History in funerary cards

Politicians, a victim of tragedy and at least one Maltese saint have made it to a collection of funerary memorial cards that has just been donated to Heritage Malta. The collection, which grew from one discarded specimen to several thousand, may shed light on changing fashion trends, orthography and craftsmanship. The collection still needs to be sorted, but so far, the oldest ones date back to the late 19th century, Inquisitor’s Palace curator Kenneth Cassar told this newspaper. Alfred Calleja, a former Sea Malta officer, started his collection some 35 years ago while taking a stroll in Fgura. On that day, he had come across a discarded memorial card, which he picked up and decided to keep. From then on, whenever he spotted a funeral, he would park his car nearby and ask for a card. As word spread about his collection, people started turning up with memorial cards, and a certain Fr Ġużepp Zarb from Żabbar handed over a collection of early-20th-century cards. Mr Calleja also received some obituary cuttings from Gozo church leaflets. His collection also includes cards from abroad. As the years rolled on, he realised he had to pass on the collection to someone who could continue...