The Public Memory Archive contains oral history interviews; fieldwork notes; photographs and ephemera relating to different themes concerning 20th-century Maltese history. Carried out by students and researchers at the University of Malta, the material corresponds with the following themes: women's memories of childbirth; natural and herbal medicine; health and hygiene; reminiscences of the fisherfolk’s survival at sea; recollections of a generation of “factory girls”; nursing and caring at home and in the neighbourhood; survival strategies of the labouring poor; provisions and care of the body; shelter, nutrition and survival during war. The team assigned to the MEMORJA project, at the National Archives of Malta, is responsible for the conversion of this material from analogue to digital format. This is for long-term preservation and access, which involves recording appropriate descriptive, structural and administrative (including technical) metadata.
Department of History, University of MaltaThis Fond is dedicated to Private Deposits made by the general public at the National Archives of Malta. Each private deposit is given a unique identifier and catalogued in a separate archival description. The Archival Descriptions related to this Fond can be found under related descriptions.
This photographic collection has photographs related to the building of churches in Malta, portraits of both influential and unknown individuals, religious processions and activities, political activities and civil works, among others.
Sciortino, Emanuele, 1882-1957The Collection consists of photographic prints, newspaper cutouts, hand-written notes, and short stories, etc, belonging to actor and play-write Karmenu Gruppetta (20 December 1922 - 20 February 1977). Collection donated by his niece, Sylvana Cassar. Gruppetta took part in theatre (shows such as Francis Ebejer's 'Hadd fuq ilBejt'), plays, TV programmes, and also took part in films filmed in Malta such as 'Pulp' (1972). The photos contain head shots, stage photos, childhood and family photos, etc. The collection also includes a portfolio of newspaper cut-outs, article mentions, scripts, etc.
Transparencies used in the publication 'The Siege of Malta 1565'.
Perez d'Aleccio, Matteo, 1547-1616The Commerce Department consists of the Support Services Unit, the Small Business and Crafts Unit and two directorates: the Industrial Property Registrations Directorate; the Trade Related Services and Projects Directorate. For each unit or directorate a Subfond was created to include every record which falls under it. In addition, another Subfond was created, entitled 'Legacy Regards' which pertains to records which the Commerce Department inherited from other government departments which have been dissolved. One category of files which was transferred from the Commerce Department to NAM were the files which used to belong to the Department of Trade, hence a Sub Subfond was created for these records.
At present, in this Fond one will find records pertaining to the Industrial Property Registrations Directorate (Subfonds 01): Patents (Series 01) and Designs (Series 02); and Legacy Records (Subfonds 02): Department of Trade files (Sub Subfonds 01) which were inherited by the Commerce Department.
Malta. Commerce DepartmentThis Fonds contains several Series of records that channeled through all departmental, consular, ecclesiastical, and individual correspondence, and all naval and military correspondence concerning civil matters.
In this Fonds, one may also find: Bills of health, personal passports, and certificates of competency to master mariners, mates and padroni. Acts of naturalization and letters patent of denization to aliens. Warrants to act as advocate, notary, physician, broker, land surveyor, etc. Licenses to deal in marine stores, to act as auctioneer, to keep schools, to exercise the art of goldsmith, etc.
The Chief Secretary’s office also kept records of licenses granted by the Governor, for marriages performed in non-Catholic churches. After the 1921 Constitution all work dealing with purely local matters was taken over by the Maltese Government. The Maltese Imperial government dealt only with ‘matters reserved to the Crown’.
Malta. Chief Secretary to GovernmentMEMORJA is the oral, sound and visual archive of the National Archives of Malta (NAM). Our mission is to record life stories from people and groups who are underrepresented in the historical record. The roots of the project lie in the National Memory Project (NMP), initiated in 2004, followed by collaboration with the Public Memory Archive (PMA) at the University of Malta. Established in 2017, MEMORJA has now developed as the principal depositor of our national and public memory.
MEMORJA employs advanced methods in oral history, ethnography and cutting-edge archival approaches to collect, record, preserve and make accessible individual and shared histories passed on orally, visually and through sound. We are interested in the diversity of individual memories, life histories, community experiences and traditions, indigenous knowledge and shared historical events of the Maltese people.
MEMORJA’s oral history-trained staff and volunteers carry out continuous ethnographic fieldwork in the community, enriching our archives with a panoply of memories and recollections, personal photographs, documents, ephemera, artifacts, audio and video recordings and film reels which are generously donated, preserved and made available to all. The ubiquitous presence of our fieldworkers carrying out research and oral history interviews in the community has made the NAM ever more visible. This has generated extensive friendships and a unique relationship of trust between the National Archives and the public.
The project covers different themes related to life in, and experiences of, Malta during the twentieth century. The first five themes within which the research began are: Experiencing War: Survival, Shelter and Food; Migration: the British in Malta; Public Administration; Lampedusa and Malta Connections, and Bell-Ringing. There are many records in different formats, including analogue and digital audio recordings; photographic material (both print and digital); digital video recordings; original and digitised ephemera (diaries, press cuttings, books etc.) and written accounts in electronic format.
National Archives of Malta, Central ArchiveThis photographic collection was deposited at the National Archives of Malta through an agreement signed on the 19th August 2022 by and between the National Archives of Malta and Allied Newspapers Limited of Times of Malta. All the photographic material is being digitised and a catalogue is being created. The aim is to preserve this collection for future generations and to make it accessible.
Times of Malta (1935 -)The Guljana Letard-Ciantar contains data retrieved from Church Archives, scattered across the Maltese Islands, regarding baptisms, marriages and deaths. This collection also contains copies of notarial deeds, benefits, legacies, wills and concessions on titles of Maltese and Gozitan nobility.
Letard Ciantar