Műtárgyvédelem, 2009 (Magyar Nemzeti Múzeum)
Járó Márta: Bevezető: születésnapi köszöntő helyett : in memoriam Éri István : szabálytalan nekrológ
conferences so that specialists (conservers, natural scientists, museologists) working in Hungarian museums could meet colleagues from other countries, exchange their views and experiences, and that we would be known in the world and it would be well known where Hungary was. Sometimes we had to serve dinner at conferences (when there was no special staff for it) , carry the luggage for the foreigners (because there were no porters), and then we hurriedly changed to appear as the chairperson of a section, naturally to read a lecture, to act as an interpreter and to brighten up the evening and to ask the shy for a dance. And we had to learn how to be an editor, how to proof, and when it was necessary we had to take the publications to their destinations (in a sack by tram). We often felt that it was all a nuisance and perhaps did not understand why it was necessary. But when we finally understood it, it became “a whole” and we willingly did everything. And beside all these, we had to teach and teach again so that others could learn what we had already learned. The initially three months long conserver training course was extended to a year, the training of store-room attendants was launched, two-year-long technical courses were organised and the conservator training at the university was extended to five years. Text books were published, the Múzeumi Műtárgyvédelem became regularly edited, and the conference volumes published in foreign languages serves as exchange publications to increase the collection of the technical library. I wonder how much we could pass on from all that we had learned from the Boss. We are sitting at a table and making plans for a foreign group. A colleague takes out a piece of squared paper, “turns it into a table” and enters the hours and the minutes and who and here meets the guests, who guides them from where to where, how long the guide will speak in the workshop, who takes them over - and remarks: “Do you remember? We did the same with the Boss before the seminars in Veszprém...” Two weeks ago we cleaned again and decorated the corridor at Könyves Kálmán Boulevard. We were of course in high spirits, we were going to have guests. Nobody looked at the watch, it became dark. And suddenly it occurred to me that a person can survive and effect his or her environment not only in “significant” and “big” things but also in with few smaller and larger vibrations and activities. Thank you, Boss! Márta Járó 8
