SEEING DOUBLE

SEEING DOUBLE!

Whenever I start to examine a new picture I first always try to look at it with an objective eye, that is, I try to understand what exactly it is that the photographer is focusing on. This is sometimes difficult to establish when there are large numbers of persons or objects. Obviously, when there is a specific object to photograph, this is much easier as the focal point is usually in the middle of the picture.
In this gem of a picture ( Pic. 1 top) little is left to doubt about what the main objective is as it stands right there in the middle. Few are the goings on in an otherwise near devoid picture. The simplicity and sense of tranquility is unusual for this particular corner of Strada S. Giovanni with Strada Reale during the daytime, as much today as yesteryear. At a first examination there was not much to scrutinize, but on second thoughts……….
Richard Ellis took this picture just before 1910, if one is to go by the appointment of Michael Borgs’ establishment to supply Edward VII with his wares of Malta fine lace, jewellery, silver, bone china and similar articles that made him a familiar name throughout the island.
At the extreme right of the picture stood the “Grand Studio”, a photographer that mainly took portrait pictures and also some scenery. The style of the light fixture above the doorway collaborates further the date of the picture. On the left, partly hidden by the tree, stood ‘Muscat’, predecessor of the firm “Muscat’s general stores”. At the time this shop sold every type of ‘sporting goods’ imaginable including firearms, cricket bats and “athletes’ requisites.
Of course, right in the middle of the picture stands the main focal point of the picture, the kiosk selling liquid refreshment. Cold water, fizzy drinks, lemonade, flavoured water and I presume, tea and coffee. Other kiosks and stands similar in shape to what are now used to sell Maltese nougat during festas stood at various corners and convient positions. At least two stood at the city entrance, two beneath the arches in front of the bibliotheca, another at the corner of Strada Reale with Ordinace street. One stood at the entrance to the Victoria gate and another at the Marina fishmarket. I still have a faint recollection as an infant of another at the corner of Strada Reale with Strada Santa lucia in front of the law courts. Up to some years ago another one stood at the corner of Strada Teatro with Strada Mercanti, until it met the ignoble fate of being carried away by a refuse truck whose driver misjudged his turning angle and the kiosk is now no more. Another feature of those days were men and boys carrying water in small wooden casks and selling it by the ladle or enamel mug. No doubt, others such details will emerge whilst examining more pictures in the future. Many will eagerly and promptly remind me that the kiosk in the picture has changed shape completely and has now also changed from selling drinks to flowers. All are right but also all are wrong!
No, it was not replaced. A good look at the centre on top of the canvas awning will reveal the very familiar metal spiral of the flowers kiosk’s domed roof. Both kiosks are there, one is hiding the other. The drinks kiosk stood more to the side of St John’s cathedral whilst the flowers kiosk is at the corner of the pavement. Picture 2 (bottom) clearly shows the position of both kiosks.
Which brings us back again to what is the focal point of the picture. The drinks kiosk is clearly the objective, but at the same time this raises questions. Ellis is renown for taking panoramic and scenic photos that show as much as possible. This is the first time that I have ever encountered the exact opposite. Ellis did his utmost to hide the flowers kiosk and only a small insignificant detail gives it away. The picture could have been taken from one other angle without compromising sunlight, yet this is the chosen angle. The only answers I can think of is that it was taken in this manner by the kiosk owner’s request, or for the benefit of Ellis himself as an experiment.
One last note on another detail in the picture. At the base of the fountain on the right stands a box like object. This is a “shoe shine box” where the client rests his foot (and shoe) to be polished. The boy at the right side foreground is the shoe shine boy and the box he carries under his arm probably contains his brushes and polishes. This boy also appears in other pictures taken in the same area. I clearly remember shoeshine boys doing their trade at this very corner and others in front of the law courts…..Another story of the trades in Valletta some other time.

STRADA MERCANTI

Picture taken aprox late 1920's in winter. The street is obviously Strada Mercanti at its starting point. Dating it is by analyizing gents hats in general and the use of particular types of electrical lighting. The gas lamp posts turned electric have already been removed. Also there is no sign of the telegraph wires which festooned the skyline some years before.

Photo taken from the Vasallo home overlying the Psaila esblishment (selling cigarettes & and sweets and still in existance)

I am not giving away any surprises by saying that the style and angle of the picture is 99% R. Ellis's work.

