Malta does not seem to attract much philatelic love, but this set is one of my favorites in my collection.
Issued in 1899 (Scott #17-18), the 2/6 value depicts the allegory of Malta (though, red would have been a nicer color choice, to match her clothing and the flag), while the 10sh depicts St Paul After the Shipwreck, a biblical event which took place off the coast of Malta.
I don't know about you, but on that 10 shillings stamp, it looks like there are a couple of women clinging on for dear life while the good ol' saint is standing there praising god. I think I would have tried to save their lives before counting any blessings. Is being shipwrecked and almost drowning really a blessing?
Michael#s: With the gift of prophecy, the saint would have known how much more important it was that he be the one to not drown and, being humble, was only grateful for our sake. Cheers,
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"I collect stamps today precisely the way I collected stamps when I was ten years old."
I think the reference was to the stamp rather than its source. The stamp designer, indubitably male, shamelessly substitutes Dore's soldiers with a couple of women, one of whom seems accidentally to have lost her clothes, affording the men an exciting view of naked breasts, just in case we tired of beholding the saintly Paul in his strangely dry nightshirt. Of course you had to pay extra for your thrills back in 1899, so the cheaper stamps show some ships.
Happily, later Maltese stamps have a certain style - I'm thinking of E.V.Cremona's various designs.
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