Mrs Jacqueline Ostrovidov came to Malta with her husband in 1989 and they bought a beautiful large house in Zejtun. Mrs Ostrovidov, who is French, and her husband, who is of Russian origin, became acquainted with Mr Joseph Schirò, director of the Malta Centre for Restoration in 1990 when he was still working as chief conservator at the book restoration laboratory of the National Library of Malta.

Mrs Ostrovidov was a keen amateur bookbinder who had studied bookbinding at the Ecole Estienne in Paris, the only graduate specialised in bookbinding techniques. She studied under the famous French bookbinder Michel Mondage.

Mr Schirò and Mrs Ostrovidov taught and discussed bookbinding and restoration techniques. Mrs Ostrovidov was encouraged to give lecture demonstrations in Malta, for example for the Unesco Club, while Mr Schirò eventually started to successfully participate in international bookbinding competitions abroad, including in France and Italy.

Mrs Ostrovidov unfortunately passed away last summer, and her husband decided, on behalf of his wife, to bequeath to the Malta Centre for Restoration all her bookbinding equipment, tools, materials and books which she had collected during her long career as an amateur bookbinder.

Tourism and Culture Minister Francis Zammit Dimech received the bookbinding equipment from Mr Ostrovidov on behalf of the Malta Centre for Restoration.

Thanking Mr Ostrovidov for his gesture, Dr Zammit Dimech said: “The large collection of gilding tools is unique for Malta and will be a great aid to all the students who will be studying book conservation during their degree course at the Institute for Conservation and Restoration Studies.

“The rare books on bookbinding which have been donated to the MCR library are also a real treasure for this small but steadily-growing reference library,” he concluded.