Technikatörténeti szemle 7. (1973-74)

TANULMÁNYOK - Bogdán István: Papírgyáraink a XIX. századi kiállításokon

1) Total number of exhibitors, and that of the Hungarian exhibitors in world exhibitions, plus the number of Hungarian paper indust exhibitors ; 2) The number of prizes awarded, by types, and that awarded to Hungarian paper industry exhibitors, similarly by categories. The paper mills are enumerated by name in both cases adding, wherever the sources permit, the number of machines and employees, the quantity of annual production, the paper types exhibited, and quotations from the opinion of the jury. As a conclusion, evaluation from two aspects is presented. On one hand, the exhibitor paper mills are „ranked" according to the domestic and foreign prizes won, which includes 13 prizes for the Fiume paper mill, 7 for the Hermanec plant, 5 for Nagyszlabos, 4 for Péterfalva, 3 for Diósgyőr, Javorina, Maszniko, Tiszolo, and Zernest, 2 for Brassó, Kisszeben, Nadabula, and 1 prize was awarded to the Neumann and Zajtschek mills of Budapest, then to the Bobot, Dejte, Kassa, Opoprád, Pozsony, and Rózsahegy factories. On the other hand the entire exhibition activity of the industry is reviewed in the home exhibitions, by using certain indices, one of which is the number of Hungarian paper mill exhibitors in the percentage of the total number of participants. This amounted to 1.8.% in 1842, 2 % in 1843, 1.5 % in 1846, and 0.2 % in 1879, 1885 and 1896, although 0.5 % in the two latter years as compared to the industrial brach as such. Our paper industry around 1840 appeared to be rather highly advanced as compared to the other branches, but in the second part of the century the equilibrium was restored by the more intensive development of the latter, although that of the paper industry did not stop, either. This is clearly verified by the second index, the ratio of operating to exhibitor factories which, in 1842, amounted to 5 %, in 1843 to 6 %, in 1846 to 10 %, in 1879 to 20 %, whereas the same figure for 1885 and 1896 was 59 and 49%, respectively. These indices reflect an unequivocal growth, with a peak in the eighties and a slight decrease around the end of the century. A similar development is shown by the awards in percentage. If the cruel competition of the Austrian paper industry is taken into consideration, it may be stated that our paper mills have always made best use of the given conditions and possibilities and, as confirmed by the awards won in world exhibitions, they could be proud of their products abroad as well.