Kalla Zsuzsa: Beszélő tárgyak. A Petőfi család relikviái (Budapest, 2006)
Zsuzsa Kalla: The history of the Petőfi relics
My brother’s manuscripts together with the cab- inet they are in I leave to the Budapest museum. My three lottery tickets I leave to Mrs Antónia Gailhoffer.’ (PIM [Petőfi Literary Museum] Kt. V 4559/365, 1) Possibly identifiable from the inventory of estate dated 8-9 May 1880, are one of three polished writing desks, two pipes, a ring with a red stone (also listed in the catalogue), an Academy medal and a military medal. (PIM Kt. V. 4559/365, 2) At the same time, since István Petőfi had no immediate heir, some of his objects and household items would have undoubtedly gone to the Hrúz branch of the family. Júlia Szendrey gave Zoltán Petőfi his father’s papers and relics, and, after her death, István Petőfi may have asked for the remaining papers and relics concerning his brother from her inheritance. Julia’s personal memorabilia were passed on to the Petőfi Society by Mrs Gusztáv Machek (née Ilona Horváth), her daughter from her second marriage. In 1910 her daughter-in-law, Mrs Árpád Horváth the younger (née Gizella Greguss), later the widow of Géza Mirkovszky, sold a great many things related to Júlia Szendrey to the Széchenyi Library. Some small items belonging to Zoltán Petőfi also survived, and were probably taken by his half-sister Ilona as tokens of remembrance. Some of Petőfi’s belongings, probably originating from the family’s stay in Mezőberény, were also kept by Soma Orlay Petries. These went to the collection of the National Museum, the Society only buying a clock from the flat in Pest. Petőfi’s library, including some private documents, was donated to the National Museum by Károly Török, a family tutor for Pál Gyulai and a friend of Zoltán Petőfi. One of Petőfi’s most important, mainly fine arts, collections was assembled by Lajos Ernst, art collector and director of the National Salon. In the spring of 1909, the great hall of the Petőfi House was filled with his works and the Society’s general assembly elected him director of the museum. Soon after, however, he had a disagreement with Ferencz Herczeg and his colleagues. According to newspaper articles at the time, he requested a substantial amount of money, one hundred thousand crowns, or noble rank in exchange for his donation (sz. n. [anon.] 1909). They took down the exhibition, which from 1912 was housed in the Ernst Museum in Budapest’s Nagymező utca. In 1932, after Lajos Ernst’s death, the room was converted into a gallery, the Petőfi relics were moved to the National Museum and all trace of them was lost. What makes the Petőfi Society’s collection of relics unusual is that it was not inherited. It is instead the result of research and acquisition. Gyula Kéry’s much stated aim was to objectify and exhibit the memory of Petőfi, and to this end he used biographical events and interviews with contemporaries, acquaintances and descendants to lead a real investigation into the relics. Kéry, who was originally a journalist, set about this task with enormous energy, and in a short space of time the whole country had become involved in the relic collecting process. The number of objects which came to light as a result of this is astonishing, especially when compared to that belonging to the Kisfaludy Society or the National Museum. People who donated relics may well have been inspired to do so by the knowledge that their treasured possessions would be seen by many people. This is also hinted at in the notes and dedications in a book by Petőfi which was passed on many times. The inside title page reads: ‘To János Arany - Sándor Petőfi.’, and on the inner endpapers: ‘To János Garay - János Arany.’ A dedication on the title page reads: To Andor Kozma. Widow of János Garay.’ The inside cover contains a record of how it became part of the Petőfi Museum collection: ‘I received this book on 8,h July 1905. After my death I want this book to be part of the Kisfaludy Society’s relic collection! Andor Kozma - Since the Kisfaludy Society is still and, it seems, will always be mouldering in a place shut away from the world though it conceals precious treasures, I have changed my mind and now donate this book to the Petőfi Society for the Petőfi Museum. 13 March 1923, Budapest. Andor Kozma.’ The following detail from a report book by Kéry is characteristic of the mood accompanying the collecting process: ‘Gábor Cser, a smallholder in Dömsöd, was frequently offered large amounts of money for a worm-eaten, shabby-looking bed in which the son of Petrovics [Petőfi] the butcher was born. But Gábor Cser would not part with it. He was only willing to let me have it when he found out that it would be cherished as a sacred item in the relics collection of the Petőfi Society. It was late at night when I posted the Dömsöd relics at the railway station. They do not usually take goods on Sundays, but when the railway officer learned that they were Petőfi relics, he immediately made the necessary arrangements and sent them on their way by the first train. 193
