Postai és Távközlési Múzeumi Alapítvány Évkönyve, 1996
Rövid tartalmi összefoglaló angol nyelven
There, the host at a formal opening ceremony on March 28 was former US Ambassador Miklós Salgó, a founder member of the Foundation. The Foundation President, Professor Ágoston J. Molnár, underlined in his opening address that the display fulfilled three important functions for the American Hungarian public. It was informative, it provided them with an aesthetic experience, and not least, it constituted an important community-forming factor. The popular exhibition was extended until the end of the September 1996. Gabriella Nikodém: 1100 Years on Stamps The new seasonal exhibition at the Stamp Museum marks the 1100th anniversary of the Hungarian Settlement in the Carpathian Basin by tracing Hungary’s history as reflected in stamps. The intention was not to interpret or reinterpret history, but to be objective and proportionate, although the special artistic characteristics of stamp design allow emotions to waken during this excursion through the past. The exhibition divides up into the usual periods of history, and into subjects. These relate to the changes and developments in politics, the arts, science and technology, identifying the distinctions and the points of reference between them. Júlia Kisfaludi: ‘História Domus’ - The Postal Museum in 1996 The outstanding event for the Postal Museum, during the 1100th anniversary year of the Hungarian Settlement, was the renovation and alteration of the display at the National Historical Memorial Park at Opusztaszer. The new exhibition that opened on June 9 after a costly, major reconstruction presented Tivadar Puskás’s Telephonic News Dispenser. It included a spoken guide in three languages (Hungarian, English and German), provided through reproductions of the original telephone sets. Five other temporary exhibitions opened during the year. The main task carried out on the collections was an inventory of the postal history collection, taken between September 3 and November 26. The registers of the telegraphic equipment, the thematic stamp collection and the library followed the telephone-card collection onto the computer, which marked a big step forward. Two important events were held within the museum during the year, both primarily for the museum’s circle of friends and professional public. There was a memorial day on April 15 to mark the centenary of the death of Mihály Gervay, Hungary’s first postmaster- general. Wreaths were laid and a contest for students took place in the morning. This was followed by lectures in the afternoon and an evening programme of literature and music. An ‘Advent Salon’ was held on December 13-15, as a group exhibition by eight fine and applied artists whose works feature in the collections of the Postal Museum. Efforts to contribute to professional museum activities in Hungary continued during the year. Three people represented the Postal Museum at an international conference in February on ‘museum marketing’. Several exhibits and the computer systems operating in our museums were presented on May 18, World Museum Day. In August, ICOHTEC, the International Association of Technical History, held its 23rd Congress in Budapest; Ákos Somoskéry and Júlia Kisfaludi each read papers. 306
