Philatelic design in Malta (1970-1990) : a critical assessment

Abstract

The history of Maltese Philatelic Design takes up a very small fraction of the Maltese History of Art perhaps because over the years its importance has escaped the watchful eyes of Maltese art critics. Consequently, as of yet, there has not been a full critical study of the subject and generally it is either given a minor part in Maltese art appreciation or completely ignored. When the subject is in fact discussed, it is only done so superficially with a general focus on the philatelic outlook rather than on the design aspects of the postage stamps. Furthermore articles on the Times of Malta and the Sunday Times of Malta, written by an 'art correspondent', reveal that the writer only had a trifling knowledge of art appreciation supported by the fact that no concise criticism is given. This, however, does not mean that there were no important and profound contributions. Articles and studies such as those by Vincenzo Maria Pellegrini, Lino Cuschieri and Jesmond Vassallo have produced some detailed research on the subject. Nonetheless there has always been this tendency to focus on Emvin Cremona, and no attempt has ever been made to go beyond the period, which many considered as the 'golden age'. On the contrary, this research attempts to make a valid contribution to the filling up of this vacuum by analysing the Post-Cremona period (1970-1990). This period was purposely chosen as it marks the end of Emvin Cremona's philatelic career and gives way to other well-established Maltese artists and designers, as well as emerging ones. Mention should, however, be made of the fact that this study is not meant as an exhaustive catalogue of the philatelic works produced within this time span. It is primarily concerned with a critical analysis of a representative selection of philatelic designs produced during this period of time and an attempt will be made to show not only the standards achieved by these philatelic works, but also their validity as significant works of art. The philatelic designs during this period were produced by important personalities such as Frank Portelli (1922- 2004), Antoine Camilleri (b.1922), Raymond Pitre (b.1940), Harry Alden (b.1929), John Bonnici (b.1932), Anthony Aguis (b.1933) as well as Emvin Cremona. Part of this long essay has in fact been devoted to Emvin Cremona, as his role in elevating and enhancing the prestige of Maltese stamp designing is crucial when one is to discuss Maltese philately. Artists' and designers' inability to produce sound and communicative designs have often been blamed for the decline in quality of the Maltese philatelic reuvre. However, this thesis ventures to justify why the designs produced by artists such as Frank Portelli, Luciano Micallef (b.1954) and Harry Alden, should not be completely held responsible for this decline in stamp designing quality. For this reason during this study other plausible factors responsible for the stamp design anticlimax in Malta have been discussed.