Antiques, October 11, 2017.

Processing Note

Processed by: Melody Smith, October 2018; Michael Lowry Lamble, May 2019.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

 

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Subject Terms

  • Visual Materials Collections (University of Washington)


2019 (Last modified: 1/31/2020)

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