BULLETIN 2004
Responsible editor: István Monok
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Editor: Péter Ekler Translation: Eszter Timár, Elayne Antalffy Publication manager: Barbara Kiss Design: László Kiss
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Address and contacts: National Széchényi Library H–1827 Budapest, Buda Royal Palace Wing F, Hungary
http://www.oszk.hu
phone: (1) 22 43 700 fax: (1) 20 20 804 e-mail: [email protected]
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Cover 1: The Apponyi Room of the library Cover 2: Pelbartus de Themeswar: Pomerium de sanctis (Augsburg, 1502) App. H 1583 Cover 3: Janus Pannonius: Panegyricus in laudem Baptistae Guarini Veronensis (Wien, 1512) App. H 1613 Cover 4: The Széchényi Family’s coat of arm Cover photos: József Hapák
Pictures illustrating the featured articles are representing the art objects of the exhibition “The World of Yesterday”. Photos taken by Ágnes Bakos and Bence Tihanyi (BTM)
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THE NATIONAL SZÉCHÉNYI LIBRARY IS SUPPORTED BY
issn: 1589-004x CONTENTS
5 PLAN FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A EUROPEAN CENTRE OF BOOK HISTORY
MOKKA-R: THE DIGITAL SHARED CATALOGUE 9 OF EARLY PRINTS FOUND IN THE CARPATHIAN BASIN 1 3 MAGYAR HELIKON. SERIES OF FACSIMILES OF OUR BOOK TREASURES RETROSPECTIVE CONVERSION OF OUR BOOK CATALOGUES IN PROGRESS 1 7
2 1 THE WORLD OF YESTERDAY. LITERARY CONNECTIONS AND ZEITGEIST FROM HISTORICISM TO AVANT-GARDE SÁNDOR APPONYI THE BIBLIOPHILE AND HIS 27 COLLECTION OF HUNGARICA
3 1 MODERNISATION OF OUR MUSIC COLLECTION WITH JAPANESE GOVERNMENT AID
OUR ILLUSTRIOUS GUESTS 3 3
3 5 ZOLTÁN FALLENBÜCHL IS EIGHTY
)3( Arthur Schnitzler was one of the best known representatives of Austrian literature among the Hungarian readers at the turn of the century. His play, Der Ruf des Lebens was first published in Hungarian by Nyugat Könyvtár, a considerable review being written on it by Zoltán Ambrus in Nyugat 1911. 23.
)4( PLAN FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A EUROPEAN CENTRE OF BOOK HISTORY
In the tasks defined in the deed of foundation of al of the National Széchényi Library or the deputy the Hungarian national library and in the legal doc- director general for scholarly affairs. An interna- uments regulating its activity, scientific research is tional board of trustees will ensure professional qualified as an area of special emphasis. The sci- supervision of the work of the centre; its members entific research work is directed principally at the will be nominated by the heads of the National study of its own holdings and by its nature falls in Széchényi Library and the Institute of Literary the field of book history. The organised catalogu- Scholarship of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences ing and study of documents of Hungarian rele- after consultation with the HAS Working Committees vance not found in Hungary is also an important on Book History and Press History, and appointed task of the library, one which cannot be carried for a period of one year by the director general of the out without close co-operation with members of library. The board of trustees will meet annually foreign collections, research and higher education or as necessary. The central research programme institutions. There is a growing demand among will be adopted by the general assembly convened experts dealing with book history research in the annually. The presidents and secretaries of the European countries for research of a comparative HAS Committee on Cultural History and the Working nature and this is one of the reasons why the Hun- Committees on Book History and Press History garian national library has expanded its foreign must also be invited to the general assembly. relations. The heads of the National Széchényi Library and the Institute of Literary Scholarship of Members of the centre: the Hungarian Academy of Sciences have therefore • foreign invited researchers (who do not receive decided to establish a European Centre of Book a remuneration), History to provide a framework for the already • Hungarian invited researchers (who do not existing research and co-operation. The proposed receive a remuneration), centre will operate in the library, and the HAS will • members of the HAS research group (remu- support it not only through professional co-oper- nerated by the HAS), ation and the co-ordination of plans of work but also • researchers of the National Széchényi Library by placing an “academic research group” here. whose research area is related to the institu- tional aims (the library supports their activity ¶ Aims of the centre, its members with research days), and management • employees of the National Széchényi Library given the assignment of attaining the objectives The main aims of the centre are the following: of the centre (remunerated by the library). • research on Hungarian book history (pub- lishing, binding, illustration, trade, libraries, The head of the centre will be responsible for co- reading, small prints, press); the co-ordination ordinating scholarly research carried out in all areas of Hungarian research, exploring sources, of the library; the following organisational units, producing bibliographies and summaries, either existing or to be created, belong under his/ • compilation of a retrospective bibliography her direct supervision: of Hungarian books and periodicals, • HAS–OSZK Research Group on Early Biblio- • research on the European links of Hungarian graphic Relics, book history, • 16th–18th Century Book History Department, • organised co-operation with European book • 19th–20th Century Book History Department, history workshops and professional commu- • Press History Department, nities in Hungary and elsewhere, • Humanities Literature Bibliography Department, • participation in European comparative book • special collections: Collection of Early Books, history research, Manuscript Collection, Map Collection, Collection • creation and operation of a humanities litera- of Theatre History, Music Collection, Collection of ture database. Historical Interviews, Restoration Department, The head of the centre will be the director gener- Cistercian Antal Reguly Historic Library at Zirc.
)5( The work of the centre is assisted by the Special • Bibliotheca corviniana digitalis, Library for Book History and Library Sciences, an • Bibliotheca eruditionis 1500–1750, organisational unit of the Library Institute of the • Lectio (national shared catalogue of prints National Széchényi Library. The book history and manuscripts before 1850, with digitised holdings of the special library comprise Hun- versions of the documents), garian and European journals on book history, • Clavis typographorum regionis Carpathicae and Hungarian and European literature on book 1473–1948, history. In addition to the holdings of the special • Data bank of typefaces and ornamentations library, there are also considerable holdings of used in early Hungarian prints, handbooks and literature in the holdings of the • Catalogue of Hungarian watermarks, National Széchényi Library and the reference • Hungarian book history Minerva, libraries of its special collections. A generous gift • Database of Hungarian press history, from the Republic of Italy has helped to lay the • Bibliography of Hungarian book history, foundations of the book history section of the • Lexicon of Hungarian cultural history, special library. • Bibliographic database of Hungarian human- ities. ¶ Publications of the centre Types of publications: ¶ The special library of book history and library sciences • periodical – Magyar Könyvszemle [Hungarian Book In 1959 the national library established the Library Review] (the periodical was established by the Sciences and Methodology Centre, which now national library in 1876, between 1956–2000 it operates as the Library Institute on the basis of Act was the organ of the HAS Institute of Literary CXL of 1997 and the deed of foundation drawn up Scholarship, published by Argumentum Pub- in 2000. The Institute’s library has been keeping lishing House), pace with the international literature of library sci- • catalogues ences, including also the literature of book history, – reconstructed historical catalogues: Libraries for close to fifty years. At the same time, the core of the Early Modern Age in the Carpathian collection of the National Széchényi Library devo- Basin (the series founded by the Institute of ted special attention to European book history Cultural History of the University of Szeged in (catalogues, bibliographies, monographs etc.), and 1996 has been published since 2000 by the placed these works mainly in the reference libraries National Széchényi Library), of the special collections. The great advantage of – still existing catalogues of old collections of the collection is that, thanks to the close contacts books and manuscripts, maintained with Central European, former socialist • conferences and volumes of studies countries, it has collected more of the book histo- – Vernetztes Europa. Beträge zur Kulturge- ry literature of the region than similar collections schichte des Buches (a joint series of the École in Western Europe. Our book history holdings now Pratique des Hautes Études and the École des amount to close to 12,000 volumes. Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales of Paris, the Universität Leipzig, the Institut für Höhere In 2004 the Republic of Italy very generously sup- Studien and the National Széchényi Library, plemented this library with several thousand vol- published by the Universitätsverlag Leipzig), umes and at the same time recommended that the – the Libri de libris series published since 2000 facsimile editions of manuscripts and prints of the by the National Széchényi Library and the Osiris Middle Ages and Early Modern Age be treated as a Publishing House, separate collection. In addition they began the • monographs (one of our most important goals electronic publication of now inaccessible bibli- is to cover the history of books and the press ographies and book history monographs, as rare in Hungary), documents, in the form of a CD-ROM series. This • bibliographies, data banks, latter solution also seems to be a good way of enlarg- • facsimile series: series of facsimile editions of ing the book history collection. items of Hungarian book history in joint series with the Balassi, Helikon, Kossuth, Pytheas and We are planning to bring together 40,000-50,000 other publishing houses. books, journals, reprints and electronic documents on European book history and make them avail- Planned internet expert systems: able to readers and researchers on open shelves. It
