Malta of yesteryear

Giovanni Bonello: Nostalgias of Malta - images by S.L. Cassar from the 1890s to the 1930s has just been published by Fondazzjoni Patrimonju Malti.

The third in the series of volumes of photos from the past by Judge Bonello, this volume is dedicated to the work of one of the best-known Maltese photographers from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, S.L. (Salvatore Lorenzo) Cassar.

Judge Bonello writes that Cassar, born in Vittoriosa in 1855, learned the art and science of photography and started practicing in Tripoli, Libya. He returned to Malta after 1888 where he soon became a very prominent professional in his field, his studio being in Strada San Giovanni, Valletta.

The volume includes a large number of photographs arranged by category: places, people, events, and a miscellaneous section including photos of British warships and beautifully sharp photos of monuments inside St John's Co-Cathedral.

The places section features splendid views of Valletta, Floriana and the Three Cities as well as what are now Mosta and Żebbuġ, while the events section includes King Edward VII's visits to Malta in 1903 and 1909, the proclamation of self-government in 1921, religious feasts and carnival foolery.

On many readers, the people section will exercise a special fascination with images of young and not so young people photographed in all their vanity, and striking images of personalities like Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici, father of President Emeritus Ugo Mifsud Bonnici, and Fra Diegu Bonanno, the saintly friar whose statue dominates the main square in Ħamrun.

The book will be launched at the Knights Room, Hotel Phoenicia, Floriana, on Tuesday at noon when the guest speaker will be Kenneth Zammit Tabona.

Nostalgias of Malta will sell for €45.40 (Lm19.49) for the hard bound edition and €33.75 (Lm14.49) for the limp bound version.