Postai és Távközlési Múzeumi Alapítvány Évkönyve, 1994
Rövid tartalmi összefoglaló angol nyelven
drum-shaped compass box. The four cardinal points of the compass are inscribed on the base of this, along with an arrow showing the declination between magnetic and geographical north. Fastened to the base plate by a hinge is a tipping, ring-shaped dial and a small pendant for ensuring that the sundial is horizontal. The dial has small lines showing the half hours and dots for the quarters. Engraved in the bottom of the compass box are the latitudes of some European cities and the name of the maker. The sundial resembles those made in 18th-century Augsburg in its form, execution and decoration. The maker was Lorenz Grassl. The declination shown on the base of the compass box is 22° W, which according to calculations from old compasses, maps and astronomical measurements gives a date between 1760 and 1780. This ties in well with the biographical details of the maker, who successfully applied for a licence to make sundials from the magistrates of Augsburg in 1767. Although there are several sundials inscribed with Grassl’s name to be found in the world’s major collections (including the Whipple Museum in Cambridge), the Postal Museum’s is the only example found in Hungary. Meticulously restored in 1989, we tried out the sundial in the spring of 1994, and established that it tells the time to an accuracy of about three minutes. This degree of accuracy would have suited perfectly the requirements of transport and postal services at the time. Benedek Endrődi: Csepel Radio Station The author marks the 80th anniversary of the Csepel Wireless Telegraph Station, which operated from 1914 to 1934. As the sole survivor to have worked at the station, built for military purposes but also used for international telegraphy, he recalls his years there and his fellow workers. An interesting inclusion is the authentic text of the author’s articles of apprenticeship, drawn up between the Royal Hungarian Post as employer and József Endrődi as parent. Dr Kálmán Sebestyén: Kolozsvár Post Offices at the End of the 16th Century There is relatively little information available about the posts in 16th-century Hungary and Transylvania. The archive materials await exploration and publication. Particularly interesting information on postal history can be found in the account books kept by the stewards of towns. The author provides a sample from Kolozsvár (Cluj).The steward there kept an accurate record of the 16th-century post of the Prince of Transylvania, his consort and court officials, the town magistrates and castle captains, and the couriers of the German Emperor, the Voivod of Wallachia and the Turks. The town council hired mounted postmen known as bamasibok and mounted post boys for its postal service. The former also performed security services. Kolozsvár had four bamasibok and two post boys in 1585, and was paying them an annual 6 dinarii 25 kreuzers each. The four bamasibok proved too few in that year, and the town employed another two. The study examines how the town posts worked, the routes of the post boys and post 217
