"Few natural spectacles are more harmonious than arriving in Malta because few are as well constructed. Imagine an immense natural port, an indigo blue gulf bordered by a circle of high golden rocks. At first glance and as long as the steamer remains at some distance from the coast, it seems that these sheer rocks are bare; the eye soon discovers thousands of houses there. Narrow, tight against each other, they look as if they are sculpted in living rock. The blue of the sea is divine, precious, inimitable; and where green and violet mingle”.
These are personal accounts written by the French author Andre' Maurois (1885-1967) as he was approaching Malta for the first time. Many travelers’ early accounts describe Malta as a place they hardly expected, where there is so much colour and life.
It was also evident in the poster art visuals which were used at the time to reveal to the world the beauties of this little island. During the early 1920s in British Colonial Malta, branding visuals to promote the Maltese Islands were commissioned to the fine Maltese artist Edward Caruana Dingli (1876-1950) . These were first exhibited at the 1924 British Empire Exhibition held at Wembley in London. Later in 1927, the Malta picture book titled 'The Colour and Life of Malta from Original Paintings', featured a collection of prints from Caruana Dingli’s original paintings of Malta-related themes and picturesque surroundings which were also used as postcards and on covers for literature advertising Malta.
Between the late 1950s and 1960s, Emvin Cremona (1919-1937), Antoine Camilleri (1922-2005) and Frank Portelli (1922-2004) - three acclaimed Maltese artists who were pioneers in the development of Malta’s modern and contemporary art scene - took a more abstracted approach to represent the Maltese identity in their beautiful poster visuals used for tourist publicity.
The stories behind these visuals and other images from Malta’s own archives transmit many emotions that make one wonder about the golden age of travel; those untouched, peaceful, undeveloped and pollution-free places that once existed and have since transformed through time. This inspired us to pick up from where the masters of the golden age of travel art illustration left off by crafting original travel poster designs that look like they were produced during the last century - the time when Malta was advertised as the 'Gem of the Mediterranean' and ‘The Island of Sunshine and History’ ... and that is how it all began - the creation of Kartelluni - Vintage Inspired Poster Art.
The Kartelluni brand (the Maltese word for wall-posters), presents a tribute to Malta’s rich cultural legacy & natural beauty in the form of vintage travel poster art. Together with our talented artists, designers and illustrators, we specialise in crafting the finest travel poster art collections which are carefully researched to capture as much detail as possible and make it look the most authentic. Kartelluni has explored various themes in their travel poster designs, with the aim of generating a revival of Maltese traditions and lost treasures. Other than creating original designs, Kartelluni is also on a mission to raise the profile of iconic Malta poster visuals and related antique promotional publications which were once used for tourism publicity.
Thank you for supporting the arts and small Maltese ventures like ours!
Creatively Yours,
The Kartelluni Team
“As the frequency of visitors increased since steam navigation had become the fashion, tourists of the round cruises left Malta with such a craving to know more, such an enthusiasm to come back, to tell all their friends that they must on no account miss Malta, and their last word is - oh if we could show some of all this beauty, it's so wonderful!" - citing from the Malta Album ‘Foreward’ (1927).