Here are some photos of the festivity taken 71 years ago by the late Emanuel Borg
Children dressed up as royalty and adults wearing costumes of clowns, bears and harlequins populate a collection of black and white photos taken in the carnival of 1949 by the late photographer Emanuel Borg.
One can also see various rudimentary floats parading along the streets of the capital and people packing St George’s Square to watch the dancing and all the merrymaking.
Mr Borg, of Kalkara, was a self-taught professional photographer who started his career after World War II. He began the photographic section of what was then known as the Malta Tourist Board and during national events he was regularly seconded to the Department of Information.
[Emanuel Borg’s] full collection of photos and negatives was bequeathed to the Magna Żmien project
He was an early member of the Malta Photographic Society (founded in 1961) and the still photographer on the set of the film Treasure in Malta (1963).
His full collection of photos and negatives was bequeathed to the Magna Żmien project by one of Mr Borg’s four sons, John. In 2018, Magna Żmien put on an exhibition with photos of Mr Borg’s beloved hometown of Kalkara as part of the Valletta 2018 events.
“He was an active member of the Kalkara community,” John reminsces.
“He had a photography studio and took pictures of literally every wedding taking place in Kalkara, besides baptisms and Holy Communions, and other important events.”
John recalls that Kalkara was a hub of activity as there was a concentration of British servicemen in the area: Bighi was a military hospital, Villa Portelli (now the Malta Maritime Institute) was the Admiral’s residence, Fort Ricasoli, and the Telegraph Station, which was located in Rinella.
Kalkara also had a popular cricket team.
Mr Borg, who passed away a week before turning 90 in 2012, was also known in the locality for other initiatives such as a lending library and a Christmas Club, through which money was collected to buy presents for needy children.
