Handelmij Hendjik Rooster Vintage Japanese Label Muscle Tank

The Story

This is one of the most striking and unexpected labels in the archive, and on a muscle tank it reads as a bold panel at the center of the chest. A rooster's head is rendered in fine dark engraving, comb raised and eye alert, filling the upper half of the label against a deep pink ground. Below it, picked out in the same careful line work, sits a revolver. "Handelmij Hendjik" arcs across the top on a ribbon banner, "Makassar" runs through a panel near the base, and a row of Chinese characters, 恒益公司, anchors the bottom. The contrast of the proud bird and the unexpected pistol gives the label a startling, almost surreal energy.

The text tells a layered trade story. "Handelmij" is short for the Dutch handelmaatschappij, meaning trading company, and Makassar is the great port city of southern Sulawesi in what was then the Dutch East Indies. The label was produced by a Japanese manufacturer for a Dutch trading house serving the Indonesian market, with Chinese characters added for the substantial Chinese merchant community across the region. The rooster was a potent and auspicious emblem throughout these markets, a symbol of courage and vigilance, while the revolver, surprising to modern eyes, was the kind of bold trademark device that helped a brand stand out and signal potency. Labels like this one, layering Dutch, Indonesian, Chinese and Japanese threads into a single small panel, are among the most fascinating in the whole export catalogue.

On the tank the label reads as a bold, finely detailed panel at the center of the chest, the deep pink ground and dark engraving holding their detail against the cotton.

Who Is It For

This tank is for someone who wants a bold, surprising image with a genuinely layered history behind it. They are drawn to the rooster, to the unexpected revolver, to the deep pink ground, and to the tangled story of Dutch, Indonesian, Chinese and Japanese commerce folded into a single label. It reads boldly from across a room and rewards anyone who comes close enough to take in the detail and ask about the text. Cut for warm weather and easy layering.

About the Collection

Every design in the Ichinichi Collection is sourced from a personal archive of original Japanese matchbox labels spanning 1880 to 1940. The Handelmij Hendjik label pairs a finely engraved rooster head with a revolver on deep pink, produced by a Japanese manufacturer for a Dutch trading house at Makassar in the Dutch East Indies, with Chinese characters for the regional merchant community. Layering four cultures into one small panel, it is one of the most fascinating labels in the archive.

Product Details

Material: 100% Airlume combed and ring-spun cotton. Fit: Unisex retail fit, crew neck, cutoff sleeves with wide armholes. Construction: Pre-shrunk, side seams. Label: Tear-away. Print: Front panel.