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Early photography in Eastern Europe

Károly Karlovits
Published online: 01 Oct 2013.

To cite this article: Károly Karlovits (1978) Early photography in Eastern Europe, History of Photography, 2:1, 53-74, DOI:
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 Early Photography in Eastern Europe

HUNGARY
by Karoly Karlovits

THE EARLY YEARS photography whenever the occasion warranted: In its

!\ t the session of the French Academy of Sciences held
f i on 7th January 1839, D. F. Arago (1786-1853),
secretary of the Academy, announced that the fixation of
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7th March issue, a Pest weekly, Athenaeum, published an
article on daguerreotypy written by Jules Janin, a French
journalist and art critic. Hungarian society accepted
Janin's opinion and was prepared to welcome photo-

the picture seen in the camera obscura had been achieved.
Hasznos Mulatsdgok, a Hungarian-language paper pub-
lished in Pest, made its readers acquainted with Daguerre's
invention in its issue of 2nd February, an extremely short
time, considering the communication and travel con-
ditions then prevailing. Newspaper stories of the new
invention stimulated a lively interest among Hungarian
readers, and the papers continued to feature reports on
graphy as an artistic expression of reality and truth.
The public was impatient to learn the latest news
about photography, but the papers covered only the
wrangling over the invention itself. On 13th April, one
of the Pest papers wrote: 'M. Daguerre's invention has
already been mentioned by us as well as by others, but he
still keeps silent about his secret, and he is likely to keep
this silence until the secret is purchased or the invention is

Figure 1. J. M. Daguerre: Still Life in the Studio, May 1839. It was dedicated and presented by Daguerre to Ambassador
A. Apponyi. (In the collection of the Museum for Science and Technology, Budapest.)

HISTORY OF PHOTOGRAPHY, VOLUME 2, NUMBER 1, JANUARY 1978 53

 Karoly Karlovits

Chancellor. Thereafter, Daguerre showed himself helpful

and eager to make Ettingshausen familiar with the tech-
DAGUERRE nical details of photography, right up to the end of
September; as is evident from the correspondence between
Apponyi and Metternich. After the licence had been
bought by the French state, the Austrian interest became
superfluous, and Daguerre had to content himself with
the decorations and gifts of the Austrian Emperor Ferdi-
ELKESziTESE' MODJANAK nand V, presented to him by Apponyi. The two pictures
by Daguerre met with great approval in Vienna. They
LEiRA.S ,\ , were shown to invited guests on 28th August in the Council

23
lIuUgt \I.h. I!r '~JI~tb f n.
h. ftablD !f~., .d ha ttrt'U •• ,Ht .,.
'I1ubUfalil mit ofltll @QUUDStl\ ~,inh ~rUrlhQ8'" u41 ttl .... ~ u '~lrlC
all~ Imluut' !lClU".IrD l.U'rrrrt:st t w"t-ri I f tit .lIusn,n ",..~t. "rur'.1
Ih~irnuD9 tltrrr rilit.

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• . • • • • • • • • WlI' ".&IlA.IL
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~ 6'.. ft~ ~dO"~""O","· ~Od"dit3 ~

;. ill ~cftf). !'t
*
£ ~l r thlttrlrl4nutl aroubt (ilam tt.1ir1J ~h f uab l innD IInetrulf.
trurh lg tn 'VtJt-HtuCl. mit ba !tn-l'lAt .,.ILtt UG mla C~lIIlIIrl\ aD (CID. tol, n.
~j!' eon ,hlfr JtDtljlt.lrt Dlllir'laf't lUriitt1,tt"rt. tbu .• l.1Oa(l~./Ibl.'n '!I P,8J
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.
~ r,t IUD ~orrr.j)'Cin n mit Ie (rt bo,.
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it ~1rI IIIrrtrnuu~rn (!t~dbiln8'n arlb ~hrbtrrnlnSfll .... itF4t~ro1l&t IIIA~' f .'f +.
.:L hf~ ,r in ha e:hn~ 9crclt Ill. "nt 'lu ~"n. Clbtr 1141- fl., ' ••)'-::
1 • • , . . . . 1 ...... 4 f. Gfatpt t)l)n ~dc",n .
un~ I-,ar 1m ea,. t t,n f &fll "' I! Ad)t ee,.i..
* funbcn III portrll t tr,n.1)Q ~iu toi t 9l~!"r!R.tU'lrl ilt. fo HI .ak
BECSBEN, l8fO. i*':b.n bl, 'Portroil. !II 1•• (<II{ObO', (tb'.bI8~' 21,,"11<11. hll; nldll bn Ihl .. :'.:

