Updated 4pm

The iconic HMV sign above the doorway of D’Amato Records was smashed overnight, with owners blaming a nearby construction crew for the damage. 

Styled as the oldest record shop in the world, D’Amato Records, in St John’s Street in Valletta, has had the sign since right after World War II, co-owner Anthony D’Amato told Times of Malta on Thursday.

D’Amato said the incident has left him “in shock” and that he plans on filing a police report over the damage. 

“The sign was hung up after war. It is the oldest HMV sign in the world and most likely the most photographed one in Valletta,” he said. 

Photo: Chris Sant Fournier

The owner of the record shop, which was established in 1885, said the damage was done overnight by a crane used for construction work on the opposite side of the road.

“I just found out about it now and they did not even have the decency to walk into the shop and say sorry. It's like we’re living in the jungle.”

D’Amato added the shop had been having some issues with the contractor on the site after the street was repeatedly blocked by their vehicles. 

He said that when he contacted the contractor about the damaged sign, the man sarcastically replied he was “sure it was worth a lot of money”.

Before the damage: the sign has been in Valletta for around 80 years. Photo: Shutterstock

The sign, D’Amato said, was made out of perspex, which he fears will likely be impossible to repair. 

“I think Valletta has had a piece of its clothing ripped from it - the sign was part of the texture of Valletta,” he said. 

“What I really hope now is that the authorities will stand up and protect us, not because it belongs to us but because it belongs to the country.”

When contacted contractor Antain Borg, who is not the person previously referred to by D'Amato, said the damage occurred when the sign was hit by a concrete pump overnight.

This work was being carried out by another subcontracted company and not Borg’s. 

Borg said that a police report was made immediately and that he intends to open an insurance claim to cover the cost of repairing the sign. The subcontractor is expected to also do the same, he said. 

D’Amato Records continued to trade throughout the war, even while Malta was being heavily bombed.

Researchers at the National Archives found evidence of efforts by Antonio D’Amato to continue importing gramophones during the war.

When the COVID-19 pandemic forced the closure of non-essential businesses, D’Amato said it was the first time in memory that the shop had not opened.

In 2021, the gentle and soft-spoken patriarch Anthony D’Amato died after a shock illness, having spent 60 years running the shop.

The sign is not the only historic Valletta artefact that met an untimely end.

Last month, a Britsh-era telephone box was demolished within seconds after a delivery truck backed directly into it.

The company responsible for the driver immediately claimed responsibility for the incident and the Culture Ministry has promised the box will be reassembled and restored.