The picture postcards in the Lim Shao Bin Collection at the National Library offer fascinating indights into Singapore society in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Many of the postcards in this collection are Japanese, in origin, providing interesting historical perspectives on early Japanese connectionns to the island, as recorded by Japanese travellers and overseas Japanese living in Singapore, as well as Japanese photographers and publishers operating in Singapore before te Second World War. Used as a vehicle for advertisement, personal correspondence, souvenirs and even propaganda, the picture postcard has taken on many roles throughout history. Due to their popularity and accessibility, postcards can be important primary sources of information. Unfortuntely there is precious little English-language scholarship on Japanese postcards outside the context of war and empire, and and even less research done on the postcards used by the Japanese community in Singapore before 1941.

Since the mid-19th century, the Chinese population in Singapore had increased steadily. In 1876, China under the government of the Qing dynasty started negotiating with the British Foreign Office in London on the possibility of setting up a consulate in Singapore to protect the Chinese. Alarmed by the London negotiation, the Straits Settlements government promptly planned for a counterpart, the British Chinese Protectorate formed in May 1877, to handle a myriad of Chinese affairs, such as the import of coolie labour, secret societies, prostitution and the like. The Qing consulate was established a mere five months later on 5 October 1877. During the period under review, both the British Chinese Protectorate and the Qing consulate in Singapore fought bitterly over the control of the Chinese population in Singapore. This chapter examines the sources and issues of their rivalry.