I
" p, .aoa, n,"'t h •• n("',lnb"~' 1;1,1&". 0140 1 101 •• b,I'.It.ln.
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-"-~. ~". dnoi' ~i<el . . . ' . . . . . . . <3,r."t RSrrrt' Dab .If'i~aA~ tl4Itr Oil£: f.,IUI, anl:l t.: llat." i
:: ten. AI f

'. Iri$nrtl f4llul6utt Pili, 4U otottmH4Ilr nillhr Dab (onai~hi8tr I~Jr.r• .:t:-
. rltt' In fdnn: Run(! I hH ~'rfcn (1lIIIO~I, ,," iIIulb ~Qalrn ClI,u;pput dllt
" {ol.e eCtaln. 8.~tD ,If. r ornutl f hI ~iIIlDit liD hroa~Ir' 'D8In'~.n: .
, ; (!1.brDl ~"'''a,b,,401 ",hb. .
*
~: :()" ~"I' ,I.,. (.Ido,. '!lottr.iI. lit .,It .a,..
.9a!,~j, 10~. iI. V. :'
~ <!!Unb dllt IIII~rrrt ."nell"'" oaf
~~ 'P<r(. . . . . n.<II 2 ~ . .;. WI. h"W,
b'·r"~'1'1 eU~t.
IlIlfb fur i,bt 'Dhu
:
I'
Figure 2. The first photographic instruction book written in ¥, lIl.p.a•• S' ... ,,~,. In h, R.Il'~ ••• S hI lIal"I,I"' ..... I. 'Il.~_ ,
~ , .~ ... ll.n •• I,II • • I.. ro. 91.1.,( ... ii'.fr . :.l. ESt,I, •• S,......... .
:
Hungarian, translated by Jakab Zimmermann, Vienna, 1840.
Derived from a German version: Das Daguerreotyp, pub- ,: Giacomo Mara$loll. .
;: : ahb . .ft'a"l' f anb 'orlurtlltaru. .
lished by Ludwig Anthes, Hamburg (1839) which, in turn, ~***'~
. ' *1,,::1\(:1':~~' :!:)I':I.'*+-,!i'i'**,~+i~:'!i~HI~
was a translation from the French. Il'ef'toer @drtibeUlQr'Ft.
~~~It llI'I'. ( ... 27. I!.~'H ~I(, !a til. lB.
&,pn .,[1/1",. "Halra.
iL h. ~. Ir. ~. Ir.
duplicated by others.' This statement was followed by a o 1&
,
304~ I~

rather detailed description of successful experiments by o I:; o 6 ~

J•
5 t8 ~ 30
Kobelt and Steinheil at Munich University, aimed at a 30 3 30 IR
n 30 o
producing a picture on paper!. Oft-, II'''.'' I, Nt llolt · "'<\, U_II>tIjII.4If<60~lmi. ._ - -
'
Daguerre, being an excellent businessman, tried to
make money out of his invention not only in France, but
in other countries. In particular, he got in touch with the
Figure 3. The German-language newspaper advertisement of the
Austrian Ambassador Antal Apponyi (1773-1859). As a
first photographic studio in Hungary (Jakab Marastoni) in the
result of this connection, the first daguerreotypes were
Pesther Handlungszeitung, 28th August, 1841.
taken to Vienna by an Austrian courier, and given to the
Kaiser and to Metternich, in the early Summer (May-June)
of 1839 (Figure 1). Daguerre had earlier presented a
picture to Apponyi himself, and had written a dedication Hall of the Academy of Fine Arts, and were an over-
on its passepartout frame: 'Epreuve ayant servi a constater whelming success. Some Hungarians were also present at
la decouverte du Daguerreotype, offerte a Monsieur Ie this exhibition, and the papers wrote about the pictures in
Comte d' Appony par son tres humble, tres obeissant terms of highest praise2 .
serviteur-Daguerre. ' Soon after Arago's report to the Academy on 19th
Shortly afterward, the memorable 19th August August, Hasznos Mulatsdgok printed a detailed description
session of the French Academy, at which the process of of the daguerreotype process and, in the spring of 1840,
photography was made public, was attended by Professor there appeared the first technical book on photography
Ettingshausen (1796-1875) from Vienna. He was there as written in Hungarian. It was translated by Jakab Zimmer-
the delegate of the Austrian Imperial house and of the mann (Figure 2), a physics teacher, who in the preface to

54 HISTORY OF PHOTOGRAPHY. VOLUME 2, NUMBER 1, JANUARY 1978

 Early Photography in Eastern Europe: Hungary

20th August 1840 by academician Antal Vallas (1809-

1869). First he showed two photographs he had previously
taken, then he actually took some photographs of the
Danube Embankment from the meeting place. A lecture
on photography was also delivered by Anyos Jedlik (1800-
1895) an outstanding physicist and the inventor of the
