Family history research is a very popular topic in Malta with several researchers specialising in drawing up complex genealogical family trees and performing other in-depth searches in the National Archives, the Notarial Archives and Identity Malta Archives, to mention a few. These searches help to uncover long-forgotten contracts and long-lost wills of ancestors and in the process unveiling the history of individuals through time.
The value of ephemera
According to the Antiques Roadshow Collection, the word "ephemeral" describes something which does not last. Paper ephemera, then, are items that are produced to be thrown away. The term applies to anything that is quickly updated, outdated or made of short-life flimsy material such as bus, train or tram tickets, calendars, invitation cards, in memoriam cards, celebration souvenir programmes or paper souvenirs of visits to towns or exhibitions.
This set of four old Maltese invitation cards, when placed in context, can be intimately linked to wider historical events. In this sense, they may be described as mosaic fragments or microcosms of history that open wide the curtain on the day-to-day chores of individuals and other aspects of Maltese life.
Thankfully, the ephemera mentioned in this feature survived the ravages of time and did not disintegrate having been neatly preserved in a vitrine, hidden out of sight until their recent discovery.
The history of the visiting and invitation cards
Traditionally, written invitations are made for events such as weddings, anniversaries, important birthdays or baby-related events such as a baby shower.
Written invitations to formal events got their start in the Middle Ages. Wealthier families would commission monks who were skilled in writing calligraphy to craft their notices one at a time.
According to William Zammit in, Printing in Malta, the use of visiting cards was especially popular among members of the Order, familiar as they were with the practice, given their European aristocratic background. Already much in use before 1756, the establishment of the local press resulted in immediate commissions submitted for their printing. The fashion eventually spread to the Maltese nobility and clergy, who increasingly commissioned visiting cards during the late 1760s and 1770s. The use of such cards constituted an additional status symbol.
In the 1600s and 1700s invitations were delivered on horseback, as the postal system was very new at the time and unreliable. To protect the invitations during its travels, an outer envelope was used, this is where the double envelope tradition began.
Fast-forward a few centuries and the wedding and event invitation industry, as we know it today, began during the middle of the 20th century with the invention of thermography. Thermography is a printing process that produces raised letters on a sheet of paper without any etching or engraving. It made invitations very affordable for everyone. Now, it's also becoming popular to buy invitations from either a catalogue or the Internet.
Invitation card for dancing (1858-1864)
The first invitation card is the one by the wife of Lieutenant General Sir John Gaspard Le Marchant GCMG KCB (1803-1874). Le Marchant was a British Army officer and Governor of Newfoundland from 1847 to 1852. He later became the Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia (1852-1858) and Governor of Malta (1858-1864).
The exact year of the invitation card is not given but the invitation was made between 1858 and 1864, the six years during which Le Marchant was Governor of Malta. In the invitation, Lady Le Marchant is inviting Dr & Mrs Sigismondo Dimech at her home at 8.30 o'clock at the Palace on Monday 24 May for dancing.
Prof. Sigismondo Dimech (1803-1880) was Doctor of Laws and a respected and well-known legal figure at the Royal University of Malta and the Courts of Law. He was Professor of Civil Law and Canon Law at the Royal University of Malta. He was author of the publications Commenti sulle Ordinanze (1857) and Dei Contratti (1861). The books were in the Italian language because before the British arrival in Malta, the islands were a cultural and historical extension of Italy and the official language in the Courts of Law was largely Italian.
Graduation invitation card (1895)
The second card in the set is an invitation by Vincenzo Mallia Milanes to Paolo Ellul and family to the Pubblica Bibliotheca (now, the National Library of Malta) where he was to be presented with the Baccelliere in Arti (Bachelor in Arts) on 19 September 1895.
The full name of Paolo Ellul was Pietro Paolo Ellul, who together with his cousin Antonio Ellul (see in Memoriam card) are recorded as having due librerie (two libraries) in Cospicua.
The father of Paolo (Guglielmo Ellul) and the father of Antonio (Giuseppe Ellul) were brothers who owned the cotton firm G. & G. Fratelli Ellul. The firm's business was merchants and suppliers of cotton during the early 19th century. In the early 1800s up to early 1900s, ships were rigged with sails, before the introduction of coal and the steam engine took over as the main source of maritime propulsion.
Traditional Maltese cotton and hand-woven cloth was excellent in quality and in the days of sail was sold throughout the Mediterranean. The cotton trade suffered a lot because of the plague as it was believed that cotton was a plague carrier.
The growth of industrialisation and the application of steam power to machinery for production and transport of goods in the mid-19th century revolutionised society with mass production items and cheaper transport for goods and services. Therefore, the Maltese cotton trade slowly went out of business.
In 1861, most of the employment in Malta was of labourers in the field and other occupations directly or indirectly related to farming. Cotton-spinning suffered the effects of the industrial revolution in that in the 40 years from 1851 to 1891, the cotton-spinning employment decreased by 74%.
When G. & G. Fratelli Ellul stopped operating, it was passed on to Paolo Ellul and Antonio Ellul in 1897. The two cousins, instead of continuing with the cotton industry, went on to own two libraries in Cospicua.
Wedding invitation card (1902)
The third card is a wedding invitation card (dated 8 July 1902) where Mr & Mrs Montanaro are inviting Pietro Paolo Ellul and family to the wedding of their daughter Emilia to Giuseppe Scicluna which was to take place on 17 July 1902 at the Church of St Julian's in Senglea at 9 in the morning. The reception was to take place at 84, Strada Due Porte in Senglea. The residence of the spouses was 73 Strada Due Porte, Senglea.
Wedding invitation card (1910)
The last card is an invitation card by Mr & Mrs Pietro Paolo Ellul of the marriage of their daughter Adalgisa to Armando Dimech P.L. (Legal Procurator). The card is dated 16 November 1910 and the address is 11, Strada San Domenico, Valletta.
Of this marriage, the mother of the author of this feature was born in 1912. Unfortunately, Armando Dimech's life was prematurely cut short by the dreaded Spanish Flu of 1918.
Researching family ephemera reveals that every branch of family tree holds people who shaped and formed us. Predecessors' experiences are interesting. They inspire in us faith, life, thankfulness, joy and growth through forefathers and mothers as they teach us about good character, virtue, hard work ethic, perseverance in tough times and lessons from mistakes.
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