Pritchard’s of Penang: Enterprise, Secession, and Murder

THE ROBERT HUSSEY COLLECTION

Pritchard & Co. Ltd. (1888–1959) is a name which has almost faded from memory in Malaysia. Its foundation and development encompass a period when Malaya saw unprecedented growth driven by an export boom in tin, rubber, and other agricultural produce which coincided with advances in technology such as the invention of electricity, telephones, motorised vehicles, and aircraft.

As the first widely-diversified department store in northern Malaya, with its main store in Penang and branches in Ipoh, Butterworth, and Sungai Petani, Pritchard’s became a key player in the growth of retailing in Malaya during the best and worst of times of British colonial Malaya.

Drawn from family documents  and richly-illustrated with nearly 300 images, including many rarely seen photographs from inside the stores, this book captures spectacularly the essence of times past as it follows the fortunes, activities, and fate of the business and the family behind it.

George Henry Pritchard c. 1927. Courtesy of The Robert Hussey Collection

Growing up in London in a middle-class family of tailors, George Henry Pritchard was almost pre-destined to follow the trade. But the East beckoned. Indeed, his ambitious vision to create one of Malaya’s most comprehensive department stores grew from the seeds of a small tailoring business commenced in Penang in 1888.

Staunchly British, the Pritchard family represent a snapshot of times gone by. They made the long sea voyage ‘home’ an astounding number of times, and in the end only one family member stayed on to carve a new life in Penang. Pritchard’s vision succeeded beyond all expectation – but all this changed as Malaya moved on.

Pritchard & Co., 15 Beach Street, c. 1900. Before 1880, Tye Sin Tat & Co.’s original single storey building had been reconstructed or modified to two storeys. (Courtesy of The Robert Hussey Collection)

About the Author

Marcus Langdon has spent several decades researching the myriad fascinating stories in Penang’s developed history. Based in Penang, he also advises on historical projects and was a founding director of Entrepot Publishing Sdn Bhd.

Other titles by Marcus include:

▸Penang: The Fourth Presidency of India 1805-1830
– Volume 1, ‘Ships, Men and Mansions’. Areca Books, 2013.
– Volume 2, ‘Fire, Spice and Edifice’. George Town World Heritage Incorporated, 2015.
– Volume 3, ‘Water, Wigs and Wisdom’. Entrepot Publishing, 2021.

▸ Biographical Dictionary of Mercantile Personalities of Penang, (contributing editor). Think City/MBRAS, 2014.

▸ George Town’s Historic Commercial and Civic Precincts, (researcher/writer). George Town World Heritage Incorporated, 2015.

▸ Epitaph: The Northam Road Protestant Cemetery, George Town, Penang. George Town World Heritage Incorporated, 2017.

▸ The Habitat Penang Hill: a pocket history, Marcus Langdon & Keith Hockton. Entrepot Publishing, 2018.

▸ Penang Then & Now: A Century of Change in Pictures, Marcus Langdon & Keith Hockton. Entrepot Publishing, 2019.

▸ Pastoral Port: An Agrarian History of Penang. Penang Institute, 2023.

▸ George Town & Adelaide: Sister Cities 50th Anniversary 1973-2023, Marcus Langdon & Rachel Yeoh. MBPP, 2024.