Passport photos didn’t always look as bland and bureaucratic as they do today – in the early twentieth century, travellers in Malta posed with their pets for passport photos. Dogs, cats, horses and even parrots appeared in travel documents at the time.
Before 1915, a simple handwritten form, seal and signature sufficed to prove a person’s identity. But when a German spy sneaked into the UK using false papers, photographs became mandatory in British and colonial passports, including those issued in Malta.
The lack of regulations around passport photos made it possible for people to pose with their favourite animals from 1915-1930. The passport applications containing these photos are preserved at Malta’s National Archives.
As passport requirements eventually became stricter and more regulated, pets disappeared from travel documents, but early photos reflect the enduring relationship between humans and animals in Malta.
Man with his horse on a 1921 passport application. The National Archives of Malta.For Mary Cassar Torreggiani, General Manager at the Malta Society for the Protection and Care of Animals (MSPCA), these photos represent a touching reminder of the value pets have brought to Malta throughout history.
“Animals are sentient beings, and they are a very important part of our society,” she said.
Rather than treating pets as property, Torreggiani wishes more people respected and supported animals as valuable parts of society.
“We’ve come a long way, but we still have a long way to go when it comes to mitigating cruelty,” she said.
”Recognising animals as sentient beings is the first step toward improving their welfare and preventing abandonment,” she added.
At the time these photos were taken, it was very difficult to travel with animals, so in some cases, it may have been the last time a person saw their pet, Torreggiani explained.
Winnie Camilleri and her pet posing for a travel portrait in 1920. The National Archives of Malta.In the early twentieth century, having a professional photograph taken was a rare event. The decision to be remembered alongside their pet revealed how meaningful these animals were in people’s lives.
Pet ownership tended to be more common among the British population in colonial Malta, but several documents contain Maltese last names as well.
Perhaps these century-old photographs will give some people the chance to encounter their ancestors’ pets.