Atlas Insurance has recently completed a restoration project of its antique business ledgers, which date back to the early 1900s.

Turning the yellowed pages of the ledgers is like going back in time, with pages and pages of neat handwriting listing the insured items of past and present clients. These include some of the oldest companies in Malta, many of which are still insured with us today. The ledgers also provide a history of Atlas’ previous incarnations, as agents for Atlas Assurance, Northern Assurance, Commercial Union and Guardian. This was before various mergers over the years, which resulted in Atlas becoming a local insurance company in 2004.

The ledgers take us back to the time of shillings and pence and reveal a number of interesting items which were related to those days, such as ‘Flit’ insecticide, silver trophies insured by the Sergeants Mess from the Royal Air Force Base in Kalafrana, flags used for decorative purposes at Auberge d’Aragon, lemonade and coffee stalls, as well as cinema talking apparatus from the Olympia theatre in Strada Reale, Valletta.

“We felt it was important to restore these ledgers as a reminder of our roots, which run in parallel with Maltese 20th century history,” said Michael Gatt, Atlas CEO. “These ledgers not only provide an interesting glimpse into our company history, but also the economic history of our islands.”