On the flight of the publishing wing and the driving forces be- hind our publications

YEARS OF RESEARCH

PAUL XUEREB THE FLIGHT OF THE PUBLISHING WING

When Fondazzjoni Patrimonju Malti was founded in 1992, it aimed to reveal the wealth of artistic and cultural material existing in private collections through exhibitions, utilising these and other activities to encourage and publicise research on many aspects of the history and remains of the Maltese Islands. Since 1994, its much-admired journal published three times a year, Treasures of Malta, has been another tool for spreading knowledge about Malta’s heritage. Meanwhile, Patrimonju’s first single-volume publications included well-illustrated and scholarly catalogues of the exhibitions it organised, such as Antique Maltese Clocks, or the immensely successful exhibitions of The Silver of Malta, and Costume in Malta—the catalogues of which are edited by experts and have remained important reference works.

The importance of scholarly catalogues to introduce a field of studies to non-experts was testified to across the years, even in later publications such as the catalogue of one of Patrimonju’s most exciting and recent exhibitions, Music in Malta, which confirms Dr Anna Borg Cardona as the great expert on the subject, just as Francesca Balzan, whose role in Patrimonju is noteworthy, had evidenced her expertise through the exhibition and accompanying catalogue on jewellery in Malta.

It is of great satisfaction for publishers of researched works to attract good scholars to their publishing list. At first, Patrimonju had its own established author whose numerous, well-written works it could publish successfully. Dr Giovanni Bonello has become a byword for an astonishingly prolific writer of quality works, among which are his long series on Histories of Malta or other articles, chapters and volumes based on his huge collection of early photographs of Malta and Gozo. When acting as Patrimonju’s General Editor, it was he who asked the British expert on photographic history, Margaret Harker, to write for Patrimonju the standard work on the photographic history of Malta in the nineteenth century—a fine work with which the publishing wing of Patrimonju inaugurated the new century.

During my own four-year editorship at Patrimonju, it was of great satisfaction for me to help the well-known German scholar Thomas Freller, a specialist on Maltese history, to write what is, to my knowledge, the only volume about the Maltese Islands in world literature, a very substantial book that ought to be in every academic and scholarly library. To have an author publicly thank his editor for his ‘essential support’ is truly the most an editor can strive for. Among other notable publications which provided me with the unique opportunity to work closely with authors and editors—both for technical as well as academic support—were Francesco Menchetti’s Architects and Knights (2013), as well as The Bellanti Family (2010), for which I was able to engage Patricia Camilleri for a contribution on the archaeological work of Paolo Francesco Bellanti.

Patrimonju has for several years had competitors in the publication of scholarly, lavishly illustrated and attentively designed books on Maltese art and history, but it is still going strong as evidenced by its most recent publication: Caroline Tonna’s great and beautiful tome on the portrait photographs taken by the nineteenth-century Maltese photographer Leandro Preziosi, or, a few years back, by Giovanni Bonello’s two weighty volumes—Valletta-Lost City—with their invaluable large collection of photographs of the city before its many changes during and after WWII, a book that speaks so well to old readers and astonishes many a younger one. For the scholar, the volume which might perhaps be most treasured is the work edited by two elderly and highly esteemed scholars: Albert Ganado and Antonio Espinosa Rodriguez in Encyclopaedia of Artists with a Malta Connection, a work that has immediately become essential for both students and seasoned researchers in the field of Maltese art history.

‘ PATRIMONJU HAS FOR SEVERAL YEARS HAD COMPETITORS IN THE PUBLICATION OF SCHOLARLY, LAVISHLY ILLUSTRATED AND ATTENTIVELY DESIGNED BOOKS ON MALTESE ART AND HISTORY, BUT IT IS STILL GOING STRONG AS EVIDENCED BY ITS MOST RECENT PUBLICATION. ‘

CAROLINE TONNA FROM OUR LATEST AUTHOR

SOCIETY FASHION IN MALTA: THE PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY OF LEANDRO PREZIOSI, 1830–1869 (2022)

My research took me to many art museums, period costume exhibitions, archives, and collectors of dress artefacts and vintage photography. I discovered many hidden treasures and was fortunate to meet various interesting people who share the same passion for period costume and early nineteenth-century photographs. The writing process of the book was laborious, but very exciting, especially when organising the material for the pre-publication of the book. Particularly challenging was the selection of images and, had I to start all over again, I would, in fact, start from the images and then proceed on to writing.

One of the high points of the process was working with Patrimonju’s general editor, Dr Giovanni Bonello, who is also very passionate about early photography, as well as with former associate editor, Michelle Galea—one of the most calm, patient, and meticulous persons I have ever had the pleasure to work with, and from whom I have learnt a lot. It was most enjoyable to work closely with artist photographer and book designer, Lisa Attard, who introduced a contemporary spin to the book. Giulia Privitelli and Caroline Camilleri also, respectively, helped a great deal in the laborious tasks of proofreading and indexing. The teamwork was led by Patrimonju’s Creative Director, Michael Lowell, resulting in yet another cutting-edge publication by the Foundation. The culmination of this wonderful experience was, finally, the book launch held at

Early Choir Books for the Knights in Malta C ANTATE D OMINO

Theresa Zammi T Lupi

DominoCantate

Early Choir Books for the Knights in Malta

Theresa ZammiT Lupi

FONDAZZJONI PATRIMONJU MALTI

the Casino Maltese—an event I got to share with my ever-supporting family, friends, scholars, and keen followers of the arts.

