Luke Micallef has always had a passion for anything labelled Maltese and owns several collections. As he started running out of ideas, a friend mentioned Maltese bottles.

“In the old days, every village used to have a couple of small businesses, mostly family-run, which would bottle either water, wine or lemonade to sell in their locality,” says the 28-year-old.

A codd bottle of the 1920s.A codd bottle of the 1920s.

“In Żejtun alone, there used to be about six or seven such companies.”

In just three years, he managed to collect a wide variety of these early 20th-century glass bottles which were manufactured in England but were custom-made for each family or company making the order. For example, a bottle made for a family named Spiteri bears the Spiteri coat-of-arms, while another one made for a company in Fleur-de-Lys has the stylised lily etched on it.

Mr Micallef’s collection includes syphon bottles which, he explains, were used by well-off families for their water, and codd bottles, which were patented by a British soft drink maker in 1872 and enclosed a marble and a rubber washer/gasket in their neck. 

“Once the content of these bottles was consumed, they would be broken so that the children could play with the marble,” he says.

“In fact, it is very hard to find such bottles intact.”

Mr Micallef dug for some of these rare containers himself in the area known as Santa Katerina in Rabat, which served as a landfill for glass objects in the 1940s and 1950s. Others he bought or bartered.

His collection also features brands of popular carbonated drinks which have faded from the local market over the years, such as Plaire, Solera Bitter, Hapi and Evervess Club Soda, and wooden crates used for their transportation.

Mr Micallef is only one of the many private collectors exhibiting at the Maltex Philatelic Exhibition and Collectors’ Fair, currently on at the Casino Maltese in Valletta. Other collections on display include World War II memorabilia, caps of Maltese milk bottles, Coca Cola bottles and Black & White scotch whisky souvenirs. There is also a section dedicated to football, with autographed memorabilia, including three shirts worn by legendary footballers Pele, George Best and Diego Armando Maradona.

A large part of the fair, organised by MaltaPost in collaboration with the Malta Philatelic Society, is, of course, dedicated to philately.

Syphon and other glass bottles dating back to the early 20th century.Syphon and other glass bottles dating back to the early 20th century.

Visitors can admire a selection of Great Britain stamps used in Malta before the setting up of the General Post Office in 1885; a thematic collection on mythical figures from different countries; postcards with a connection to Gozo by the Gozo Philately Society; a thematic collection on women in medicine such as Marie Curie and Florence Nightingale (who used to correspond with a British doctor in Malta); a set of stamps featuring Queen Elizabeth II; miniature sheets released by MaltaPost during FIFA World Cups; stamps on British authors and their works; mourning covers used in the 19th and early 20th century; and a collection tracing the history of the Malta Airmail Services.

One of the highlights in this section is a display of original documents, including decrees, siege letters and drawings related to the French Blockade (1798-1800) by expert philatelist and historian Chev. Dr Alfred Bonnici, a former Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Visitors to the fair, which is also attended by many foreign stamp dealers, can also get hold of a commemorative postcard and stamp collection featuring 16 breeds of canines. This particular theme was chosen as 2018 is the Chinese Year of the Dog.

The Maltex Philatelic Exhibition and Collectors’ Fair is open until tomorrow at the Casino Maltese in Valletta between 9.30am and 4.30pm. Entrance is free.

Shirts worn and authographed by (from left) Pele, George Best and Diego Armando Maradona.Shirts worn and authographed by (from left) Pele, George Best and Diego Armando Maradona.

Stamp dealers at the fair.Stamp dealers at the fair.

Visitors can admire various themed philatelic collections.Visitors can admire various themed philatelic collections.

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