Richard Ellis

Richard Ellis (1842 – 1924) was active in photography between 1855 and 1920, eventually settling in Malta upon his arrival in 1861 as part of the travelling circus of James & Sarah Conroy. He married Alfonsa nee’ Curmi, and had four children, namely John, Amelia and Mary Ellis, as well as Anthony Farrugia Ellis. John Ellis continued the Ellis business dynasty after the elder’s Richard passing in 1924, and John’s son, also aptly named Richard Ellis but known as Dicky Ellis, continued where his father left off in 1930, until the business winded down in 1990s. Thankfully, the whole Richard Ellis archive has been lovingly preserved by all the consecutive generations of Ellis photographers, but primarily Dicky Ellis was the one who saved the collection from the ravages of Axis bombardment in the Second World War by moving the collection of glass plates, studio equipment and ledgers to a haven, months before the site of the Ellis business was hit. The whole collection of glass plates, totalling over 80000 discrete negatives and prints, is undergoing digitisation by MIPA in collaboration with its custodian Ian Ellis. The collection is a private archive; any request for access to images or materials will be referred to the custodian of the Richard Ellis Archive and collection.