The Royal Selangor factory is in Setapak Jaya, only about 10 minutes from my home. It's so close that I've never visited it.
That is until a few days ago when I had some time to 'kill' before I had to visit someone nearby. I was driving about when I saw the factory. I drove in, parked and walked to the reception and inquired if I could go into the factory to take some photographs.
Just then a van drove up and a group of tourists got down. The receptionist suggested that I join the group for a tour of the factory. No registration or anything required.
The Royal Selangor factory.
A closer look.
The first group that arrived.
Another group arriving.
Mr. Wong was to be our guide for the tour.
The walkway leading to our tour.
What started as Selangor Pewter has been appointed as royal pewterer to non other than HRH the Sultan of Selangor.
A little bit of history on the walls - an open cast tin mine, tin being the main ingredient in pewter.
Yong Koon, the founder.
What KL looked like in the late 1800s.
The first pewter factory along Jalan Pudu.
Masjid Jamek as it looked then.
The pewter showroom along Batu Road (now Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman). I remember this from the 1960s.
Some items on display at the pewter museum.
The tourists listening to Mr. Wong.
A wooden 'dulang' used to pan for tin.
An ingot of tin - it weighs about 45 kg.
This is how the ingots were bundled.
A pewter replica of a dredge which was in use during the heydays of the tin industry.
The replica nor this photo captures the awe of seeing this massive vessel. I thought I saw one while traveling along the Putrajaya Highway although I cannot be sure. There is still supposed to be one such dredge still operating in Perak state.
People were just as fashion conscious then as they are now.
A pewter replica of the Petronas twin towers.
Enjoying a cool drink from a pewter mug before the actual factory tour.
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