2008 - Nostalgias of Malta: images by S.L. Cassar from the 1890s to the 1930s

The third in Giovanni Bonello’s series of albums of photographs depicting the Maltese Islands and their people in the past, it offers a wide selection of the fine oeuvre of the Maltese photographer Salvatore Lorenzo Cassar ( 1855-1928)  Cassar’s professional life began in Libya, but he was soon back in Malta where he remained to the end of his life.  Bonello’s biographical and critical essay examines aspects of Cassar’s career, such as his pioneering of flashlight photography in Malta and his publication first of postcards printed from his photographs, followed by “a massive production of ‘real photo’ postcards.” Unlike its predecessors in the “Nostalgias” series, this volume does not restrict itself to photographs of places, but includes large sections showing people, Maltese or foreign, including posed portraits, events, and a miscellaneous section.  There are photos showing the Fish Market that are remarkable for suggesting movement, portraits of S.L. Cassar’s winsome daughters and an excellent portrait of the saintly friar, Fra Diegu Bonanno.  The Events section records moments of King Edward VII’s visits to Malta and other events, but the most dramatic image is that of the S.S. Sardinia on fire ashore in 1908.  In the Miscellaneous section, the images of the Maltese sculptor Sciortino’s Great Siege and Christ the King monuments taken soon after their unveiling are of historical importance.