From an attic to the Manuscript Collection of NSZL

A letter written by Hungarian poet János Arany, received as a gift, became researchable following restoration.

This spring, a letter written by János Arany returned home, to National Széchényi Library, from an attic in Switzerland. Recently, the manuscript got into the Manuscript Collection of the Hungarian national library where it has been kept under appropriate conditions and has been available to researchers. On this occasion, we asked Zsuzsanna Rózsafalvi, staff member of the Manuscript Collection, and the interview can be read (in Hungarian) on our blog site.

To our greatest regret, donator of the manuscript György Fráter, who had seen the beginning of the restoration process, could not have a look at the end result, since he died during the summer. We think of him with gratitude, and we consider ourselves lucky to have received the letter in the Manuscript Collection. György Fráter’s children do not speak Hungarian, so they might not have appreciated the intrinsic value of the autograph manuscript by Arany. Consequently, the manuscript might have remained a hidden treasure for good.