The cover of the book is a detail of a piece from the collection of the National Museum of Singapore. “Singapore
River and Government Hill” is a lithograph made in the 1850s by Edwin Augustus Porter, and the engraver,
Vincent Brooks.
The print depicts the historic Singapore River, bustling with activity and with representatives of various races. For example, a Malay man stands at front facing the viewer, while at far right there is a Chinese gentleman wearing a distinctive douli, or conical hat, and sitting in a tongkang, or cargo ship. The print would have been made soon after Raffles landed in Singapore in 1819, and thus it presents one of the earliest views of the settlement. To the sides of the river are the godowns of Boat Quay, while the bridge in the distance is Thomson’s Bridge (named after John Turnbull Thomson), one of the earliest footbridges across the Singapore River – this is replaced by Elgin Bridge in 1862. On the river are various kinds of cargo vessels, including tongkangs, a sailboat (at left) and houseboats (also at left). In the distance stands Government Hill (today’s Fort Canning), with the Governor’s Residence visible on the hill-top. This residence would be demolished in 1859 and replaced with Fort Canning.
The overall composition of the cover is vintage in nature, with fonts, a colour scheme and design chosen that harks back to the past while still feeling contemporary, suggesting that Singapore history continues to be relevant to today.
