Postai és Távközlési Múzeumi Alapítvány Évkönyve, 1998

Rövid tartalmi összefoglaló angol nyelven

Alexandra Halász - Klára Lukács: Philatelie mementos of the 1848-1849 Revolution and War of Independence

In the middle of the 19th century, uprisings broke out all over Europe. This process was joined in Pest by the Revolution of 15 March 1848, which was to set Hungary off on an enormous leap towards the creation of an independent a nation state. A government assumed office and took the destiny of the Hungarian nation into its hands, determined to run the country’s affairs without the interference of the Habsburg Empire. The imperial court’s response was uncompromising, and armies marched on Hungary to put its fledgling national freedom to the sword. On 13 August 1849, no longer able to withstand the enormous forces ranged against it, the Hungarian army laid down its arms at Világos. The heroic struggle of more than a year had reached it end, and the surrender was followed by severe reprisals.

The country has now celebrated the 150th anniversary of the Revolution and War of Independence. Our temporary exhibition is related to the commemorative events. It follows the changes made in postal affairs by the Ministry of Agriculture, Industry and Trade which was responsible for them in 1848—49. The Hungarian Post Office’s break with the Austrians is shown via postmarks and other features of postal handling procedures on contemporary envelopes.

The War of Independence has been investigated by a great many historical works, but contemporary correspondence contains much documentary material still unknown to the general public and even to those working on the subject in depth. The letters open up a perspective on how average citizens lived through storms of history, revealing the effects of events on all walks of life.

Letters dating from the War of Independence are extremely precious, many having been destroyed after the war because of their content. The envelopes have often been pilfered from the archives, resulting in the loss of much interesting information that both their writing and stamps could provide on the postal affairs of the time.

Most of the letters on display have been selected from the Stamp Museum’s BélaTérfi courier collection. Three letters have been loaned by Andor Bér.

Piroska Farkas Krizsák: Born 150 years ago

On 17 May 1998 a chamber exhibition opened in the Telephone Museum commemorating 150 years since the birth of Gábor Baross and Ferenc Puskás.

Gábor Baross was bom on 6 June 1848 in Pruzsina inTrencsén county (Slovakia) in an impoverished noble family. He attended school in Léva, Győr and Esztergom, and matriculated in the Law University in Pest, from which he graduated as a solicitor in 1872, and was appointed aljegyző (junior clerk) inTrencsén county. In 1875 he was elected as member of parliament for the Pucho-Illava constituency, which brought him to Budapest. On 30 March 1883 he was appointed as secretary of state in the Ministry of Public Works and Transport.

In 1884, Győr elected him as its member of parliament, a mandate he held until his death. On 30 December 1886 he was appointed a to head the Ministry of Public Works and Transport, which was converted under his own plan to the Ministry of Trade in 1889.

244