This book belonged to Chee Swee Cheng, a prominent Peranakan Chinese businessman of Malacca and Singapore. It contains a wealth of photos and information about the peoples, industries, flora and fauna of the British Straits Settlements in the early 20th century. Many prominent individuals of the Straits Settlements are featured, including Chee Swee Cheng himself.Books like this were very costly in their day, most costing a sum more than the average monthly salary of a civil servant in the Straits Settlements. Unlike today, books were not published commercially for sale but were usually pre-ordered by customers. It was not unusual for Peranakan families to keep large volumes of English dictionaries, encyclopedias and atlases, following the Victorian tradition of educated English families during the time.
