Angol filológiai tanulmányok XX. [antikvár]

SAMUEL A. WEISS (Chicago) BERNARD SHAW'S LEGAL BATTLES IN HUNGARY In "George Bernard Shaw's Reception in Hungary, the Early Years, 1903-1914,István Pálfy observes that Shaw's promising career in Hungary was abruptly suspended in 1906 as a result of his litigation against the Vígszínház (Comedy Theatre) in Budapest for violation of his copyrights. The basis of Shaw's action and its outcome, Pálfy — who was limited to Hungarian sources — notes, can no longer be ascertained. But fortunately, Shaw's files of important business correspondence — now deposited in the library of the London School of Economics — and his correspondence with his Viennese German-language translator, Siefgried Trebitsch, allow us to reconstruct his legal battles with Hungarian producers in 1906 and thereafter.2 Two years after having been introduced to Hungary in an unauthorized translation and production of Arms and the Man (Hősök) at the Király Theatre, Budapest (17 February 1904), Shaw was approached on behalf of a Hungarian client by one Ernst Mayer, who was with the International Copyright Bureau in London and who also acted for the theatrical agency o.f Felix Bloch Erben, Berlin. In January 1906, Mayer informed Shaw of a Hungarian offer for rights to Devil's Disciple and Caesar and Cleopatra at a 3 percent royalty and L30 advance. Shaw, who at the time demanded, where feasible, a 10 percent royalty (to be shared with his authorized translators) found the terms absurd and promptly rejected them. The Hungarian client for whom Mayer acted was Dr. Joseph Mihály, of the Hungarian Society of Actors - a not-for-profit association that aided indigent actors and was highly reputable. On 21 February, Mihály was informed of Shaw's outright rejection. The next month, Mayer asked Shaw to appoint the Copyright Bureau as his agent for Hungary and suggested that they could get a 4 percent royalty and L40 advance in Budapest and a 50 percent royalty for provincial productions for Devil's Disciple and Caesar. For You Never Can Tell, in which interest had also been expressed, Mayer suggested a 4 percent royalty and L30 advance. On what Mayer later claimcd was a misunderstanding, Mihály wrote to Mayer on 26 March that he thought Shaw accepted the offer of 4 percent and L40 advance for Devifs Disciple and that Mihály would therefore contract for its production at the Comedy Theatre. In fact, Shaw had come to no such agreement with Mayer, and crossing in the mail was Mayer's letter to Mihály (27 March), informing him of Shaw's hesitation over the 4 percent 5