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The grandmother nobody knew
A family photo from 1939 drops tantalising hints about lives in the Chinese community in pre-independence Singapore.
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A photograph of Mr Paul Tan's maternal grandmother and grandfather with their children shot in 1939 in “Lee Kuai Studio (branch)”.
PHOTO: COURTESY OF PAUL TAN
Paul Tan
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The family portrait, shot in black and white, with its lacey scalloped edge is one of those vintage items you might find in an old photo album in any Singaporean home.
At the centre, a young woman, wearing a cap-sleeved samfoo and matching loose trousers, is surrounded by four children and her husband. She has a certain fragile beauty, but her limp tresses make one wonder if motherhood is exhausting her. Three daughters, one of them still a baby in her arms, are wearing clothes made from the same bolt of cloth.
