Treasures of the Hungarian National Library [antikvár]

History of the National Library Li examining the antecedents leading to die establishment of the national library it is important to note diat no collection comparable to die libraries of die German Electors or the European rulers in its wealth, the freshness of the intellectual trends represented or its influence on die environment could have been formed in the region of the Carpathian Basin in the 16th to 17th centuries. However, some members of the aristocratic families in Hungary could be compared in' the breaddi of their reading to their peers in Europe. It is also important to stress the fact that members of the aristocracy and prelacy in Hungary were not able to shape their lifestyles or their collections merely to suit their own personal taste. The possibilities for buying books were very limited: there was no substantial production of books in Hungary; the book trade was hardly organised at all. We know of only a few merchants in Upper Hungary and Transylvania who also handled books but diey aimed this activity mainly at commoners. If they attempted at all to establish regular contacts with aristocratic families in Hungary, the agents of foreign publishers (mainly in Vienna, Southern Germany and Northern Italy) were interested in selling books from their own publishing environment and they had no real competition. While students studying in Europe at the expense of different aristocratic families effectively added to the family library, their taste, studies and the nature of their reading inevitably influenced the patron's library. There was no real change in this situa- i 2. Hieronymus Corvina {around 1488). Detail of the /?fflrJ.fM ornamental border on the title-page beginning the text ^Bijtfiwm 4 3. View of the Apponyi Room in the likrary tion until the second half of the 18th century and by the time of the Compromise of 1867 a book trade had developed along lines similar to that already operating in the countries of Western Europe. We do not know of any private library in the 16th or 17th century serving the function of representation which became widespread in the manor-houses and mansions of the 18th century. By the second half of the 17th centujy a change can be observed in the book collecting habits of the Hungarian aristocrats living in the environment of die imperial court in Vienna. Special mention must be made in this respect of the libraries of Ferenc Nádasdy (1623-1671) in Pottendorff and of Pál Esterházy (1635-1713) in Kismarton and Fraknó. The economic possibilities and scope for political action of the Kingdom of Hungary united under Habsburg rule were clearly determined by the fact that the country had been finally liberated from Turkish domination under the leadership of a foreign ruler. During the reigns of Charles II, Maria Theresa, Joseph II,_Francis I and Ferdinand IV considerations of empire increasingly overrode Hungarian interests and the resulting tension eventually led to die outbreak of an armed struggle for independence in 1848— 49. In the course of the 18th century die different nationalities living in the Carpathian Basin made increasing efforts to break away, developed their own cultural identities and consequendy also their own cultural institutions (schools, libraries, printing houses). jt^P^ 4. Chrysostomtis Corvina (1485-90) * llO^Ky^V . Initial V with a portrait of ¦|H Saint John Chiysostmn SB