Nestled between restaurants on The Strand in Gżira sits a historic photography studio that has been open for almost 90 years. Emmanuel Busuttil opened Emmanuel Studio in 1935, following in the footsteps of his father Carlo, also a photographer.

Adorned with images of cabaret dancers, naval vessels, historic buildings and family members, the small shop breathes history, revealing a rare glimpse into a part of Malta’s history that most have forgotten.

“They used to dance in thea­tres around here,” says Rose Busuttil, Emmanuel’s daughter, pointing to a frame lined with old photographs of cabaret dancers in exotic costumes. “When I was little, we used to try to watch through the door when they were performing... we used to like to see them dancing,” says Rose, now aged 90.

Rose was born in 1932 and grew up in Gżira close to the studio. The family moved to Floriana when she was a young child, but after their house was destroyed during an Axis bombing raid the family briefly relocated to Rabat. “I grew up here and we had very good neighbours at the time. In the summer, everyone would take chairs outside in the evenings and chat,” Rose recalls.

The family moved back to the area shortly after her father opened the studio and Rose now lives close by with her nephew Andrew Azzopardi. They spend most of their time at the studio.

Postcards from Malta

Photos of cabaret dancers adorn the photography studio’s walls.

On one wall are postcards depicting landscapes and buildings from Malta’s past, some of which have not survived the passage of time. Valletta’s opera house, for example, was destroyed when the roof collapsed during a night of heavy bombing during World War 2, but, according to Rose, this didn’t spell the end for opera in Malta.

“They used to stage operas at the Orpheum theatre round the corner... we have photos of famous opera singers and violinists,” says Rose, adding the genre proved to be a thriving business for her father. “My father was a great fan of opera and we used to have a real opera season. Companies used to come for the season, usually from Italy.”

A picture of a donkey dressed as a soldier proved particularly popular with customers, Andrew explains. “He used to sell hundreds. It was very popular, but some people used to find it offensive because it was very eccentric,” says Andrew.

Pointing to a postcard showing Castille lit up by floodlights, Rose explains that the technology was uncommon back then. “Floodlighting was still a novelty in those days. There’s a postcard of a seaplane that crashed too... people were still buying those photos in the 1960s,” she says.

Gżira’s colourful past

Having both grown up in the area, Rose and Andrew hold a wealth of knowledge about Gżira’s history, including some of its less salubrious parts. Gesturing to photographs on the wall, Andrew reveals that there was more to some of the performers than met the eye: “I don’t think all of them were just dancers,” he says with a laugh.

There were so many navy servicemen at Manoel Island, there used to be queues for prostitutes

Rose nods, saying that some of the girls also used to work as “hostesses” at a nearby brothel just before and after World War 2. “There were so many navy servicemen at Manoel Island, there used to be queues for prostitutes,” she says. “There was a place on Sir Charles Cameron Street. At the time we used to play outside but our parents didn’t let us pass through that part of the street,” she recalls.

Andrew was born in 1957, but also remembers the area’s colourful past, which he says extended into the early 1960s. “There was a place nearby that wasn’t just a bar... I still remember the madame, I was around three or four at the time,” he says. “They used to take me inside and give me pineapple drinks and sweets, they used to make a real fuss of me. One of the barmaids even got me a present after she won the lotto,” Andrew says.

Present-day troubles

The sign above the door to Emmanuel Studio suffered damage from construction taking place upstairs.

Despite the studio’s unique heritage, it hasn’t always been treated with respect.

“Unfortunately, some of the things we had were either stolen or destroyed because we don’t always stay out in the front... so people come in here and help themselves,” explains Andrew.

The last item to be stolen was a barometer made by film company Agfa, taken from the shop in broad daylight less than a year ago while Rose and Andrew were at the back. Since then, they have moved some photos to the back of the shop and removed others.

Unfortunately, some of the things we had were either stolen or destroyed

Meanwhile, the owners say some photographs were lost due to water damage originating from construction works on the floors above, with the sign outside the shop also damaged. “You can see it’s a bit scruffy outside, but it wasn’t like that originally,” Andrew says.

With its photography days behind it, the shop now sells film, SD cards and printing services, mostly to visitors to the country. “Sometimes they come just to look at the shop. They’re tourists and mostly young, but we do have some regular customers... it’s the only old shop that remains,” she says. “There’s one girl who travels from St Paul’s Bay to come here, and she even brought a friend just to show her the shop,” Rose says with a smile.

Despite the renewed interest, these may be the final years for Emmanuel Studio, as its lease expires in 2028, almost a century after it first opened. When it does eventually close, Gżira will have lost a landmark – not simply a shop, but also a time capsule of the area’s rich cultural heritage.

Until then, Rose and Andrew are committed to maintaining its remarkable legacy.