Körmendy Kinga: A Széchenyi-gyűjtemény (A MTAK kézirattárának katalógusai 9., 1976)

Summary

SUMMARY István Széchenyi (1791-1860), founder of the Hungarian National Academy of Sciences, one of the most important politicians of the reform era in Hungary, bequeathed his manuscripts to his secretary, Antal Tasner. The majority of the manuscripts was purchased by the Academy from Tasner* s inheritors between 1875-1880. In 1878 and in 1880, Béla Széchenyi presented to the Academy manuscripts connected to István Széchenyi and to the Academy from the archives of the family in Nagycenk. On the proposal of the secretary-general Kálmán Szily, the Academy decided later, in 1896, to collect as far as possible the other written and material remains related to Széchenyi to add to the manuscripts already possessed. From the collection thus brought about was the Széchenyi Museum established by the Academy in 1905. The printed catalog of the holdings edited by Kálmán Szily and Gyula Viszota was published on the occasion of the opening. The rooms of the Széchenyi Museum were damaged during the siege of Budapest in 1945, the Széchenyi-manuscripts, however, came through fortunately without any severe loss. After the reconstruction, the Academy determined to abolish the independent museum as the manuscripts and books making up the majority of the holdings had not been available for scientific research, whereas this should be the primary aim of the collection. Separating the material remains, the manuscripts were placed at the Manuscript Library, the prints at the Old Book Collection belonging to the same department. The collection outlined in this catalog contains the manuscript material taken by the Manuscript Library from the one-time Széchenyi Museum, including items acquired either by donation or by purchase. In order to discern this additional material the catalog gives the origin of the documents, their previous possessors, or refers to the item-number in the catalog of the Széchenyi Museum. The Széchenyi-Collection does not comprise the whole manuscript bequest of István Széchenyi. The documents seized in Döbling in 1860 got to the State Archives from Vienna. The archives of Sopron of the Széchenyi-family are also kept there. In the National Széchenyi Library can be found documents presented to János Török by István Széchenyi as well as letters of Széchenyi written to Antal Tasner. Further manuscripts are kept in Sopron by the Archives and the Storno-Collection.