Taste of nostalgia

Collection highlights in Lau Tie Ka

He Wen owns more than 300 phonographs and clocks that are either displayed in the cafe or stored in his home. Every piece of the collection has its own back story and intrinsic value for He, who shares his childhood memories of time spent with his grandmother through these anqitues. The following are three signature items in the salon that He treasures.

A cylinder phonograph from Pathe Records

This is one of the oldest cylinder phonographs that traveled from France to Shanghai. It was manufactured by Pathe Records, a French international record label and producer of phonographs between the 1890s and 1930s. It has a logo of Gallic Rooster heading to the West. It plays cylinder records instead of disc records.