Olyphant & Co.

Olyphant & Co. (Chinese: 同孚洋行; pinyin: Tóngfú Yángháng) was a merchant trading house or hong in 19th-century China. From its initial involvement in the "Old China Trade", the firm expanded into other countries including Great Britain, Australia and New Zealand. Olyphant & Co's business dealings in Peru caused the company to collapse in 1878.

The firm was founded in Canton (now known as Guangzhou) by David Olyphant and Charles N. Talbot, after their former employer, King & Talbot went bankrupt. In Canton, the two partners established themselves as supercargoes trading in "silk, mattings and fancy articles", operating from the No. 1 building of the American factory. Olyphant was a vociferous opponent of the opium trade, and the firm was one of the only large foreign trading firms not to engage in opium smuggling. The firm's anti-opium stance led to its offices becoming known as "Zion's Corner". Over the next 30 years, the company continued to grow in competition with other traders including Augustine Heard and Company, Russell & Company and Wetmore & Co., opening offices in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Foochow (now known as Fuzhou) and overseas in Australia and New Zealand.

In 1837, Olyphant & Co's ship Morrison made an attempt to repatriate seven shipwrecked Japanese sailors and at the same time open trade with Japan. The crew's efforts were thwarted after the Japanese opened fire and the ship was forced to retreat.

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