Fekete Gézáné (szerk.): Örökségünk, élő múltunk. Gyűjtemények a Magyar Tudományos Akadémia Könyvtárában (A MTAK közleményei 37. Budapest, 2001)

KÖRMENDY KINGA: A Széchenyi-gyűjtemény

128 Körtnendy Kinga KÖRMENDY, KINGA The Széchenyi Collection Count István Széchenyi (1791—1860), one of the founders of the Academy, left his literary estate (diaries, correspondence, manuscripts of his works, notes) as well as the copyright of his works to his secretary, Antal Tasner (1808—1861). Only part of his papers, however, passed into the hands of Tasner's heirs, to be purchased by the Hungárián Academy of Sciences in 1875. Another part was preserved in the archive of the Széchenyi family in Cenk. From 1878 Béla Széchenyi (1837-1908), the elder son of István, started to send it in instalments to the Academy. The third part of the papers — confiscated by the police during the perquisition on 2 March 1860 in Döbling — was returned to Hungary as late as 1926 and deposited in the National Archives. In 1896 the Academy decided to set up a special collection dedicated to István Széchenyi. The so-called Széchenyi Musem was opened on the first floor of the Academy's premises in 1905. This collection was augmented only slightly during the decades to 1945, when the Academy was bombed and the rooms of the Museum were damaged. After the Second World War the Museum could not be properly restored, since the Academy was reorganized during 1949—50. The manuscripts from the Goethe Room, the Vörösmarty Room and the Széchenyi Museum were deposited in the Department of Manuscripts, whereas the printed books and periodicals were integrated into the holdings of the main library. The majority of the relics were stored in the Academy Club and the administrative offices. Between 1952 and 1968 the Department of Manuscripts added new items through purchase to the material received from the Széchenyi Museum. The resulting Széchenyi Collection was completely catalogued by 1975 by three staff members of the Department, Vilma I I.Boros, Csaba Csapodi and Kinga Körmendy, and the last of these compiled a printed catalogue published in the following year. This catalogue does not, however, contain all the materials on Széchenyi currently held in the Department of Manuscripts. Somé items received before 1952 and after 1968 — when the collection assumed its present form — must be searched for in the generál catalogues of the Department.