)6( is our hope that the different states, libraries, public publications as possible, as gifts, on an exchange collections and publishers will join the Italian appeal basis and by purchases. and as a result we will be able to acquire as many István Monok [email protected]
Schnitzler’s short stories reflect the literary modernity of the period in its wide complexity, from enthusiastic eulogy to utter rejection and even to scandals. The proportion of Austrian authors in the Modern Library book series published between 1910 to 1922 is conspicuously high, with Schnitzler and Hofmannsthal leading the list. OSZK 17.834/156
)7( The undoubtedly most important periodical of the age of the breakthrough, of the literary modernity and of the intellect middle classes: the Nyugat (1908–1941). OSZK. HB.1139
)8( MOKKA-R: THE DIGITAL SHARED CATALOGUE OF EARLY PRINTS FOUND IN THE CARPATHIAN BASIN
The Hungarian National Shared Catalogue – Early must be created for MOKKA-R to be able to pro- Prints (MOKKA-R) digital project aims to carry out vide the human resources for its members. a complex system of tasks. The basic aim of the The database structure of the shared catalogue project is to create a national finding list of early will be designed in such a way that it can be linked prints, and also to promote the more efficient and and expanded with other data. On the one hand speedier processing of such documents. It is very image files and URL addresses can be linked to any important for the history of books that in addition element of the title description (e.g. author, place to the bibliographic description of books printed of publication, printer, etc.). Moreover, it will also before 1850, the individual characteristics (e.g. pos- be possible to link digital versions of the entire doc- sessor, binding, marginalia, etc.) should also be list- uments (electronic critical editions, entire works ed. There is currently no shared catalogue in Hun- stored as images) to the individual records. As a gary listing such data to the desired extent, which further possibility for expansion we are planning is why there is a need to create a database with the the operation of the database in such a way that the specific purpose of meeting such special demands. bibliographic descriptions found in the history of This needs to be developed partly in independ- reading lists of the Eruditio project (Bibliotheca Eru- ence from the shared catalogue of modern books ditionis, Budapest-Szeged, http://www.eruditio.hu) (MOKKA) because some of the data on prints can be linked to the catalogue. It follows from all published before 1850 would be lost as a result of this that all digital publications, databases, and pub- the automatic screening of duplicate copies in the lished texts of importance for the history of books shared catalogue. This means that on the basis of can become a part of the program at any time as an a few characteristics (author, title, publisher, year of external link from the given record. publication) MOKKA allows into the system only The prints published before 1850 found in the one kind of bibliographic description of a docu- Carpathian Basin constitute an entity from the ment, while MOKKA-R does not perform such viewpoint of cultural history. It is therefore justi- screening and records are not merged. In practice fied to extend the project to beyond the borders. this system is a special version of MOKKA, and in This can be achieved if the organisations of libraries its operation and function will be similar in many and librarians in the different countries enter into respects to the Hand Press Book Database (Hand a co-operation agreement. As far as possible, access Press Book Database, http://www.cerl.org/HPB/ must be created to the holdings of all collections hpb.htm). in the Carpathian Basin which are linked to the In Hungary and the Carpathian Basin there are history of books in the period between 1450 and many collections of museum value where library 1850. This can make the study of the collections cataloguing has been carried out only to a limited – which are already related historically – far more extent or not at all. It must be the task of MOKKA-R effective. The project covers all printed documents to promote the processing of these holdings. This (books, journals, pamphlets, maps, etc.) produced requires the provision of a cataloguing module between 1450–1850. Two considerations together accessible online and offline, with which records determine the scope of collecting: one is the period, can be entered directly into the database. Such a that is, documents printed between 1450–1850, module can be put into operation and maintained the other is the geographical approach, that is, all at substantially lower cost than an integrated library printed materials to be found in the present terri- system because all it needs is a PC of average per- tory of Hungary and in the Carpathian Basin. An formance, broadband internet access and a search exception to this are facsimile editions where the program. Naturally, this does not mean that this must time period is not regarded as a limiting factor. be chosen by those collections where some kind Accordingly, the collecting scope is not only early of library software is already operating. Librarians books but all printed materials produced between with special knowledge are also needed to speed 1450–1850 and now found in the Carpathian Basin. up the processing of early books. The possibility This is supplemented by the principle that only
)9( library units in the holdings of a member library system stores data in XML, but on both the input may be included in the database. and the output side it is capable of receiving and The data in MOKKA-R are stored in XML format. supplying data in USMARC and HUNMARC for- Data are entered into the database from the mate- mats without loss of data. rial received in printed and digital form. Biblio- Like the integrated library systems, the national graphic items can be entered in two ways. One is early prints catalogue will also have a cataloguing through the cataloguing module, the other is when module. It appears as an editing datasheet acces- the library concerned makes available the data and sible via the internet, appearing as a conventional records in its possession. In the latter case the data html datasheet. A browser and JAVA support are can be entered in a single loading or through a con- needed to run it. Our aim is to make it possible to tinuous data supply. edit MARC in this way. It needs to be used only by It is essential to elaborate a legal frame of some those libraries which do not have library software kind for the operation of the national digital cata- or which do not wish to catalogue old prints in logue of early books. For the period of planning their own system. Cataloguing rules must also be and testing, the following institutions are providing drawn up in order to carry out the joint catalogu- records for the database on the basis of an oral agree- ing. This work is in process with the participation ment: Debrecen University, University and National of experts of the libraries listed above. Library; Loránd Eötvös University, University Library; The most important part of the database is the Ráday Collection of the Danube Region Calvinist searchable catalogue. This means an OPAC with Church Diocese, Library; National Széchényi Library; various functions freely accessible on the Internet. Szeged University, University Library; Library of It can be used to search the national catalogue of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. Later the co- early prints, the Eruditio or the two together. The operation will be set down in writing and must search can also be limited to the holdings of a given regulate the rights and obligations of the partici- library. Free movement between the MOKKA and pants, the form of data supply, the way in which MOKKA-R search surfaces must also be ensured the database is to be developed and maintained. by navigation with a link between the two search By December 31, 2004 we must define the form in surfaces. It is also a basic requirement that simple which the co-operation is to operate (association, and complex searches can be made. Boole opera- within the frame of the National Széchényi Library, tors and regular expressions can be used. Basically, consortium, as part of the MOKKA Association, it offers not just a simple library retrieval but a search etc.). For the period of planning a written agree- using complex criteria, e.g. by searching an author ment on the form of co-operation must be signed we can find out where books with his possessor by the above institutions, while elaboration of the mark can be found today and which persons read actual legal frames can only begin after comple- his works, for example, in the 17th century. The fol- tion of the feasibility study. This will also deter- lowing elements can be searched: full text, author, mine the budget sources. title, place of publication, printer, year of publica- The national digital catalogue of early prints will tion, reference, format, subject heading, shelf num- be operated not by an integrated library system ber, language, possessor. The hits can be shown in but with the use of XML which is much easier to different forms: printed, USMARC, labelled, XML. modify. It comprises two main parts: the OPAC All this can be sent by e-mail if required. The OPAC module and the cataloguing module. The system Internet Explorer and Mozilla internet browser can is accessible online meaning that both the OPAC be used. and the cataloguing module can be reached through To fully complete the project the processing work the TCP/IP network. Independently of that, there of the different libraries has to be co-ordinated, a is also a possibility of cataloguing offline. The programmer working continuously on development, search surface is open to everyone, while the edit- and an independent budget have to be ensured. ing part is password protected. The passwords Once all these are available, the technical conditions allow specified access to parts of the database. At for operation can be created within a year and this present the OPAC is operating (MOKKA-R, http:// will ensure that the processing of early prints can be www.eruditio.hu/lectio), while the editing surface speeded up. is expected to be ready by November 2004. The Ádám Hegyi [email protected]
)10( The Calendar of the Kéve Artistic Association in Budapest, from 1911 shows the expertise of the Világosság printing house. OSZK. 1645
