The Prof. Mario Buhagiar bequest : rare monographs, pamphlets, documents, and manuscripts related to Maltese culture, including history of the early Church, art, architecture, language, literature and folklore

Abstract

This growing collection covers a wide range of subject areas such as Early Christian art, architecture and archaeology, local ecclesiastical history (with a special emphasis on St Paul), Maltese language, literature and folklore. Some of the rare items in the collection include issues of the early 19th century popular series Mogħdija taż-Żmien, Bellanti's 1913 publication Malta Kadima, J. Catania's Sulle orme di San Paolo a Malta, and a collection of 19th and early 20th century pamphlets concerning the Language Question. Prof. Buhagiar has also donated his collection of reports "Protective Inventory of the Maltese Cultural Heritage", which were the outcome of a project that he coordinated between 1990 and 1992, concerned with the detailed indexing of buildings in towns and villages considered worthy of protection. The collection also includes Prof Buhagiar's unpublished studies of the Maltese windmill, made up of manuscript notes, photographs, drawings and miscellaneous material. A number of 20th century classics of Maltese literature including works by Dun Karm, Gużè Galea, Gużè Bonnici and Gużè Ellul Mercer, together with landmark publications on folklore and local traditions by Gużè Cassar Pullicino and seven excavation reports by Umberto M. Fasola with a signed dedication to Prof. Buhagiar, round out the collection making it a truly comprehensive one in the wide field of Maltese culture. Latest additions to the collection include books, pamphlets and documents on 20th century Maltese politics and politicians, and WW2 and its impact on Malta.