The postal services in Malta in the mid-nineteenth century : some mercantile, commercial and social aspects

Abstract

This account is based on the contents of two registers which were found by chance by the present writer in the spring of 1978 during a stroll in the countryside in the area of Tal Mirakli, Attard. They had been discarded and dumped in a rubbish heap. 1 Each register measures 30cm by 21.5cm. Some of the leaves are torn with missing pieces. They have dated entries, written in Italian in faded ink. There are indications that they were originally bound but their hard covers are missing together with their backstrips; joints are broken; the leaves show some foxing and are frayed in the margins. Each page is divided by vertical lines into columns headed:- Date and time of arrival of letters; name of ship; date and time of dispatch of letters; name and address of person receiving the letter; and a column bearing the name of the employee delivering the letter. [excerpt]