)11( Magyar Iparművészet (1897–1944) the main journal of the Hungarian applied arts (edited by Kálmán Györgyi) was published by the Hungarian Association of Arts and Crafts. OSZK. HB 7.370
)12( MAGYAR HELIKON. SERIES OF FACSIMILES OF OUR BOOK TREASURES
The Magyar Helikon series is a unique undertak- rians, and the Philostratus Corvina, one of the finest ing of exceptional quality in the history of Hun- items from the library of King Matthias. The vol- garian publishing. The National Széchényi Library umes in the series will also be available in digital established over two hundred years ago, in co-oper- format (CD or DVD) and on the Internet. ation with the Alföldi Nyomda Rt printing house, and József Hapák a photographer of art objects, is ¶ Chronicon Pictum launching a series of facsimile editions of books selected from the book treasures of the nation. The Chronicon Pictum is the most precious vol- The titles in the series are early books and luxury ume of mediaeval Hungarian historiography and manuscripts, most of them existing in a single copy book art. The richly ornamented and gilded luxu- in the national library and never before published. ry manuscript made for King Louis the Great cov- The publishers are launching this series because ers the history of the Hungarians from the earliest they believe that the survival of the Hungarian times, through the holy kings of the Árpád dynasty, written tradition is a matter of importance. Up to down to the time of Caroberto. Its aim was to now the masterpieces to be published in facsimi- serve the legitimisation of the Anjou dynasty. As le were accessible in their full physical reality only an illuminated chronicle, in places it contains sets to a very narrow circle of researchers. Even if their of illustrations portraying separate series of events texts were more widely known, their illustrations departing from the text. The new facsimile edition and ornamentations could be seen by the public uses the latest printing methods to capture the only for a short time, during exhibitions. Today we beauty of the original work as fully as possible. not only need to know what our predecessors wrote, Besides notes and commentaries, the volume con- we also need to see the written form, the role of tains the Latin text of the chronicle, translations in writing and illustrations and the relationship between Hungarian and English, art historical, historical and the two. For this reason, examining facsimile edi- iconographical essays summing up the findings tions provides an invaluable experience. It is only of the latest research on the Chronicle, in Hunga- in this way that we can understand how people rian and English. lived similarly or differently hundreds of years ago and the Hungarian written tradition becomes fully ¶ Philostratus Corvina available to the public. Preparing a facsimile edition is one of the most The Philostratus Corvina is one of the most beau- difficult printing tasks. On the basis of the art object tiful luxury manuscripts from the library of King photographs by József Hapák and using the most Matthias. The manuscript contains the works of the advanced printing methods available today, the Athenian Sophist Philostratos (born AD 3rd cen- Alföldi Printing House is able to capture as fully as tury) and his nephew, biographies of heroes and possible the colours of the original manuscripts, philosophers of Antiquity, letters and descriptions their gilding, and the special individual features of of paintings in a Naples gallery. Antonio Bonfini the parchment sheets. translated the work into Latin in 1487 for the royal However, the Magyar Helikon series not only library. The illuminations are the work of the Flo- publishes facsimiles of book treasures that can be rentine master Boccardino il Vecchio. The manu- regarded as art objects, but also up-to-date schol- script was returned from Florence to Buda during arly essays on the volume, transcriptions of the the lifetime of King Matthias but the leather bind- foreign-language texts and translations in Hungarian ing with architectonic ornamentation bears the arms and English. We recommend that readers follow the of Wladislas. Among the manuscripts that have commentaries parallel with the original text. survived from the royal library, this luxury manu- The first three titles in the series: Hírneves ma- script has the richest display of archaising orna- gyarok arcképcsarnoka [Portrait Gallery of Famous mental elements, cameos, architectural elements, Hungarians] first published in 1652 (with copper- mythological scenes and a triumph. Some schol- plate engravings by Elias Wideman), the Képes Kró- ars believe that the person holding the triumphal nika [Chronicon Pictum], a history of the Hunga- procession is János Corvin, the natural son of King
)13( Matthias. The young prince is portrayed as a vic- tory in the middle of the century. He recorded the torious commander possessing the virtues of a ruler, features of one hundred prominent persons, among which could have conveyed a political message at them the poet and military commander Miklós Zrínyi, the time, clearly indicating Matthias’s intentions his younger brother Péter Zrínyi, and a number of regarding succession to the throne. On the left side famous persons from the Pálffy, Esterházy and other of the double page a portrait of Matthias can be families. Ambitious, high-ranking military men, aris- seen among medallion portraits of Roman emper- tocrats in the service of the imperial and royal court, ors in the ornamental border. Besides the double provosts and church dignitaries gaze at us from the title-page there are six other title pages in the manu- images in their contemporary costumes, with the script – at the beginning of the different works – all insignia of their offices and their mottoes. The fac- with ornamental frames and figural initials. simile edition of the portraits in the album first pub- lished in Vienna also contains an essay by György ¶ Portrait Gallery of Famous Hungarians, 1652 Rózsa and translations of the Latin inscriptions Copperplate engravings by Elias Wideman and the Latin and, in a few cases French or Italian mottoes of the persons portrayed. The edition is Elias Wideman, an artist born in Augsburg and based on the copy preserved in the Apponyi working in Vienna, made copperplate engravings Collection of the National Széchényi Library. of leading figures in 17th century Hungarian his- Barbara Kiss [email protected]
)14( Ferenc Molnár was one of the most popular Hungarian authors in Austria. His plays enjoyed tremendous success in Vienna. Liliom (1908) was one of these, which is shown by its several Vienesse-editions. OSZK. 86.807
)15( In the 1910s Schnitzler was widely published in Hungary often translated by such acclaimed writers of the period as Sándor Bródy, Zoltán Franyó, Frigyes Karinthy or Sándor Márai. OSZK. 15.954/10.
)16( RETROSPECTIVE CONVERSION OF OUR BOOK CATALOGUES IN PROGRESS
The Retrospective conversion of card catalogues, of Informatics and Communication undertook to that is, the organisation into databases or OPACs finance the launching of this great task in the of the data on the duplicated or handwritten card frame of projects covered by the National Digital catalogues of works in the given collection began Data Archives. A contract was signed between the in the big European libraries in the 1980s. Numerous ministry and the national library in December methods were used for this task which represents 2003. Under the terms of the contract, the National a major challenge and involves large costs. The best Széchényi Library is to “begin retrospective con- known of these methods are: version of its card catalogue of books, digitally • direct data input (the data are typed into the recording the data of around 400,000 cards from selected format – generally MARC, machine- its shelf-list card catalogue, according to the readable cataloguing) by the library’s own per- description of the task, system plan and budget sonnel, conditions set out in Annex 1 to the contract”. • the same operation carried out by an external The work, the first stage of retrospective conver- firm on contract, sion had to be completed by the end of June and • recognition of the data on the cards using an a detailed final professional and financial report optical character-recognition program and trans- had to be submitted by the end of July to the min- fer of the elements to the MARC format, istry providing the support. It must be observed • scanning of the cards to image form and mak- that we had originally planned a whole year for ing the marked data searchable using suitable implementation of the first stage! search programs, • download the records from existing databases ¶ The initial steps, the methods and and supplementing them with local data, the co-operating partners: • and various combinations of the above. • January 2004: tender invitations (public pro- Users are rightfully demanding that the increasingly curement tender), organisation, evaluation, widespread online catalogues and integrated library announcement of results: the winner was systems should include not only the data of new Medea Services Ltd., the contract was signed acquisitions and those reaching back ten or twen- on January 13, 2004. Arguments in favour of ty years, but that the full holdings of the libraries Medea Services Kft.: should be searchable on the web. However, it is clear • technical and professional compliance: bases that the costs of realising this are extremely high, in Budapest and Oradea, has over 130 work- the given internal processing capacities are limit- stations, its own software development; ed and however rational the solution chosen, the • references: experiences in conversion in large whole activity requires extraordinary financial libraries, e.g. Die Deutsche Bibliothek (4.8 mil- sources which cannot be generated from the cus- lion cards, 1999–2004), Staatsbibliothek zu tomary annual library budgets. The big national Berlin (800,000 cards, 2002–2005), Universitäts- library catalogue conversion programs applied for bibliothek Basel (1.2 million cards, 2003–2004); and received separate government supports for • favourable price offer made to the Széchényi these programs. National Library, data entry including author- ity data: 225 HUF/card. The National Széchényi Library first elaborated its proposal for retrospective conversion in 1993 and ¶ What is being done by the national library every year since then it has drawn up studies and and what by Medea Ltd.? cost estimates. Finally in 2003 it elaborated a fea- sibility study evaluating all considerations and National Széchényi Library: outlining optimal possible solutions, supplement- ed with rules, titled “Proposal for the retrospective • Rules to be defined precisely for the external conversion of the book catalogues of the National partner, new rules to be drawn up, specifica- Széchényi Library” on the basis of which the Ministry tion for transfer of records to and from MARC,
