It all started with a big discovery. Professor Arnold Cassola, who has ferreted out sources for the study of Maltese history in various libraries and archives abroad, made yet another discovery in 2017 while in Athens. This "treasure trove" of Malta material, in the form of photographs, documents, prints, books and watercolours, discovered in the Gennadius Library in Athens revealed a lot. Cassola draws in the expertise of three other Maltese scholars, all experts in their field, to assess the material and to each contribute an essay in this highly illustrated and visually beautiful book.
How did this material find itself in a library in Athens? A foreword by Dr Maria Georgopoulou, Gennadius Library director, explains the provenance. The library contains the collection of the erudite scholar, diplomat and traveller, Joannes Gennadius. Born into an upper class Athenian family in 1844, as a young boy, Joannes was sent to the Protestant College in Malta for schooling in the mid to late 1850s. His interest in the classics, history and art was already in evidence during his formative years in Malta when he started collecting all the material that would, 160 years later, surprise and delight Arnold Cassola and result in this publication. Gennadius' collection increased significantly as he grew up, travelled and became a diplomat and came to form the nucleus of a collection he donated to the American School of Classical Studies in Athens. A library bearing his name opened in 1926 within that institution and has since continued to acquire historically valuable objects to enhance the original collection.
Anyone who has been bitten by the research bug will immediately identify with Cassola's description of how he made this discovery and will understand the heart-thumping emotion that accompanied it. His essay delves deeper into Gennadius' biography especially his time in Malta and introduces the reader to what the Malta material, gathered principally in two (of many) scrapbooks that Gennadius put together, actually consisted of.
Judge Emeritus Giovanni Bonello focuses on the collection of mid-19th century Malta photographs that Gennadius appears to have acquired and annotated with place names while in Malta. Bonello, himself a collector of Malta-related early photographs who has vastly contributed through research and publications to our knowledge of the history of photography in these islands, points out that Malta really held its own in the burgeoning art of photography. This is due to the presence of several cutting-edge photographers in cosmopolitan Valletta. Included in this list are James Robertson and Felice Beato, to whom he attributes the majority of the photographs in the Gennadius collection. Not only were these two photographers outstanding masters of this art but they are considered among the first war reporters - Bonello calls them "giant pioneers of photography". With his vast knowledge of the evolution of buildings in Valletta as well as landmarks across Malta, Bonello proposes dates and points out the changes that occurred as evidenced in the photographs.
Professor William Zammit delights in the discovery of the "rare Melitensia pamphlet, single sheet and cartographic material" as well as other less rare printed material that finds itself in the Gennadius Library. His enthusiasm is justifiable, especially in the case of pamphlets and other ephemera. Their flimsy nature means they are not protected with covers, like books are, and easily disintegrated or got discarded over time. Their occasional survival, sometimes in only one copy is a little miracle. Zammit has studied this category of material extensively including compiling a comprehensive database so he was able to immediately identify what was truly a discovery in the Gennadius Library - the Great Siege pamphlets, produced as soon as the Siege was lifted, are a case in point. Moreover, Zammit categorises and provides a useful list of these particular Malta holdings.
Art historian Dr Theresa Vella delves into great analytic detail of the smaller corpus of art works (10 watercolours and one lithograph) of Malta scenes that are found in the Gennadius Library. In agreement with Cassola, she tentatively attributes these unsigned works to the Schranz family, particularly Giovanni and his children. Three of the watercolours, which Vella rightly groups together, seemingly by the same hand (could the artist Michele Bellanti be considered here?) and which she describes as "tranquil landscape views within a diffused border" are particularly striking. The Valletta lithograph, depicting St Paul Street during feast time is remarkable for the burst of colour and a riot of people thronging the street. It is rich in detail for fashion and architectural history and shows a very different hand at play. An epitome of 19th century Malta, with Baroque and neo-gothic in juxtaposition, no wonder it makes it to the book's front cover!
If any criticism can be levelled at the book, the illustrations at times do not follow the text, particularly in the photography-essay making it hard for the researcher to follow, and the book lacks an index. In sum, however, this book is a rich resource for the Malta scholar and an excellent example of how one relatively small and eclectic trove can yield new information for Maltese history, while enriching the Library's knowledge about its own collection.
Words: Francesca Balzan