Csécs Teréz: Arrabona - Múzeumi Közlemények 51. (Győr, 2015)

Gráfik Imre: Rómer Flóris a magyarországi néprajzi gyűjtés kezdeteinél

ARRABONA 2013.51.__________________________________________________TANULMÁNYOK

FLÓRIS RÖMER AND THE BEGINNING OF THE HUNGARIAN ETHNOGRAPHICAL COLLECTION

It is a science- and museum historical fact that Flóris Römer had a decisive role in establishing the Hungarian public collections - including the ethnographic object collections. The collection program of the objects of the popular culture in Hungary goes back to the beginning of the 1870s. Its direct motive was the purpose of introducing Hungary at the Vienna World Exposition in 1873, but in the background there was the intention to establish a museum of artefacts on the basis of the collected material. This strive is connected with the name of János Xántus, who - as a custodian of the Ethnographic Collection of the Hungarian National Museum - presented an application to the Ministry of Education a year before the opening of the Vienna Exhibition and outlined a plan of collecting and exhibiting a Hungarian ethnographic material at the coming World Expo. In consequence of his application in July 1872 the Minister of Religion and Education appointed Flóris Römer and János Xántus to be the commissioners of an artefact collection campaign for the purpose of exhibiting the resulted material in Vienna. Being the proposer, Xántus’ appointment was natural, while Römer had previous experiences in World Exposition matters from Paris as well as practical collection experiences in the field. Xántus and Römer divided the country to two collecting areas.

Using unpublished sources this study looks into Rómer’s decisive collection establishing work.

Imre Gráfik

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