Technikatörténeti szemle 19. (1992)

KÖNYVISMERTETÉS - Papers of the First „MINERALKONTOR” International Conference on the History of Chemistry and Chemical Industry (Veszprém, 12-16 August, 1991)

publishing a paper every year also in the „Berichte". In the 1880-es, in general, one third of the Hungarian members published papers in the journal of the Association. At that time Hungarians carried on their discussions between each other also on these pages. The longest of these discussions went on for three years between Vince Wartha and Liebremann, on the topic .About the assay of sulfurous acid in wine", summarized 1883 by Wartha as follows: „In the issue of last year, p. 438, Dr. Leo Liebermann, Professor at the School of Zootherapy, Budapest, said that the method for datecting sulfurous acid in wine as recommended by me and which consists, as known, in mixing the wine distillate with a solution of silver nitrate and by which one can conclude, from a white precipitate soluble in nitric acid, to the presence of sulfurous acid, is not feasible as the distillates of many wines and, according to my experience (Liebermann's), especially of better wines contain also othre substances forming a white precipitate with sUver nitrate which dissapears upon the addition of nitric acid" (21). In vain will we look for the internal discussions of the Hungarians in the columns of the „Berichte" in the 1890-es, whUe in the 20th century only 10% of the Hungarian members of the Association wrote a yearly paper for the journal. The main reason of this was, of course, that by this time there were enough domestic journals to publish papers in. The possibility of publishing the results of domestic chemistry in letters was not at ah made use of by the Hungarian members of the Association, whereas such reports were sent from everywhere ah over the world as long as this was customary. E. G., in 1873 there came such reports from Vienna, from St. Petersburg, from Paris, from London (22). In this very year there was a single report on the Hungarian chemical industry in the „Berichte", but even this one was not written by a Hungarian. Namely, the journal published a report on the 1873 Vienna World Exhibition from the aspect of chemistry. Its aim was, according to the report itself: „This guide might be considered at the same time as an interim report, although it deals primarily with the chemical industry which forms the third of the twentysix groups including ah the objects, however, if and where possible, also other groups that might be of interest to our colleagues, have been considered, in the first place foods and other consumers' goods (group 4), pottery and glassware (group 9) and scientific instruments (group 14). Stricdy on the Hungarian chemical industry the report says as follows: „The northern side-wing, at whose entrance the exhibition of the candle factory Flora in Budapest in located, displays the chemical products of Hungarian industry, among which perhaps the following objects might be of interest: Dr. Wagner in Pest, pharmaceutical-chemical products, magnesium preparations, tehurium metal, cognacs. Lajos Rózsa in Pest: tartaric acid, acid potassium tartrate, vitriol. Further an exhibition of concrete, copper, vitriols, matches, etc." From the related industrial branches it mentions, beside the procelain factory Herend, the exhibition of mining/metahurgy: „in the centre there are gold and silver ores from Schemnitz and Kremnitz, products and models of the amalgamation processes and of processing, coins. At the left-hand side there are ores and products from the Schmolenitz metallurgical works...." This description is fohowed by the enumeration of many products of mining. However, beside this report, no other ac-