Maltese maps on stamps

Abstract

Cathy Moulder in her excellent article 'Cartophilately: the world of maps in miniature', says that philately and cartography are two interests which have a lot in common.' Cartophilately is the collection of postage stamps which display maps. In America there is even a Carto Philatelic Society which has been active since 1955. Being a collector of Malta maps, anything which has a Malta map on it immediately attracts my attention. This could be anything from simple advertising material to collectible items such as medals, postcards, or stamps. Malta has its fair share of Maltese maps on stamps and the following list of stamps were issued not only in Malta but also in Rome, in the Seychelles and in Cura9ao. Most of the stamps were issued to commemorate an event which has had both historical and political significance. As an example, the outcome of the Great Siege of Malta of 1565 left such a political impact on the rest of Europe, that Malta was given the appellation of Propugnaculum Europae, the bulwark of Europe. It is also interesting to observe how the representation of Malta has changed from the crude round-shaped map of Quintinus, to the first fish-shaped map of Malta by Lafreri in 1551, to the more accurate map by De Fer in the early eighteenth century. [excerpt]