)17( for the character set, the generation of shelf- uniformly in HUNMARC format using the ANSEL number-files, etc. character set. Because of the short deadline the data • For the purpose of standardisation of author- recording has to be done extremely quickly (approx. ity data, work is being done in the library to 150 cards per day and per person), but at the same create authority files, partly in advance and time this is not merely mechanical work since the partly in the course of the conversion, with data and symbols on the old catalogue cards have particular regard to personal names and names to be interpreted according to the rules of modern of corporate bodies; these will contain both cataloguing. This means that retrospective conver- the standardised forms and the differing refer- sion actually involves “intellectual conversion”. ence forms, as well as name changes. • It is the task of the internal working group to ¶ Where are we know? check the records delivered, using suitable programs and intellectual work. All the preparatory work has been done. The • Administration and direction of the project and internal working group is continuously creating liaison with Medea Ltd. personally or by e-mail. the authority records in AMICUS (the national library’s integrated library system) at a steadily MEDEA LTD.: increasing pace following the training period. The scanning has been done. The Medea Ltd. is work- • To remove and scan (convert into images) the ing at a rapid pace on the data entry. We expect the 400,000 cards selected from the national library’s records in batches of 100,000; we first load them shelf list catalogue. into a test database and check their quality, they • To draw up its own data entry rules (to be co- are then transferred to the live database and can ordinated with the National Széchényi Library), be searched in the online catalogue. then to make a trial entry of 200 selected cards (to be checked and corrected by the National ¶ What can be expected and what cannot? Széchényi Library). • To create its own control and conversion programs. The data of 400,000 cards will be added to the • To train the personnel (data recorders and revis- online catalogue, the new records can be down- ers), to begin the large-scale data entry, then loaded in HUNMARC format, and the authority to continue steadily with the work while con- data records become usable. Not all copy data will tinuously holding problem-solving talks with be visible for the time being because the shelf-list experts from the national library. catalogue contains only the data of museum copies and, in the case of deposit copies, of the copy avail- ¶ Working method at Medea Ltd.: able to readers. In almost all cases foreign acqui- double data entry sitions are single copies. It is only in a later phase of the conversion that we will be able to supple- The data recorders work at large, divided screens ment the items with the data of additional copies. or at work stations with two monitors. On the left It is important to know that the items that have side or the upper part of the screen they see the entered into the online catalogue through retro- image of the catalogue card, while on the right side conversion are not records from the national bib- or the lower part of the screen is the datasheet to liography, they contain merely the data on the card be filled in. They interpret and qualify the data ele- catalogues. At the same time it should be stressed ments on the card and enter them on the datasheet that we expect the conversion to improve the qual- in conformity with the rules. Two recorders enter ity of the national library’s services in the follow- the same data for each card, a special program is ing ways: used to compare the records created and any dis- • remote users can now gain information on the crepancies found are corrected. In the case of uncer- part of the holdings involved through the online tainty (the content of the card is difficult to inter- catalogue accessible on the web, pret, a character or line is illegible) a comment is • the records are entered not only in the library’s added to the record and the corrections are made online catalogue but also in the MOKKA (Hun- by the national library’s working group. On the basis garian Shared Cataloguing System), of the rules, in the first stage of conversion the • access to the converted part of the holdings is recorders recognise the authority data formats, easier, quicker and more efficient, the data elements belonging to the data groups of • on-the-spot supply is improving as well as the time the description, the transliterated texts from non- required to meet requests for interlibrary loans, Latin alphabets, and they are able to record these • the number of access points is increasing,
)18( • the internal library work processes are improv- ¶ A few examples of the scanned cards ing. Figure 1: Card that is difficult to read, author’s name ¶ What are our expectations? followed by question mark between slashes, the original title in brackets, when entering Bp. must We expect that users of the database will be satis- be written out in full, p. must be entered instead fied with the results of the first stage of the proj- of l. ect, that they will expect and demand its continu- Figures 2–3: Collection without a common title ation, and that the financing body will evaluate proper, belongs in a series, multiple page card, the result in such a way that it considers it essen- description according to old rules. tial to carry out the further stages and will provide the necessary support for this. Mrs. Susanne Berke [email protected]
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
)19( Jókai’s popularity in Austria was partly due to the fact that in the 1880s he edited and wrote the monumental series The Austro-Hungarian Monarchy in Writing and in Pictures in association with crownprince Rudolph. OSZK. M 72.317
)20( THE WORLD OF YESTERDAY. LITERARY CONTACTS AND THE SPIRIT OF THE AGE FROM HISTORICISM TO THE AVANT-GARDE
The major exhibition called Klimt, Schiele, Kokosch- developments of literature, the theatre and fine art ka and the art of Dualism – or The age of the break- was considered a natural part of people’s everyday through: Vienna and Budapest between histori- lives. The period ranging from national classicism cism and the avant-garde opened in 19th March to the advent of avant-garde movements provided a 2004 in three main institutions of the Buda Castle. breakthrough in many different areas. The knowl- The event jointly organised on three locations, name- edge and information we have about its decisive cul- ly the Budapest Historical Museum, the Hungarian tural phenomena and wealth seems to unquestion- National Gallery and the National Széchényi Library ably prove the lasting values of the period, going has proved to be unique and unprecedented in all from strengths to strengths and the kaleidoscopic respects. It was unique firstly because the material variety that is hard to describe. Rivalling and comple- displayed had been taken from forty-four lending menting one another, between 1873 and 1920 the institutions, and secondly because it was even rich- two capital cities grew into major centres of Euro- er than its predecessor, the exhibition held in pean culture, the birthplaces of a number of young Vienna last year. Laying the emphasis on connec- artists and of the movements they were later to inter- tions between Austria and Hungary, each institu- nationally represent. Makart, Klimt and Kokoschka, tion introduced the period, namely the last fifty the painter Moholy-Nagy, one of the founders of years of the Monarchy from its own special angle. Bauhaus, as well as the composers Bartók and Kodály The Budapest Historical Museum demonstrated how may be excellent examples of all this. Bridging the Vienna and Budapest had developed into metro- themes of the theatre and music, literature in all its polises, introducing their architecture and applied forms is the best reflection of this lively cultural atmos- art, while the Hungarian National Gallery concen- phere, ranging from breakthrough-trends to popu- trated on fine art, and our Library tried to recapture lar fiction. This is also the time when the new lan- the social and artistic life of the age with its litera- guage of modernity, often shocking contemporaries ture, music and theatre. As this was an enormous emerged. And all this happening within a few decades! undertaking, and as space available was also limit- Consequently, in almost all branches of art, a single ed, we made no attempt at presenting any kind of generation might have been exposed to numerous totality. The exhibition did not offer a historical unexpected changes and to a considerably faster pace overview, nor did it try to uncover the reasons for of life, finding that whatever they managed to intro- the Monarchy’s success and eventual disintegra- duce as unorthodox ideas were swept aside by their tion. Neither did it introduce any of its political, followers as outdated and highly conservative. The economic or technical development. Instead how- way Minister István Hiller said in his opening speech: ever, in full agreement with our declared aims, it “The organisers of the exhibition undertook no small- did make the surface visible, with its most spectac- er task than to outline the artistic and cultural out- ular achievements and its shared culture, since per- comes of this enormous transformation in Vienna haps never had culture been as important as in this and Budapest: introducing similar and dissimilar period… paths of art in the world of yesterday, in the happy Looking back at his own life, in his last book, the years of peace.” autobiographical The World of Yesterday Stefan Similar and dissimilar routes may also be grasped Zweig (1881–1942) introduced the ambience of through change. They are not characterised by a gen- Vienna at the turn of the century in a lyrical manner, eral unity or uniformity, but rather by form-breaking at the same time applying a historiographer’s skills of dynamism, while there is always the artistic expres- vivid description. He described a vanished world, sion of the general feeling of life by the reserved secure, predictable and observing rules, a world in monarchical Vienna keeping its distance on the one which the ideal is personified by the conscientious hand, and the frequently offended Budapest on the man responsible for his family, a world one of whose other, bursting with the ambition to catch up, while main evaluative criterion was familiarity with and not infrequently building on its boldest dreams. The love of culture. In this atmosphere following the dualistic structure of the Monarchy stirred intense
