Lee (left) showing the visitors some of the antiques on display.

FOR ONLY a day, the humble, unassuming interior of the Ipoh Barat MCA Service Centre became the home to a treasure trove of antiques and novel items that used to be popular in the 1950s.

The collection included classical Chinese soap opera acetate recording discs, film magazines used to introduce stories; Tibetan deity statues and traditional Chinese crockery.

Among the noteworthy items was a bottle of old Hennessy Cognac, which was kept by the family of the service centre’s team captain Lee Swee Liong.

“This bottle of cognac could be at least 100 years old, because it was given to me by my grandfather who have passed away many decades ago. We have been keeping it in the family since, but I think it would not taste as nice anymore because the bottle can no longer be tightly sealed.

“We just keep it because it is too valuable to be thrown away,” he said during the interactive session with antique collectors at the service centre located along Jalan Queen in Pasir Pinji on Sunday.

Also in Lee’s possession was a pair of vintage binoculars that was once used by the Japanese during the war in Malaya in the 1940s.

“It was given to me by a friend, and I did research on the company’s name etched on the binoculars. It was a company that manufactured war material and supplies back then,” he said.

Lee explained the film magazines as well, which was particularly popularly in the 1950s when it was the peak of black and white films.

“Back then, we did not have anything like film trailers we see on the Internet and in cinemas today to introduce different kinds of films and its stories.

“In these magazines, you could find information printed about the film, its actors, filming history, and some of them even teach you how to sing along to the film’s music,” he said.

Lee said he organised the interactive session hoping to provide a platform where like-minded people could gather and showcase their collected antiques.

“These items are precious. They have the ability to invoke a lot of memories and a strong sense of nostalgia among the older generation. I also want the younger generation to be exposed to these items that are no longer in use today so that they can learn more about history.

“After today’s session, I hope to hold it on a larger scale, because the feedback I’ve gotten from the people today was unexpectedly positive,” he said.

-The STAR-