Before the island’s independence the British colours featured regularly in formal events, besides being put to less iconic uses
After their excavation, the temples became favourite picnic grounds – open air, a camera, tea and scones
Msida and Birkirkara in Malta, and Xlendi in Gozo are particularly prone to flooding, but nowhere is immune
At the peak of the Salonika crisis in April 1916, over 20,000 patients were hosted in 27 hospitals and camps
The capital’s street panorama has remained virtually unchanged since the 1570s, though some street stairs have disappeared
There was a marked improvement in the graphics – meant to hit the eye, sometimes perhaps over the top
The highly gifted photographer who took these masterpieces of the rural life of Maltese countryfolk remains a mystery
Efforts to boost defenders’ morale, to defeat defeatism, to brighten the invisible speck of light at the end of the tunnel
These pocket maps usually featured the geographical contours, physical characteristics and names of localities of the islands
WW II propaganda fired up patriotism and delusions of superiority to maintain high the people’s morale
Today’s high-profile political cases a pale substitute for the ominous popular curiosity capital trials previously provoked
With the post-Independence explosion of mass tourism, diners mushroomed all over the town
Some marked village festas of patron saints, others as thanksgiving for the end of a calamity
The Maltese held extensive celebrations despite the smothering of their political democracy
Photo postcards made for regiments of British and empire military personnel passing through or stationed in Malta from the early 1910s to the late 1920s
The pealing of bells at prearranged intervals scanned the passage of time and gave people a sense of temporal orientation
Up to 17 Japanese anti-submarine destroyers and their crews were based in Malta to help protect Allied mercantile convoys
A lavish welcome programme was laid out for Crown Prince Hirohito in 1921
A square with plenty of tourists sitting in open-air cafes bears no relation to the traditional spirit of the polis
These massive ship maintenance structures were used to accommodate the progressively larger military combat vessels
Far from being merely open squares used for civic purposes, many became informal centres of gravity for socialisation
Women were not photographed wearing sight spectacles or smoking in public until the 1940s
From around the mid-19th century, the dockyards became Malta’s largest single employer and triggered trade union consciousness
Women mostly figure in traditionally feminine ‘domestic’ functions, not surprisingly
Independence did not lead to perfection, but it was a step up from alien servitude
Horses, mares, donkeys, mules, oxen and even dogs were used in Malta over the centuries for transportation and agricultural purposes
The German camera artist and painter lived in Malta in the interwar years
Bathing habits and costumes have evolved over the centuries almost full circle back to original nudity
Up to the Napoleonic era, cargo and warships relied exclusively on oars and sails to move across waters
You can date post-war Maltese postcards by measuring how skimpy the bikinis are
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