)21( political debates immediately from the time of the lems raised in various art and literary movements. Compromise. While some Austrians felt the Hunga- In the spirit of imperial Vienna and royal Budapest, rians had been given too many concessions, the there is the gradual strengthening of bourgeois soci- leading motive of justified Hungarian concerns about ety in Vienna, the city holding its world exhibition, as the Compromise was that national independence well as in the Budapest of the Millennium. Culture, and state sovereignty had been severely curtailed. style and the underlying spirit of the age were most- Nevertheless, despite undeniable political difficul- ly formed by the new bourgeoisie’s way of life. In ties, the period of Dualism is marked by an unprece- turn, it was the life style of this urban citizen that pro- dented economic and cultural upswing. Although vided the strongest link between the two capitals. their historical precedents and the circumstances In his reports about Vienna, Gyula Krúdy, a regular were different, both Vienna and Budapest went columnist of the Vienna Letters of the newspaper through explosive development. The actual mod- Magyarország summarised vividly his and his gen- ernisation of both capitals took place in this period, eration’s Monarchy-experience. (For example, on clearly reflected by their outer appearance as well as Emperor Franz Joseph’s death, Gyula Krúdy published their intellectual vibration. Vienna was regarded as a a serious evaluation of the age he saw as declining major political and cultural centre of Baroque Europe in his “Autumn sunrise. At the white feet of the as early as the 18th century, while the actual realisa- infanta and with a dead Hapsburg”.) tion of the dreams of the Hungarian Reform Age As in other areas of life, the two capitals were char- could only start in the last third of the 19th century, acterised not only by similarities, but also by differ- following the unification of the three parts of pres- ences. Although on the Austrian side, there is ample ent-day Budapest. In spite of these differences, since literary evidence of the mostly late 19th century feel- Budapest made every effort to catch up with the ing which regarded the citizens of the two leading imperial capital, their 19th century development nations in the Monarchy as Austro-Hungarians (to shows a number of parallels. Thus, the similarity of some extent blaming Hungarians for thinking of city structures and architecture, their elite and mass themselves as having a separate nation and national culture and forms of entertainment suggest a natural conscience), it cannot be claimed that there was a cultural exchange between the two capitals. Both widely accepted literary image based on mutual Vienna and Budapest had grown into welcoming familiarity, appreciation, strict parallels and interac- and encouraging spheres for art and various cultural tion. This understanding was lacking even at the trends. Due to the complexity of the age, it is natural level of literary movements because both Austrians that both cities were simultaneously trying to follow and Hungarians fixed their eyes primarily on the models and find their own identity, to co-operate phenomena of world literature and on their own and compete, to be independent and to assist each developments, while paying attention to each other other. This unique symbiosis of art and culture with- was of secondary significance. The links of joint ven- in the frames of the Monarchy thus created an intri- tures with a vested interest in introducing each other’s cately varied system of relations. artists and literature are found mainly in the Hunga- The last half-century of the Monarchy was undoubt- rian staging of Viennese plays and musical pieces edly full of controversies in all spheres of life. and translating Austrian literature, while in Vienna in Nevertheless, it still brought about parallels in cultur- the placing of emphasis on some Hungarian fine art al organisation. As the two capitals were gradually and literature. In Modern Poets, an anthology that developing into metropolises, in both parts of the has been prepared for ten years, Dezső Kosztolányi Empire culture was raised to unprecedented levels. first attributed the “leading literary role” in the Its equally important components were a positive Monarchy to Rainer Maria Rilke (1875–1926), and later multi-colouredness, a conservative over-maturity, an to Hugo von Hofmannsthal (1874–1929). Likewise, in effort at the subjective and language-based revival Babits’ evaluation too these are the two authors deserv- open to modern information, as well as the emer- ing special attention. Although born in Prague, Rilke gence of the ‘KaKania’ poetic-artistic attitude and was always associated with the intellectual life of rhetoric accompanied by its more and more pro- Vienna, while his marked Hungarian influence is nounced critique (K and K standing for ‘Kaiser und undoubtedly felt from Kosztolányi up to Ágnes Nemes König’, namely the Emperor and the King). Looking Nagy. Kosztolányi, who in his Rilke essay saw the back at the latter in the 1930s, the Viennese Robert characteristics of the Viennese and partly of the new Musil (1880–1942) was successful at representing it Hungarian poetry in Rilke’s lyricism, chose Schnitzler soberly and sarcastically, showing it as an organised as the second main author to be introduced to the maze of stupidity and futility. Therefore, in this far Hungarian audience. A leading personality of the from uniform age, possible parallels and analogies Jung Wien (Young Vienna) movement associated with are to be grasped in the reactions given to the prob- the Griensteidl Café, Arthur Schnitzler (1862–1931)
)22( was the most successful and one of the best known rian modernity. The Pester Lloyd featured reviews of representatives of Austrian literature in Hungary. In premieres in Vienna and Berlin almost simultane- the 1910s he was widely published in Hungary often ously with Viennese organs, not to mention the deci- translated by such acclaimed writers of the period as sive role of the Nyugat journal. By the same token, it Sándor Bródy, Zoltán Franyó, Frigyes Karinthy or may be stated that Jókai, Mikszáth, Herczeg and Sándor Márai. His popularity is attested to by Gyula Ferenc Molnár were regularly published in Vienna, Juhász’s 1908 enthusiastic review of a new Schnitzler although perhaps because of a shortage of German premiere in Nagyvárad at the time of the Holnap. translations, familiarity with Hungarian literature was And perhaps it is to be noted here that although more limited in Vienna. Jókai’s better-known novels opinions about the complexity of the period vary, had several Budapest-Vienna joint editions after they ranging from enthusiastic eulogy to utter rejection, had been published by the Pester Lloyd. It must be criticism in favour of new literature and art in gener- admitted though that Jókai’s popularity in Austria al usually received well the various branches of was partly due to the fact that in the 1880s he edited modernity. Artúr Elek, for example, who was equally and wrote the monumental series The Austro-Hun- attached to the old and the new art and appreciated garian Monarchy in Writing and in Pictures in asso- those talented artists as well whose world was oth- ciation with crownprince Rudolph, the heir to the erwise alien to him, besides his regular exhibition throne. In addition, Mikszáth and Molnár too enjoyed reviews in the Nyugat, published a critique of Kokosch- tremendous success in Vienna. In Mikszáth’s case the ka in the Újság. In addition to Ignotus’s glowing praise, texts to be published were selected according to the in 1913 Ady also warmly recommended to Pest citi- ease of their translation rather than their aesthetic zens Karl Kraus’ (1874–1936) upcoming reading. values. On the other hand, the phenomenal success The proportion of Austrian authors in the Modern of Ferenc Molnár, whom they treated almost as if he Library book series published between 1910 to 1922 was an Austrian writer, was due to seeing him as the is conspicuously high, with Schnitzler and Hof- mouthpiece of Budapest citizens’ perception of life, mannsthal leading the list, but also featuring Freud’s their ideas, acceptance and critique of modernity. dream theory and Hofmannsthal’s verse prologue Another reason was that his plays were the easiest to translated by Kosztolányi introducing Schnitzler’s integrate into the Austrian literature and the theatre Anatol. It also happened here in Budapest years of the early 20th century. Liliom was adapted to before WW I. that Robert Musil’s first novel Young the needs of the Viennese theatre by Alfred Polgar Torless was noted by critics: Miksa Fenyő gave it a sur- (1873–1955) in a way that the play originally set in prisingly positive review in the Nyugat. Although the outskirts of Pest is transferred into the world of György Lukács did not particularly like the Austrian the Prater, thus masterly reflecting the Austrian ver- capital and was primarily focused on German litera- sion of the substandard style of its spoken language. ture, he too published essays both about Kassner, Franz Werfel (1890–1945) translated Ady already as a Beer-Hofmann and Schnitzler. Franz Theodor Csokor’s young man, while the first encounter with Austrian (1885–1969) Letzte Spiele, a play marked by expres- literature for the translator of Anatol, Lajos Bíró, who sionism, was translated by Frigyes Karinthy and was happened to be a native of Vienna, was not at the one of the first pieces the newly established Új time of his emigration, as several of his works had Színpad put on stage. Also, it was through Milán earlier been published in Vienna or jointly by Vien- Füst’s writings that the public got to know the nerv- nese and Berliner publishers. Karl Kraus, the owner ous character of Peter Altenberg (1859–1919), the and sharp-eyed critic of Die Fackel, one of the most “last bohemian in Vienna”, to use the words of Jenő prestigious literary magazines not only published Mohácsi, as he published reviews of his works in the Tömörkény’s short-story A combat with a soldier, but Nyugat. It was during his university studies in Vienna also called the author – with a degree of exaggera- that the young Kosztolányi obtained his first experi- tion – the greatest living writer in the Monarchy. The ence of the turn of the century Austro-Hungarian journal Die Wage gave regular reports about cultural worldview and perception of art from his beloved events in Hungary, although there is little justifica- professor Emil Reich. These early impressions of Vien- tion for their exclusion of fields other than literature. na can be traced in his later career as well, but what The Hungarian reception of the turn-of-the centu- needs to be stressed here is that he as well as other ry Austrian literature gives priority to this form of art. representatives of contemporary literary modernity Although it was not completely free of problems, it understood and evaluated objectively the European must be noted that representatives of Hungarian and significance of Austrian literature. Austrian modern music reacted to literary develop- It may be seen from the above that in comparison ments in a similar manner. It was not only Bartók with other literatures, Austrian authors had a very con- who would compose music to Ady’s poetry and use siderable place in the literary orientation of Hunga- texts by Béla Balázs and Menyhért Lengyel, but Richard
