A collection of more than 1,500 postcards showing warships in Maltese harbours was presented to Heritage Malta by Judge Giovanni Bonello - to be enjoyed by the public at the Malta Maritime Museum.

The collection, built gradually from scratch by Bonello himself since his youth, also includes postcard-size photos. Both the postcards and the photos show warships and submarines in Maltese harbours between the 1880s and the 1970s.

Some of the scenes depicted show very rare ships that sailed into Malta's harbours, such as the battleships Breslau and Goeben in World War 1 and will, therefore, form an important part of the Maritime Museum’s collection.

Bonello presented the postcards and photos to Liam Gauci, the museum’s senior curator. He said that although this collection is very dear to him, he felt that its rightful place is in the Maritime Museum, where everyone may enjoy it.

He also expressed his hope that other owners of private collections will follow suit and pass their collections on to Heritage Malta. Gauci, on behalf of Heritage Malta and the public, thanked Bonello for the donation.

Thanks to Heritage Malta’s Digitisation Unit, the public will be able to enjoy the collection not just physically but also virtually.