AN AUTHOR’S TESTIMONY

THOMAS FRELLER

In the years I spent living in Rabat (Malta), I recall being awestruck, each day, by the changing profile of the town, as if the rising sun and moving shades were seemingly carving out the Baroque architecture of its many churches and monasteries. Together with the smell of the local bakeries, the orange trees, and the background soundtrack of the Rabtin, these features created a unique and, of course, subjective blend and atmosphere of ‘Malteseness’ which still—extremely positively—follows me to this very day. It was then, back in the mid-1990s, that my late friend Dun Ġwann Azzopardi informed me about the plans of Patimonju to establish a new journal which, eventually, would be aptly titled Treasures of Malta. What attracted me from the very beginning was the combination of well-written contributions and a most appealing design; soon, it became a substantial intellectual part of my perception of ‘Malteseness’.

Many years and fifty books later, I still feel very honoured to have been given the chance to contribute in regular intervals to Treasures of Malta. The merit of contributing to this journal lies beyond any individual or scientific purpose; rather, it belongs with the collective effort to increase the understanding and awareness of the broad puzzle of Maltese and Gozitan culture, to make it more complete, and is, therewith, worth all efforts.

For me, Patrimonju and its journal epitomises a form of cultural patriotism—a patriotism in the best of senses: open-minded and innovative, extending beyond any dusted regulations, and committed to promote the unity animating Malta’s past and future. KATHRINA FARRUGIA-KRIEL

Working as an academic writer in the arts and humanities (dance) with global publishers opens up a myriad of transnational experiences. There are cultural exchanges, articulated nuances, the need for clarity, and so much more! Over the last decade, my career in publishing has given me opportunities to work with a variety of university-based publishers, some working on a big corporate model that engages with global peer reviews and buys in copy editors located in different global regions, to smaller academic presses that work around the editor-author relationship in a more ‘truncated’ peer relationship. But what happens when your book project is not only a ‘niche market’ offering to a particular region but also invested in the arts, histories, and cultures of this region? When I shaped the proposal of Princess Poutiatine and the Art of Ballet in Malta, I was mindful that I needed a publisher who would be able to recognise the art and visuality of the subject matter (dance), and, more importantly, that they would be as committed to the legacy of the subject matter— an émigré in Malta who developed dance education and training in the twentieth century—as I was. With Fondazzjoni Patrimonju Malti I found an ideal partner.

Based on a small-scale but hugely creative model, this publishing team gave the book its required attention across both the visuality and academic rigour of the book, including thematic development and content, layout and design, photography, and production. Each stage was a pleasure to work with the team, and when the typical publishing hurdles drew near us, we—as a team—found creative solutions.

I am truly grateful to FPM for having produced not only a text that merits its place on every bookshelf in Maltese homes that have an interest in the arts, but also a testament to the legacy of dance as a cultural aspect of Maltese history that can sit alongside other global histories in dance. Indeed, I know that this book also sits on the shelves of many international libraries, including the New York Public Library and the global headquarters of the Royal Academy of Dance in London.

MICHELLE GALEA AN EYE FOR DETAIL

Fondazzjoni Patrimonju Malti’s publishing division is as old as the Foundation itself, with the first publication being the catalogue that accompanied its first exhibition in 1992. With fifty-six books, twelve exhibition catalogues and eighty-four issues of Treasures of Malta under its belt, FPM continues to hone its abilities in providing an excellent product worthy of the Foundation’s reputation.

I have had the pleasure of being part of the publishing division for well over a decade, working alongside esteemed editors and highly respected scholars and authors. It is always an honour to be entrusted with someone’s manuscript, as it invariably is the product of years of research, and therefore extremely personal for the author. Working closely with the authors, we offer an objective viewpoint regarding content and structure, as well as a highly individualised design and layout. Seeing a book take shape is an exciting journey, for us as much as the authors, and we focus all our energies on even the minutest detail to ensure that the end result is as perfect as humanly possible.

LISA ATTARD BETWEEN THE COVERS

The design of every book is a collaboration between an author or editor and the team at FPM; a collaboration that begins with a conversation and careful assessment of the content. We get a feel for the voice of the author, and the flow of the narrative through the text and images, and then begin asking questions and making decisions based upon what kind of journey we would like our readers to go on with a book.

A good reading experience is dependent on an interior that is balanced and aesthetically pleasing in its choice of font, type size, line spacing, chapter headings, margins, etc. We think about the treatment of the text and also the images in relation to the text. We make new photographs wherever necessary, and consider how the images are to appear on a page.

We also think about the book conceptually: how do we nod towards the quirks that characterise a particular period of the study without being too literal?

And finally, a book is also a physical object that has texture, size, and weight. I like to think of a book in relation to the human body, and to play with the form so as to guide the pace of a reader’s experience, and to work with materials to act upon the senses. We make several dummies of the book throughout the process so as to feel the book physically. The act of turning a page is crucial to the design process.