Technikatörténeti szemle 17. (1988-89)

TANULMÁNYOK - Vámos Éva Katalin: The Hungarian Industry at teh Budapest Spring Fairs (1918–38)

Considering the efforts made to gain foreign firms to participate in the fairs, one would think that several hundreds of foreign exhibitors came. However, this was not the case. Foreign participation had never risen above 10%. The organizers, of course, tried to prove that this was natural and normal, that other fairs did not have more foreign participants either (15). This was only part of the reasons. Among the real reasons one has to consider at least three factors : a. The already mentioned political isolation of the country; f CONSORZIO CERAMICHE \ 1 l-±J CFMAUIC.HE ARTiSTlCHE 1 FALISCA-ARS 1 ROMA I CERAMICHE-ARTISTIC HE 1 ••——•nil" ; :; " * ~^l^mZ^,

~^*~^^^^^^ ^^^^ PA VIA - CHBTOSA >** 4. Advertisment in the Catalogue of the Italian Exhibition on the 1930 Budapest Fairs b. Although Hungary had a few industrial products that could be sold in Western Europe, its exports were mainly agricultural; c. The government strived at a kind of autarchy, tried to reduce imports and control exports. From 1934 on foreign exchange restrictions were introduced. Just because of the abovesaid it was a great revelation when the first big collective exhibition of a country, the „Mostra collettiva" of Italy came to the fair in 1930. This exhibition showed many of the contradictions of the age. In its catalogue many advertisements were only half-page, the other half being covered by a picture of an art monument of the producer's town. The exhibitors thought their Hungarian customers would know Italy mainly by its monuments. A fashionable article on the fairs was at that time (beside radio-sets and early