This photograph captures the John Little’s building in 1901, decorated to welcome the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York to Singapore. John Little’s was founded in 1845 by three Scottish brothers and catered to the needs of a growing European community in Singapore. The firm ran a motor garage, made and sold furniture and operated a café, a beauty salon and a general store. John Little’s growing success is evident in its building and façade, transforming from a simple two-storey building in the 1860s to one with an elaborate façade fashioned in the Spanish style by the early 1900s. According to an entry in ‘Twentieth Century Impressions of British Malaya’, John Little’s was “one of the foremost retail establishments in the East. Its magnitude can be gauged by its numerous departments, among them tinned foods, athletic outfitting, books and stationery, arms and ammunition, gentleman’s outfitting, tailoring, ladies’ outfitting, curios and saddlery, each of which has a complete and attractive stock.”