Of great intrest is that one of the 2 water towers put up by the army on top of St James cavalier is visible and also one can have a rough idea of the design.

Plazzo Parisio next to Castille,is still being used as a post office.

The "Juniour army & navy stores" have already moved premises to what is now the la Vallette band club in Strada reale and is replaced by the furniture firm of Mr. Carmelo Delia. The electrical fixture above the door is still inexistance and can be seen when looking up from the doorway of the premises Delia moved to in Strada Santa lucia.

Palazzo D'amico Inguanez, later renamed Casa Dorell ( the first building on the left with a handrail to the entrance) one of the largest houses in Valletta and home to the oldest noble family in Malta, has not yet been rented out to the Caruana family who used it as a casa bottega. from the early 30"s.They are still there selling household goods to the present day.

One can also see the original house at the corner with Strada Brittanica, now Melita street. this building had a club housed on ground level "The white Ensign Club" later turned into a cafe and later still into a green grocer. it is now a block of flats where the Kishna shop was until recently. Also of note is that the ground floor was used as a Victory kitchen during the last war. The sign is still there painted on the Melita street side.

Special Thanks to William Attard McCarthy for the photo.

Strada Reale Corner with Strada San Giovanni

Strada Reale Corner with Strada San Giovanni
PICTURES 1 AND 2 Photo taken pre 1896, most probably even before. The total absence of telegraph and telephone lines which crisscrossed the upper levels of Valletta buildings suggest this approximate date. Also of note are the gas light columns typical of the period, while the lamp overlying the third doorway from the left of Strada Reale would be fuelled by oil, and denotes a private entrance. The building itself does not present any inspiring features. It is from the renaissance period, and from the earliest typical constructions in Valletta. Evident changes are the construction of the wooden balconies (gallariji) abutting from the (ex) windows of the first floor. These could probably have been added in the late 1700’s when many Valletta facades were refurbished to include baroque features, and the inclusion of wooden balconies was in vogue. Also, the open balcony on the second floor was constructed at a different period from other works. The different designs of stone legs (saljaturi) of the gallariji & balcony are most evident. A problem arises when trying to identify the main entrance to the building. The obvious assumption would put it in Strada Reale as it would put it in the most prestigious street, but not necessarily in this case. An entrance from St John’s street, facing St John’s cathedral would have also been a prestigious alternative for this site. A search through Victor Denaro’s “ houses of Valletta”, proved fruitless as there is no mention whatsoever of the building in either St. John’s Street or Strada Reale. A further search in the British sanitary plan of Valletta of the 1900 brings further confusion, as sanitary fittings are marked for each doorway, denoting that the shops must have had closets in their basements. The British water situation plan of 1864, based on Romano Carapecchia’s (1666-1738) assessment, shows an inlet and outlet for water on the St. John Street side to doors 2 and 3 from the corner of Strada Reale. For the size of the building, a minimum of 2 water cisterns would be available. The plan shows a direct feeder from door no. 3 to the public cistern across the road; and also that the house cisterns themselves overspilled into each other, before the surplus water returning to the public one. All this suggests that the entrance would have been in St John’s street. By the standards of the time, door 1 would have been a direct entrance to the cellar and door 2 to a stable. As there is little doubt that the overlying stories were owned by Bartoli Galea as a residence, the direct entrance in this case must be through door 3,- the shop owned by the Bartoli Galeas. The entrances from Strada Reale would have been servants entrance, stores and kitchen, and sometimes a workshop. First floor would have the bedrooms and and dining room. The latter would have attached to it a small pantry itself connected with the kitchen, directly below by an internal staircase.
The top floor would house the main bedrooms and the Sala Nobile. This was a large hall, usually 40-50 feet long formally decked out to welcome visitors and entertain. An informal and smaller living room would be on the first floor. Any servants living on the premises would usually be housed in
small rooms going up to the rooftop. Strange is the total absence of chimneys. It was usual for the kitchen to have a cooking galley, whilst the hall would have a fireplace. This sometimes was connected with another in a bedroom directly below. Finally, another point of interest is that the block of apartments adjacent to the building on the Strada Reale side has not yet been constructed, and one can view the original building. PICTURES 3 AND 4: This photo was taken on 19th April 1903 during the visit of King Edward VII. Our concerns for this picture are twofold –
