The Prime Minister, Lawrence Gonzi, has inaugurated an exhibition, as part of MaltaPost’s activities for the 150th Anniversary of the first Malta Stamp.
"The exhibition is being staged to mark the 150th anniversary of Malta’s first postage stamp – the Halfpenny Yellow. Exhibits include an example of the stamp as well as its many variations, courtesy of Dr Alfred Bonnici, together with a selection of postal history covers and artifacts connected to the postal industry. This is not intended to be an exhaustive exhibition. It merely seeks to display a selection of early postal history of Malta and Gozo," said Joseph Said, Chairman of MaltaPost.
MaltaPost is set to embark on a project that will result in the opening of The Malta Postal Museum. MaltaPost already made a number of important acquisitions, a small selection of which were exhibited at the National Library in Valletta. The acquistions include a 1576 document which is reputed to being among the earliest recorded letter from Malta, a number of letters signed by Lord Nelson, one of which is dated 17th November 1799, expressing his frustration with the situation at the time stating "…..without a speedy landing of troops we shall be obliged to quit the Island", were such an event would no doubt have changed the course of Malta’s history.
On display are also items pertaining to the earliest postage stamps, among which is a unique hand-painted essay of what is considered to be one of Malta’s most attractive and desirable stamps. The 1919 10/-, depicting St Paul’s Shipwreck is accompanied by colour trials for the same stamp as well as a unique block-of-four proof. All these items are generally thought to be exceptional both in terms of philately as well as history.
Apart from its role as the national postal services operator, MaltaPost is now set to assume an equally important responsibility, that as steward of the extensive and rich heritage of the postal history of Malta and Gozo. MaltaPost plan to continue with their efforts to acquire further outstanding items due to the strong belief that such heritage belongs in Malta in order to be appreciated and enjoyed by all.
The exhibition will be open to the general public between the 2nd December and the 8th January, Monday to Friday between 08.15 till 17.00 and Saturday between 08.15 and 13.00 at the Bibliotheca, 36 Old Treasury street, Valletta.