Malta's Postal Window on History

The Times of Malta reports, "The annual philatelic exhibition, MALTEX, will open to the public tomorrow with a line-up of exhibits that demonstrate there is more to stamp collecting than meets the layman's eye."

According to the report, "While the hobby may seem to some a vestige of the last century, not only is it still very much alive in Malta but it is also one way of learning more about the past."

Alfred Bonnici, president of the Malta Philatelic Society, which organises the exhibition, gives as examples specialised areas of interest such as infected mail or prisoner of war mail, which can reveal unknown details about society or events decades or even centuries ago.

Alfred is quoted as saying, "Philately goes beyond collecting stamps. The spectrum is much wider than that. It also involves postal history."

This year's exhibition is on the theme of Malta Mail, which dates back to the establishment of the Sovereign Military Order of St John nearly 500 years ago.

Shown above, one of the items in the exhibit - a ship hand stamp on a cover sent to Constantinople via Malta, dated December 27, 1862


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