A Móra Ferenc Múzeum Évkönyve: Studia Historica 7. (Szeged, 2004)
MÚZEUMOK ÉS GYÚJTEMÉNYEK - FÁRI Irén – NAGY Ádám: Szegedi vendéglátóhelyek képeslapokon 1900-1920
IRÉN FARI-ÁDÁM NAGY CONFECTIONERIES, PUBS, RESTAURANTS AND HOTELS IN POSTCARDS OF SZEGED 1900-1920 Postcards are important documents of an age, especially due to their depictions (streets, buildings, portals, interiors, people, etc.). The postcard collection of the Móra Ferenc Museum containing thousands postcards offers numerous possibilities for research. Hereby we present the cards in connection with catering, completed by pictures in connection with Szeged preserved in the Museum of Trade and Catering as well as in different private collections. The data referring to the pictures are in the first place originated from the contemporary material of the press and advertisements, as well as from directories and registers. The literary fragments evoking the atmosphere, customs and attitude of the age are written by István Tömörkény. The lively social life of the city took place in the places of entertainment. The citizens of the same social strata, occupation, religion and political views founded different societies and communities. These societies controlled also the social and public life of their members. Their number increased until the First World War. Many were members of several societies based on territorial, ideological and professional similarities. The societies held regular meetings following the rules and regulations defined at founding. They rented a place for meetings usually in a separate room of a restaurant or pub. Although local inhabitants visited restaurants and cafés frequently visited also beyond organized occasions. Customers visited these places just to spend their time, to talk, play cards or billiards, read the papers or to bowl in summer time. Events of the ball season also took place here, lectures and concerts were organized, as well as new technical equipments (a washing machine, a gramophone, the cinema) introduced in certain restaurants. Wartime was presented in the life of restaurants in a special way. They continued to function even under more and more difficult conditions. The organized events of societies came to an end, the circle of customers had changed. The problems in food supply as well as the restrictions (meatless days, early closing time due to economy of coal and energy) and the inflation are all traceable in the news of the age. Present paper reveals the happenings of the first two decades of the 20 th century Szeged through the everyday life of 22 restaurants documented by pictures, based on the news presented by contemporary press.
