Situated in the town of Mosta, our collections have been accumulating since 1990 and contain a wide array of items, mainly related to Maltese, Military or General History. We are currently building a virtual museum, Malta's first such project, intended to showcase our collections, and share them with you in the best way possible. The more items we manage to purchase, acquire or recover, the more i
nteresting this portal to the past becomes. Any contributions to this growing and important archive and collection are most welcome. Maltese collectibles are generally referred to as Melitensia while items of Military interest are termed as Militaria. The Melitensia section contains a vast number of publications as well as thousands of items relating to the four principle columns of Maltese social and historical development as follows:
1. Colonial Powers: Printed matter, coins, stamps, British Royalty material, military items and anything else depicting or somewhat related to the foreign administrations of the Maltese Islands.
2. Holy and Ecclesiastic: Up to the mid-seventies, the Church in Malta had a very active and significant influence over both politics as well as Maltese way of life in general. Items include printed matter, holy pendants, crucifixes, and other related material.
3. Political Miscellanea: Printed matter, party badges, emblems and kitsch, etc.
4. Maltese Industry: Locally manufactured items, particularly older items representing the developing Maltese economy in the first half of the 20th century or earlier as well as the pre/post Independence period right up to the early eighties. Another Section covers several other Maltese perspectives, mainly of a social and daily living nature, including art, culture, sports, education, transport and so much more
All the above is supplemented by a considerable number of publications, documents, photos and to a lesser extent, audio-visual material. YOUR STAKE:
It is unfortunate that so many items falling within the above categories are often thrown out upon the passing away of relatives, particularly older people, in order to make space or possibly do away with the past. Anything is considered interesting, particularly 'drawer-debris' such as old lottery tickets, holy pictures, used postage stamps and envelopes, old adverts, cigarette and matchboxes...
Similarly, many are those who tend to accumulate stuff in garages, basements, box-rooms etc, only to suddenly tire from it all and more often than not to simply throw everything out in bulk. So if you suddenly have had enough, or your partner has perhaps(!), do give us a thought! Similarly, if you have suddenly inherited anything which has no value to you but are reluctant to throw away, please give us a beep! All items are documented and the sources acknowledged. We consider everything as interesting! We aim to have various thematic exhibitions in the future and hope to raise enough funds to have our own building for this reason. We already actively collaborate with a number of organisations in loaning items for both theme-specific and generic exhibitions. With thanks
The Archivist
