Phoenix Press Rising: Publishing as a Creative Industry

THE SECOND WORLD WAR left Malayan cities ravaged, but like the legendary, indestructible phoenix, Penang strove to revive itself. Amidst that chaos, one of its oldest printers, The Phoenix Press, was born. The company was acquired from Toh Teow Poon by Tan Chin Boon in the early 1950s, and was recently featured in Tony Yeoh’s Heritage Brands of Penang. A closer look at its storied history tells us much about print culture innovation and longevity, even in the digital age.

OF OMNIBUSES AND STEAMSHIPS
Although only incorporated in 1948, The Phoenix Press was already in existence, and originally had a British founder. Apparently, a Convent Light Street magazine was printed by it in 1937, according to second-generation owner, Tan Leh Sah. “We’re an English press at heart, contrary to popular belief that we’re a Chinese press because of the phoenix,” said Tan, whose father bought the business because he wanted to settle down in Penang after being posted to Trang, Thailand, with the Lee Rubber Company.

Tan’s father learnt the printing business from scratch, making friends with other press owners and investing early in machinery with some financial help from his wife. “Dad was quite a visionary,” said Tan. “He struggled in the first few years but he quickly adapted, modernised and spotted many opportunities.” One of these was printing bus tickets, which were all imported from England in the 1950s. “They came in bundles of ten, then hundreds, and were tied with twine and shipped here in wooden crates,” recalled Tan. “Dad thought, ‘Why can’t we print them locally?’”