)23( Strauss (1864–1949) too always worked with Hof- Still rather than looking at their direct contacts, the mannsthal as his librettist, while Dohnányi gave literature and art of the two capitals may be exam- musical form to Schnitzler’s various works. Among ined in their common cultural background, in the the reasons for these co-operations, besides the com- Monarchy’s historical and political definition, in the mon aesthetic views of the composer and his libret- modernity efforts of the turn of the century, and tist, the immense strength of sharing the same feel- primarily through philosophy and psychoanalysis. ings, philosophy or even the image of modernity are Members of the Jung Wien group, for example the also to be listed. In addition to Géza Csáth’s review of writers and poets Schnitzler, Dörmann, Bahr, Alten- Gustav Mahler (1860–1911), calling him the Napoleon berg, Beer-Hoffmann, Salten, Hofmannsthal and Kraus of Music, Jenő Péterfy’s Wagner-critique may be given rejected naturalism as well as historicism, preferring as excellent examples of common links between and supporting instead the modern trends of sym- music and literature in the age. In Vienna, it is possi- bolism and impressionism. The traditions of the trend ble to pinpoint the birth date of literary modernism. were maintained and taken further by the represen- Die Moderne Rundschau (Modern Review), the tatives of twentieth century Austrian literature prob- number one organ of new Viennese literature is ably best known in Hungary (Stefan Zweig, Robert available from 1891, the year when its editor Leopold Musil, Ödön von Horvath and Joseph Roth). Such Weiß published the first major work of modern bilingual poets as Jenő Mohácsi (Eugen Mohácsi) Austrian literature, the lyrical one-act play called or Heinrich von Horvath, Vilmos Karczag (Wilhelm Gestern (Yesterday) which he had produced with Karczag) and others of Hungarian origin or with Hun- the teenage Hofmannsthal. In it his main point is that garian connections (e.g. Marie Herzfeld, Theodor we cannot live solely for the present, as the past, the Herzl, Ludwig Hevesi, Rudolf Lothar, Ernst Mach, Felix world of yesterday greatly defines our present. In Salten) were not just representatives of Austrian- 1891 the Linz-born Hermann Bahr (1863–1934) also German literature in Budapest, but with their view moved to Vienna, where he was soon to become the of literature they had a strong influence on similar main organiser and advertiser of the new Austrian lit- efforts in Budapest. Beyond allusions at literature, it erature, as well as editor of the liberal weekly Die is at least as important to stress that the theory of psy- Zeit (Time). The group name Young Austria was also choanalysis was also born in turn-of-the century Vien- coined by him. By contrast, in Hungary it would be na. Based on his medical experience and clinical case hard to find such a landmark date. The example of studies, it was here that Sigmund Freud (1856–1939) Ernő Osvát, who ran short-lived journals like the created such notions and schemes for describing the Magyar Géniusz (Hungarian Genius) in 1902–1903, mechanism of the inner life that offered an excellent then the Figyelő (The Listener) in 1905, and finally the frame of reference for phenomena that had previ- Szerda (Wednesday) in 1906 indicates this uncertain- ously been hard or impossible to interpret. Thus he ty of defining a date of birth. Anyhow, the Nyugat, very fast acquired disciples and followers all over the the journal that also published books after 1909, cre- world, and perhaps it is not coincidental either that ated a lasting organ for modern literature. It is inter- they were most numerous in Budapest, where doc- esting at the same time that while Pest had more than tors (primarily Sándor Ferenczi), social scientists (e.g. one quality literary magazine, in the turn-of-the-cen- Sándor Varjas), writers (Géza Csáth, Mihály Babits, tury Vienna no publication was able to survive for Dezső Kosztolányi, etc.) were soon open to fertile long. There were several attempts (Wiener Litera- Freudian thoughts. Through the depth and variety turzeitung 1890–1893, Neue Revue 1893–1898, Die of its reception, up to the collapse of the Monarchy, Wage 1898–1902, Ver Sacrum 1898–1900, Die Zeit after Vienna Budapest was the second seat of psy- 1894–1904, Österreichische Rundschau from 1904), choanalysis. Therefore it is not surprising that the but none proved viable. For the sake of fairness and Fifth International Congress of Psychoanalysis was objectivity, it needs to be said that at that time held here in September 1918. Austrian authors would usually publish in presti- One of the most important components that Vienna gious German magazines. The only exception was and Budapest share is their coffee-house culture. “In Die Fackel, launched in 1899, as it had a very impor- Budapest, where so many vitally important public tant role to play in Austrian literature. Apart from fic- institutions are missing, the coffee-house was almost tion, the magazine regularly featured reviews, and it like a people’s academy or library. In their moments was in this journal that the founding Kraus discov- of relaxation, doctors, lawyers, judges, teachers and ered Kokoschka, Trakl and Werfel for the general writers would leaf through the numerous dailies and public. As mentioned earlier, in addition to a short masses of periodicals, and occasionally even ency- story by Ferenc Herczeg, he strongly recommended clopaedias.” These lines (from Literary coffee-houses) Tömörkény to his readers, comparing him to Chekhov written by Gyula Szini in the 1917 first issue of the and Gogol. Nyugat introducing Europe’s most famous literary
)24( cafés (e.g. the Vienna Das Silberne Kaffeehaus and to the more Hungarian sounding Prince Rezső by the Budapest Pilvax) throw light on the reasons why his Hungarian worshippers and who in his death the literary coffee-house proved the most colourful became one of the undying heroes not only in pulp slice of the world at the time and why it is going writers’ imagination, but also in Hungarian popular through its renaissance in our days. In the year of the tradition. millennium there were some one thousand cafés in Introducing the similarities and differences of the the capital, that had a population of 800 thousand. artistic and cultural lives of the two imperial capitals Many of them would have their regulars and would of Vienna and Budapest can, in fact, never be com- usually concentrate people from specific trades. plete, as not only is it very hard to outline Austrian Mentioning the varied worlds of the ‘Centrál’, the and Hungarian cultural background factors but tak- ‘New York’ or the ‘Japán’ may only serve as random ing stock of the close relationships between artists examples. The ’Centrál’ in Egyetem Street was perhaps and movements is almost impossible. There were the most significant intellectual centre at the turn of such exceptional characters active in the period who the century, which was largely due to the proximity were able to influence the whole of the cultural life of the University Library, the Franklin Association and to act as authentic and reliable links between and the Atheneum Printing House. This is also where various branches and trends. The lifework of Gustav the literary magazines the Hét and the Nyugat were Mahler, Ödön Mihalovich, Miklós Bánffy or Max Rein- edited. The head of the New York coffee-house Adolf hardt might be excellent examples of all this. The Harsányi, who was a keen patron of literature helped Harrach Palace exhibition last year (February 10th– create the atmosphere that made his institution so April 22nd 2003.) organised jointly by the Kunsthis- popular with writers and editors alike. Here both the torisches Museum and Collegium Hungaricum was Pesti Napló and the Nyugat had their regular tables perhaps the first attempt at a comprehensive overview for some time. Of all, the ‘Japán’ café in Andrássy of the web of the many-sided contacts the two capi- Avenue had the most mixed set of regular customers tals maintained. The present exhibition, in which our ranging from the world of actors (e.g. the Latabár Library took an important role as co-organiser had the brothers), through painters and artists (e.g. Mihály purpose of showing the outstanding masterpieces Munkácsy, Ödön Lechner and Károly Ferenczy) to of the Monarchy’s art to younger generations at the writers (Ady, Krúdy and Molnár). Everyone who was time of Hungary’s accession to Europe, as it is not only looking for an exotic atmosphere and stimulating the average Austrian who has limited knowledge of company would turn up here. In addition to the Hungarian art and literature, but the opposite is equal- similarities of their lively cultural life and bourgeois ly true. However in the period evoked, there was an milieu, there are dozens of pulp publications wit- incredibly wide palette available to the interested pub- nessing the cult of the Hapsburg dynasty in the Hun- lic that actually experienced culture ranging from gary of the age of Dualism. The best known popular opera to operetta, from serious drama to cabaret, and poets of the turn of the century devoted full series to from deep psychological novels to best sellers. One the honour of the royal family, creating verses about idea though is to be emphasised again, namely that the royal couple, Archduke Joseph’s tour of Transyl- at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries everything vania, the Gödöllő Castle or Queen Elisabeth’s dream. seems to have changed. A period had come to an These pulp romances, whose readers came mainly end, and a new one broke through. Largely because from a wide circle of the less educated masses, usu- of technical developments, people’s way of life had ally focused on three personalities. They introduced been radically changed, as sensed by artists who Queen Elisabeth as a lady of angelic goodness, Franz were trying to find new modes of expression to reflect Joseph as a fair and just monarch, while Rudolph is new realities. This is why our nostalgic feelings for depicted as an unfortunate prince. The numbers of bourgeois culture in the best sense of the phrase and such trashy books soared more than ever following for the dynamism of the modernity of the age were the death of Queen Elisabeth, whom according to undeniably reflected in our exhibition introducing these works, the whole nation was sadly mourning. the cultural life of Dualism… The same thing happened when Rudolph, the heir to the throne passed away, whose name was changed László Boka [email protected]
