Description
Apart from a good number of Maltese newspapers of the 19th century of which copies still survive, there are also a number of periodicals of the same period of which no copies are to be found in our public libraries. These lost newspapers were mentioned by other newspapers of the period. Through the latter I have tried to garner as much information as possible on the nature of these lost newspapers, their contents and orientations.
Compiling a list of these no longer extant 19th century newspapers written in the vernacular and attempting to decipher their scope and orientation is, in my opinion, an important exercise since the knowledge and awareness of what had once existed should give us further insight into the extent of circulation of the Maltese written vernacular in the 19th century.
My hope is that this publication might spur researchers and private collectors to emulate magnanimous people like Dr. Albert Ganado, who put at my disposal the various issues of Nafras u Colombu, by encouraging them to publicise and share any knowledge they might have of surviving issues of these lost newspapers.
It is only through such a process of culture sharing that we can achieve an in-depth appraisal of the formative elements of what is today termed the Maltese identity.