New happenings at the Malta Map Society
At 97, he will be taking a well-deserved back seat. Nevertheless, he will continue to help the society in their activities. To keep a lasting commemoration of this event, a memento was presented to Dr Ganado by the Society in recognition of his sterling work in founding, nurturing and sustaining the Society throughout these last ten years.
His role as President of the Malta Map Society was taken over by Joseph Schirò who has been acting as the Society’s Honorary Secretary since its foundation. The other members of the Board are Ivan Fsadni Vice-President, Krystle Attard Trevisan, the new Honorary Secretary, Claude Micallef Attard Honorary Treasurer, Rod Lyon Press Officer, and members Ritienne Gauci, Bernadine Scicluna, William Soler and William Zammit.
The Malta Map Society was founded by Dr Ganado in November 2009. In ten years, the Society has managed to publish erudite in-depth studies of maps of Malta, many of which are continuously being discovered in various archives and libraries in Malta and abroad. This research work continues with other scholarly publications to come and with the yearly publication of a highly-respected journal. The society is among the most active in the world.
Keen collector of Melitensia, including books and manuscripts, maps and prints, portraits, autographs, postcards and philatelic items, Dr Ganado has written extensively on Maltese history, art, legislation, politics and philately, authoring fourteen books and well over 200 articles of academic interest in journals and books published in Malta, London, Rome, Vienna and Leipzig.
In 2008 Heritage Malta acquired Dr Ganado’s colossal collection of 450 antique Malta maps, all different, from the 16 th to the 19 th century and is now known as “The Albert Ganado Map Collection”. Housed at MUŻA in Valletta, his collection, together with the other maps which formed part of the national collection, is now the largest collection of maps of Malta in the world. In 2011 the International Map Collectors’ Society (IMCoS), London, awarded him with the prestigious Helen Wallis Award for his life contribution to the history of cartography. In October 2013 the University of Malta conferred on him a Doctorate in Literature (Honoris Causa), while in 2017 the Faculty of Laws honoured him with the Academic Excellence Award.
The New President of the MMS
Joseph Schirò, the new President, is the head emeritus of the Conservation Division within Heritage Malta. He co-edited the first festchrift in Malta, Liber Amicorum Dr. Albert Ganado in 1994, co-edited Malta 1796-1797 Thorvaldsen’s Visit in 1997, and co-authored Andersen and Malta in 1991, Fine Bookbindings in 1999, German Malta Maps in 2011, The Brocktorff Mapmakers in 2012, and Pre-Siege Maps of Malta – second century AD-1564 in 2016. His latest publication in 2017 is the translation and editing of a Russian book by Grigory Krayevsky titled The Island of Malta and the Order of St John.
He has also written several articles on paper conservation and cartography and is also the editor of the MMS Journal. He is currently also President of ICOM Malta and has been on the editorial board of the European Research Centre for Book and Paper Conservation-Restoration in Horn, Austria since its foundation ten years ago. He still works in his private capacity as a book and paper conservator- 2restorer and gives consultancy on preservation matters to archives and libraries in Malta and abroad.
In May 2000, he received the award of Cavaliere Ufficiale dell’Ordine al Merito Melitense from the Grand Magistry of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta in Rome. In 2014, he was presented with the inaugural national Outstanding Services to Library and Information Science Award by the Malta Library and Information Association (MaLIA). The citation read ‘for your pioneering work on expanding knowledge and education in the conservation and preservation domains’.
The New MMS Honorary Secretary
The new Honorary MMS Secretary, Ms Krystle Attard Trevisan Krystle Attard Trevisan is a print and book historian which led her to develop a love for maps. She is interested in the materiality of a map as a product of the printing process, and its development in print and book history. She currently occupies the role of Coordinator Curatorial Support at MUŻA, the Malta National Community Art Museum. MUŻA has the largest collection of maps of Malta in the world which allows her to expand her interest in the subject of maps and their production. Krystle is a PhD candidate at the Institute of English Studies within the School of Advanced Study at the University of London where she is studying print history and print collecting, specifically a collection of 4,500 prints belonging to the Mdina Cathedral Museum. This is the first large scale research project on historical European prints and print collecting in Malta. Krystle has two M.A.s, one in art history and another in literary tradition and popular culture. She has been a guest lecturer at the University of Malta where she also worked as Research Officer. She previously worked as a curator in a church museum. She has presented papers in 3international conferences, published and edited work in journals and volumes, and given public lectures and seminars. She has served on the Committee of the Malta Historical Society and is now the Honorary Secretary of the Malta Map Society.
From a press release by the Malta Map Society
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