)25( Queen Elisabeth, also known as Sissi among the Hungarians who considered her a lady of angelic goodness. In Falk Miksa–Dux Adolf: Koronázási-emlékkönyv. 1867. OSZK. 220.647
)26( SÁNDOR APPONYI THE BIBLIOPHILE AND HIS COLLECTION OF HUNGARICA
The only room in the National Széchényi Library’s He was a regular visitor to the library of the building in Buda Castle that can be regarded as a British Museum where he became acquainted with museum is Apponyi Room on the 6th floor. The walls Thomas Watts, curator of the library’s Hungarian are lined with book cabinets with glass doors, above collection, renowned for his knowledge of lan- them ladies and gentlemen captured for posterity guages and his memory. He frequented auctions in oil paintings gaze down from the walls at the and antiquarian book shops and he also came into visitor. One of these portraits, done in the 20th contact with the most prominent book collectors. century, shows an elderly man reading a book. He Following family tradition he studied law in is the former owner and donor of the book col- Munich and made use of the years he spent there lection in this room and of many other valuable to add to his knowledge of cultural and religious rarities besides: Count Sándor Apponyi. The por- history. After graduation a diplomatic career await- trait bears witness to the talent of his faithful wife, ed him. He was appointed to the imperial embassy Countess Alexandra Esterházy, who painted her in Paris, under ambassador Richard Metternich. The husband engaged in his favourite pastime, reading. years he spent there brought more friendships, For decades Sándor Apponyi devoted all his efforts acquaintances with scholars and purchases at auc- to expanding his world-famous collection, and in a tions. Later he served under his father who has deed of gift dated September 15, 1924 he donated been appointed ambassador to London, and then his library to the nation, specifically to the National again to Paris. In the 19th century these two cities Museum’s National Széchényi Library. He died in played a determining role in the antiquarian book 1925 and his widow subsequently topped the dona- trade. Large and valuable collections were auc- tion by setting up a foundation for the enlargement tioned, giving discriminating collectors with the of the book collection, and before her death she necessary means the opportunity to add new treas- donated their mansion, estates, all their fixed and ures to their libraries. Sándor Apponyi’s favourite movable property together with the furnishings of pastime was reading books and arranging his steadi- the library, to the Hungarian National Museum. ly growing collection of Hungarica. Thanks to this noble gesture, the famous Hungarica When his father died in 1876 he decided to retire collection is still kept in the original bookcases of from diplomatic service and devote himself entire- the former big library room and the furnishings of ly to enlarging and publishing his collection. He the room evoke the Apponyi mansion at Lengyel. chose as his collecting scope works about Hungary Sándor Apponyi was born in Paris on January 19, and the region published abroad in foreign lan- 1944, where his grandfather, Antal Apponyi served as guages, with special emphasis on those written by the ambassador of the Habsburg Empire. His father, foreign authors. Since the items in his collection Rudolf, was also in diplomatic service. Although the were written in different foreign languages, he also family’s loyalty to the Habsburgs was well known, had to learn these languages because, as part of the later, when his father was posted to the embassy acquisition process, he wrote an annotated descrip- in London, his son’s tutor was Ferenc Elefánty who tion of the works to be used in a future printed cata- had fought in the War of Independence of 1848 logue. Together with his wife, Alexandra Esterházy, and subsequently emigrated. Elefánty gave his stu- he made his home and installed his library in his dent thorough preparation for the annual exami- mansion at Lengyel on his estate in Tolna County, and nations he had to take at the Piarist school in Pest. it was here that his Hungarian and foreign guests The London years were an important period in visited them to see his increasingly famous collec- the life of the young Apponyi. It was then, around tion. He remained in contact with foreign and Hunga- 1857–1858 that he acquired his first books of Hun- rian booksellers and auction firms and was a regu- garian relevance: an incunabulum, Biga salutist by lar buyer at auctions of valuable collections. In 1882 Osvát Laskai, printed in Hagenau in 1498, and a book the Museum of Applied Arts held an exhibition of in English published in London in 1664 on the occa- selected items from the most important private col- sion of the death of the poet and military com- lections and Sándor Apponyi figured with 51 items. mander Miklós Zrínyi, The Conduct and Character Although the Hungarica collection was the most of Count Nicholas Serini. important part of his library, his collection of
)27( engravings containing early rarities of source value Lajos Dézsi (Hungarica. Ungarn betreffende im for its rariora and its relevance for Hungarian his- Auslande gedruckte Bücher und Flugschriften. tory also represents inestimable value. In addition III–IV. Bd. München 1925). The four volumes con- to his scholarly research and the enrichment of his tain a total of 2509 items, including more than a library, he also devoted large sums to supporting hundred incunabula. The collection is especially archaeological research. He was inspired by Mór rich on the period of the Turkish wars, the Zrínyis, Wosinsky, the young parish priest of Lengyel who and the period of the Thököly revolt and the later became a renowned archaeologist, to begin Rákóczi liberation struggle. Sándor Apponyi always excavations on his estate. These brought to light tried to buy complete copies including any attached Neolithic finds of what is still known as the Lengyel engravings. Any copies that lacked a binding he culture. These were steadily expanded to other sites had bound by the best French and English book- in Tolna County and produced many rich finds binders of the day. As a result, his collection is not extending up to the period of the Great Migrations. only valuable for its contents but also a delight to The excavations brought international fame for the eye. the archaeological collection, and encouraged by In the course of his long life Sándor Apponyi the count as patron and the archaeologist, a joint gave much thought to the fate of his collection. He national effort led to the opening in 1902 in Szek- had no children and so he decided to donate the szárd of the Tolna County Museum, now known treasures he had collected with great dedication and as the Mór Wosinsky Museum, presenting the rich knowledge to the nation, to the national library. The finds of excavations that are still continuing. collection of Hungarica, rariora and engravings, the Sándor Apponyi worked for decades on the anno- related manuscripts, and contents of the modern tated catalogue of his Hungarica library. The first bibliographic and general aristocratic library togeth- two volumes appeared in German and Hungarian er amount to almost 15,000 units which approaches in 1900–1903 in Munich and Budapest (Hunga- the size of the donation made by Ferenc Széchényi, rica. Magyar vonatkozású külföldi nyomtatványok. founder of the national library. It can be stated I–II. kötet. [Hungarica. Foreign prints of Hunga- without a doubt that the national library would be rian relevance. Vols. I.II]). The scholarly aid was much poorer without the donation of Sándor printed in a limited edition (180 copies) and sent Apponyi. It is the task of posterity to enrich and by the count free of charge to collections with sim- preserve this valuable collection and make it avail- ilar holdings. The publication covering the second able for scholarly research. half of the collection appeared in German only, in the year of Apponyi’s death, edited by Professor Dr. Ágnes Salgó Wojtilla [email protected]
)28( The Placard of the National General Exhibition from 1885
)29( Costume schemes from the Magyar Iparművészet (Hungarian Applied Arts) OSZK. HB 7.370
)30( MODERNISATION OF OUR MUSIC COLLECTION WITH JAPANESE GOVERNMENT AID
