É. Apor , H. Wang (ed.): Catalogue of the Collections of Sir Aurel Stein in the Library of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. Comp. by John Falconer, Ágnes Kárteszi, Ágnes Kelecsényi, Lilla Russell-Smith.

KELECSÉNYI Ágnes: Sir Aurel Stein and the Library of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences

ÁGNES KELECSÉNYI Hungarica

; the complete works of Count István Tisza, his speeches in the House and his memoirs of domestic trips, including volumes on the library of the Reformed Church in Debrecen (in 1934 he made visits to Debrecen and Pannonhalma), and the publications of the Ludovika Military Academy. As László Rásonyi wrote, 'being a member of the relevant organisations, he was entitled to receive the fine series of the British Academy Proceedings from 1921 to 1943, a considerable part of Alpine Journal published between 1908 and 1939, and 160 issues of The Geographical Journal published until 1943. P.S. Allen has a lot of books in his library with classical authors concerned with the Orient, such as Herodotos, Arrianos, Ptolemaios, Plinius, Diodoros, Strabo, etc. of course having predominance. He seemed to be fond of the works of Saint-Beuve and Taine as well as of military history and other military related works and memoirs.'

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2 Analysing the composition of Stein's library, we can conclude that it contains a great many works received as complimentary copies from the numerous academic organisations of which he was a member, and from colleagues, who sent their publications to him. The scientific and academic evaluations of his expeditions were carried out with the assistance of the most eminent scholars in the various fields of expertise, and Stein enjoyed friendship with many of them. Stein's travelling was extensive, and it was necessary that he should hold on to only those books which he needed for his work. For this reason, some of the multi-volume publications in his library are incomplete. However, this does not undermine the great importance of this collection, as it contains countless standard books which are indispensable for research on Central Asia, Indology and Iranian studies. Many of them were published between the two World Wars when the Academy spent only a minimum amount on acquisition of foreign books, and Stein's library fills numerous essential gaps. In addition to the books, the bequest also contains one Turkish, two Sanskrit and three Persian manuscripts of more recent date, and his important photographic collection, containing over 4,500 photographs, many arranged in albums. It also contains Stein's correspondence, containing over 1,400 letters written between 1897-1943, received from about 300 different people and institutions. There are both private and official letters, and some have a carbon copy of Stein's letter or reply attached. This correspondence reveals new biographical details, and also contains the complete documentation for the resolution of certain scientific and academic matters. The rest of the bequest is very diverse, comprising maps, captioned prints usually found together with related correspondence, proof-sheets, manuscripts of some of his works, anthropometric notes, two passports, expedition invoices, bank papers, medical correspondence and prescriptions, photos of family members and friends, distribution lists for his publications, diaries, photographic notebooks, and 1

2 László Rásonyi, ibid. p.31. 20