1. That Saverina Bartoli Galea has by this time taken over the hair Cutting salon of Francis la Porta.
Clearly seen are the wares on offer in the shop-windows - Hats, embroidered goods and a child size Mannequin completely outfitted. Unfortunately we are not able to see if the first doorway has also been taken over.
2. The appearance of electric light in the form of globes overlying the shop-windows.
PICTURES 5 AND 6: The photo shows Strada Reale decorated for the coronation of George V in June 1911. While we cannot distinguish if the corner door on St. John’s street has yet been taken over, we are able to note, however, that on the Strada Reale side the previous shops and wooden balconies are still there. PICTURES 7 AND 8: This is a first copy from An Illustrated Guide to the Islands of Malta and Gozo (1914-1919), Malta, Critiens. I have been fortunate to be granted permission by the owner to make a copy of this, and another important picture advertisement of another establishment some years ago. Clearly, Bartoli Galea has taken over all the shops on both sides. Symmetry of the building is assured by the removal of the wooden balconies. Ironically, we can now enjoy the view of the upper stories as (nearly) originally built during the Knights period.
The ground floor is now presented as a continuous shop front on both sides. The workmanship in wood and the design is very similar to other shops of the period, still post Edwardian, with the most significant being LANCELLOTTI in Strada Mezzodi and JOSEPH FORMOSA in Strada Reale. The style is heavy and filling but still elegant to look at. The thin lines running across the upper part of the photo are not scratches but are rather the telegraph and telephone wires which are missing in the first picture. Also one can now see that the apartments on the Strada Reale side have been constructed. This, unfortunately, was one of the early scars inflicted during a period when mass housing and not beauty, in Valletta was a priority. NOTES FOR POST WWII PERIOD I have not had the opportunity to view pictures of the site when it was destroyed. It was the same stick of bombs that destroyed the Opera house, the Ellis premises right opposite and Auberge de Auvergne that did the job. I have however had the opportunity to interview people whom unfortunately are now deceased and who remembered the site well, one of these being my grandfather. Bartoli Galea closed down before WWII. On the Strada Reale side there were instead a pharmacy -The Colonial pharmacy and the Dominion Library, who were also printers in the same premises. The site had been divided further and small apartments formed part of the complex. After the war, the site was sold to become The National Bank. Many figures have been mentioned, But the most affidable have informed me that the sum of ten thousand Sterling is the most reliable. Still, I stand to be corrected. A FINAL NOTE ON THE PRESENT BUILDING The Knights obliged the owners of buildings to be constructed to adhere to a strict code of rules, the most significant being a supply of water. The size and quantity of cisterns to be constructed was based on the number of persons residing in the building or the size of the site itself. Most probably there were at least 3 large bell shape wells dug. The average size would be a height of 20 ft with a diameter of 30 ft, giving an approximate area of 150 cubic metres of space. It is difficult to determine how many and how much. There are existing examples of wells in Valletta houses that resemble more a cube-like quarry than a well. In any case, all this would be at a depth reachable from the cellar floor which brings us to some 3 stories below street level. I would not be at all surprised that the present basement, vaults and lift wells of the bank are housed in what were once water cisterns.

Joseph Piccinino July 2009

MELITENSIA

Hello all,

Having been told countless times to put my notes, analysis and observations of Melitensia and
my research regarding the hundreds of pictures on the city of Valletta, I have finally taken the step and will start doing something.
My biggest problem is .... From where do I start ? There is so much material and so little time.
I hope all will forgive me for doing things in hiccups.
Please do not hesitate to forward me your opinion(s) and corrections, but please, most of all,
send me pictures.
Many times have I been shown photos of ancestors, locations and others of " our old house".
Pictures whom many people think are of no significance whatsoever, and others which, "belonged to my Grandparents", etc etc.. It is from these old and wrinkled, stained and yellowed
photos that history is also made. Whatever anyone can contribute, I promise to do my best to give an explanation to it.
A picture is a testimony of life, a proof to the existance of a human being, a collection of dozens of people doing different things at the same time. Jobs and trades that no longer exist or have changed, buildings that existed and have been altered, mutilated and sometimes pulled down to be reconstructed in the original way. Shops selling wares that today are collector's items or no longer in use. A way of life long passed and forgotten to many. The list is endless.
More than just nostalgia, a picture is history frozen in a fixed moment in time. The snag is to try to find out when, where, who and what it interprets.