This year the national library’s Music Collection is The application was accepted and our Music celebrating the 80th anniversary of its formation as Collection won the Japanese Government’s cultural an independent collection. A fitting commemora- aid for 2002. The audio studio, reading room and tion of the event was held on May 11, 2004 when an working rooms of the Music Collection were equipped audio studio with the most up-to-date equipment with the most up-to-date recording and copying sys- was opened. The wealth of audio documents and tem worth close to 45 million Yen. Research places the variety of media make this one of the most inter- were created in the reading room for listening to the nationally renowned music collections. In addition audio documents, processing units were set up in to the music manuscripts and scores, the audio the rooms and modern equipment was installed in archive collects and preserves the historical legacy the music studio. In addition to the mixing desk, the of Hungarian record publishing. It was a problem Studio Recording and Copying System comprises var- for both researchers and library staff that for years ious (sound)recording, registering and playing devices, there had been no audio service in this collection of including equipment that can be used to transfer our documents unrivalled in Hungary or internationally. old recordings. There are also speakers, cables and The library was unable either to replace or repair the other auxiliary equipment. The Audio Library System outdated, malfunctioning studio equipment. comprises 24 units, 12 of which are found in the The new studio, a gift of the Japanese Government, reading room and 12 in the sound-proofed studio officially opened on May 11, marks the opening of a on the gallery and the rooms of the Music Collection new chapter in the life of the collection. The new where they are used to process the audio material. equipment, able to play a wide range of media, will This system is supplemented with switches, a cable be of inestimable value in processing, studying and system, stands and 24 stereo headphones. The preserving the holdings. The Japanese Government Recording System comprises valuable equipment launched its international assistance programme rarely found in public collections. The portable mix- (Japan International Cooperation System) in April ing desk, four very expensive microphones, stands 1989. It offered support and technical cooperation and portable towers can be used to make concert in a very wide field in the form of government aid to recordings of excellent quality and to provide ampli- the developing countries. Some countries received fication in different venues. assistance in improving the efficiency of produc- The Japanese Government arranged for the trans- tion, in other cases countries struggling with eco- port of the equipment and the installation was carried nomic difficulties or even defaulting on their pay- out by Japanese experts. The library undertook to pro- ments were given expert advice. vide the operating conditions in the Music Collection. In 2001 we were pleased to read that the Japanese The correspondence between the Government of the Government had invited applications for Cultural Grant Republic of Hungary and the Japanese Government Aid under this program with the aim of strengthen- concerning the provision of recording equipment ing international cultural relations through support for the National Széchényi Library was published in for culture and education in the countries concerned. government regulation No. 20/2003. (II. 20.). The Music Collection submitted an application for His Excellency Inogawa Terojusi, Japanese Ambas- the modernisation of the music studio. After it was sador to Hungary and Erika Koncz, Deputy State received a thorough investigation began with the Secretary of the Ministry of National Cultural Heritage participation of the Japanese Embassy with the aim were present at the official opening of the studio. of gathering a great deal of supplementary informa- The guests were greeted by Director General István tion on the operation, activity and purposes of the Monok and Mrs Pál Somogyi outlined the grant ap- library and the collection, and on the operation of plication. Katalin Szerző Szőnyi, head of the Music the studio. In the mean time, two Japanese sound Collection then spoke about the exhibition of mate- engineers spent three days in the Music Collection rial from the 80-year-old collection. The participants to examine the usefulness and effectiveness of the heard a performance by pianist Deborah Kiszely, technical equipment listed in the application, as well then inspected and tested the equipment in the new as the material and physical conditions for opera- audio studio. tion of the equipment. Mária Somogyi [email protected]
)31( Though Stifters’s oeuvre had already finished before the time of the Compromise, his works played a significant role in the Austrian literature of the turn of the century. His first works, whose editor was Gustav Heckenast were published in Pest both in German and Hungarian. (Der Nachsommer. Erzahlung. Pest. 1865.) OSZK. 326.235
)32( OUR ILLUSTRIOUS GUESTS
¶ Margot Klestil-Löffler in the national library ¶ Visit by Sun Jiazheng, Minister of Culture of the Republic of China On February 26, 2004 Margot Klestil-Löffler visit- During his stay in Hungary, Sun Jiazheng, Minister ed the library. The wife of the Austrian head of of Culture of the People’s Republic of China visited state arrived at the National Széchényi Library in the National Széchényi Library on April 15, 2004. The the company of Dalma Mádl, wife of the President minister was received by István Monok, director- of the Republic of Hungary. Our illustrious guests general of the library, and Péter Dippold, director were received by Ferenc Rády, general deputy direc- of the Library Institute of the National Széchényi tor-general who showed them treasures of the Library. HE Zhu Zushou, ambassador of the People’s national library’s special collections. In the Music Republic of China, was also present at the meeting. Collection and the Collection of Theatre History On behalf of the Chinese Government, Sun Jiazheng the wife of the President of the Republic of Austria presented to the national library close to two hun- examined manuscripts and scores of Austrian rel- dred recent publications in English on Chinese cul- evance. Margot Klestil-Löffler was especially inter- ture, history and tourism. In his speech Sun Jiazheng ested to read the certificate issued by the council stressed the need to cultivate Chinese-Hungarian of the city of Vienna in 1804 when it made Joseph relations, and at the same time thanked István Monok Haydn an honorary citizen. She also showed spe- for the fact that in the autumn of 2003 the national cial interest in the original copy of Franz Schubert’s library hosted the Ten Bamboo Studio exhibition Wandrers Nachtlied, a setting of a poem by Johann presenting treasures of the National Library of China Wolfgang Goethe. The letter written by Ludwig van and providing a useful and interesting contribution Beethoven in 1807 to Miklós Esterházy (II), and to the study of the history of book printing. Speaking the draft of the prince’s reply are excellent examples also on behalf of the director of the National Library of the cultural ties in our common history. In the of China, the minister emphasised the importance Map Collection the wife of the Austrian President of co-operation between the two national libraries. examined an early 18th century map of Vienna Sun Jiazheng inspected also items of Chinese rel- covering an entire wall, locating historical sites on evance in the Collection of Theatre History of the the giant map. This treasure was restored by staff National Széchényi Library, and also visited the World of the Map Collection with the participation of of Yesterday exhibition on cultural life in Vienna Austrian experts who were guided by a similar map and Budapest at the turn of the century. preserved in Vienna. Péter Ekler [email protected]
)33( Die Fackel, one of the most prestigious literary magazines, launched in 1899, had 36 volumes altogether. It regularly featured reviews, even from 1911 on, when Karl Kraus the one-man founder-editor-critique wrote the journal alone
)34( ZOLTÁN FALLENBÜCHL IS EIGHTY
Zoltán Fallenbüchl’s career features many of the already retired: he received the title of “candidate” traces of history. Coming from an old Austrian in 1992, and full professorship in 1996. As an out- family of intellectuals on his father’s side, while on come of gathering an enormous amount of mate- his mother’s side the grandson of the French-edu- rial earlier, his volumes of archontology are pub- cated journalist and theatre director of Sacler ori- lished one after the other. These basic works fill gin called Zoltán Ambrus, when choosing a career huge gaps in government, local government, as he was driven by history and teaching, thus decid- well as social historical and genealogical research. ed to enter the Budapest Faculty of Philology, where Although he never had a chance to become a he later got a degree in History, Latin and Geography. university lecturer, his inclination to work with Following his doctoral dissertation on the sociology young people and to pass on his knowledge, the of forms of settlements, supervised by István Hajnal, attitude he inherited from his teacher parents has he joined the Széchényi Library as a voluntary trainee always been felt by young colleagues he is always in 1947. A year later he obtained a permanent job happy to assist. Even today he is enjoys giving lec- there, first in the Map Collection, then from 1969 tures, and beginner scholars often turn to him for onwards in the Collection of Manuscripts. In 1984 advice. His academic activity is naturally extended to he retired as chief scientific contributor. maintaining the cultural heritage of Ambrus Zoltán, He has always conducted his scholarly work at editing his works and letters, and establishing and the highest standard. His initial interest in the his- looking after the Ambrus memorial house in Gö- tory of cartography was naturally continued in doing döllő with loving care. On his eightieth birthday research into archonology and historical statistical he was greeted in this environment, as the leaders analysis. He is a regular contributor of Könyvszemle of culture and sciences and the citizens of Gödöllő [Book Review] and Levéltári Közlemények [Archival respect him also as an honorary citizen of the town Publications], as well as the National Széchényi Lib- and a researcher of the Grassalkovich family. Rel- rary’s Yearbook and a number of specialist journals atives, friends and students were flocking to the outside Hungary. As a member of foreign societies house all through the day. Joining the celebration, and associations, a conference presenter, organis- in the name of the National Széchényi Library we er of exhibitions and by going on study trips he wish this excellent colleague and scholar, who is has enhanced considerably the international rep- working on his memoirs these days, many cheer- utation of the Library. However, “harvesting the yield” ful, workful and healthy years to come on the side of his scholarly career happened when he was of his beloved wife Marianne.
)35( The catalogue of our exhibition “The Ten Bamboo Studio” has won an award at the “Beautiful Hungarian Book 2003” contest