principle of the self-inductive dynamo. We acknowledge
him as one of the first Hungarian amateur photographers.
Another active participant in these meetings was Karoly
Nagy (1797-1868), mathematician and astronomer. In
1841 he published an anonymous book entitled Daguer-
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Figure 4. Lip6t Strelisky: Arthur Gorgey (1818-1916)

(Daguerreotype), May 1849. The military leader of Hungary's
War oj Independence, 1848-49 (after Kreilsheim).

the book mentioned that he had seen daguerreotypy for

the first time at Vielll1a University.
At the beginning of 1840, the newspapers reported
that a businessman called Novakovics had made some
photographs in Zagrab (today Zagreb, in Yugoslavia),
after having returned from Paris where he had been
instructed by Daguerre. Later, in April, readers learned
that an Arad (today in Rumania) book-binder called
Karoly Skolnik (originally from Gyor, a town in north-
western Hungary), relying on what he had learned from
Daguerre, had made cameras of pasteboard, and sold them
together with an operating manuaP. ~ l· n •. u sr; ' I

The public of Pest first became acquainted with

photography at the fine arts exhibition ofJune 1840, where
three daguerreotypes, probably of foreign origin, were
displayed. As to the pictures shown, not all the critics
were impressed: D. Novak admired the new invention
with words of high appreciation in the Hungarian-
language newspaper 4 , while the critic of the other paper,
published in German, voiced his low opinion of the
pictures s. Another unfavourable criticism was recorded
in 1841 by Imre Henlszmann (1813-1888), an art historian
of considerable reputation. His premature and devastating
comments weighed heavily on Hungarian photography,
delaying its social and official recognition, and slowing
down its artistic development 6 .
Photography was discussed during four sessions of the
Hungarian Academy of Sciences, between 1840 and 1844.
The first photographs of which we have sure knowledge
were also made there. They were taken at the session of
Figure 5. Lip6t Strelisky: Self-portrait, around 1867. (In the
archives oj the Museum Jor Science and Technology, Budapest.)
reotyp which stirred a great political storm in Hungary. It
had absolutely nothing to do with photography, but
criticized the general situation of Hungary. The title was
merely a synonym for something which the author con-
sidered to be accurate and true.
Hungary's first professional photographer was Jakab
Marastoni (1804-1860), a portrait painter who came from
Venice and established himself in Pest in 1836. He started
his photographic studio in June 1841. The exposure time
of his picture, as stated on his advertisements, was then
two minutes. In July he managed to reduce it to eight

H,STORY OF PHOTOGRAPHY. VOLUME 2, NUMBER 1, JANUARY 1978 55

 Karoly Karlovits
Ober dl.
Ergebnisse
cd nJ gor
dioptriscber UnterslIcimngen.
---
VO"
Downloaded by [University of Sherbrooke] at 23:08 11 April 2015
PESTB,l 43. •
Verla" lOn onrad Adolph lIartleben.
Figure 6. The title-page oj 'Bericht , by J6zseJ Petzval
(Pest, 1843).
seconds, probably through the application of bromide
compounds and Petzval's fixed focus lens (Figure 3).
After some ~onths, he cut down the prices of his photo-
graphs from Fts 10.00 (equal to the price of approximately
25 kg wheat) to Fts 5.00. The public of Pest could admire
Marastoni's photographs in the window of a book-store.
Of his pictures, we know only the copy of a group
photograph with three figures. It was taken in 1841, and
all traces of the original have been lost. In the Pest Exhi-
bition of Fine Arts of1842, he showed twenty photographs,
without displaying any paintings.
Through Marastoni's advertisements and news items
in the papers it is easy to trace his activity. Of the con-
temporary Hungarian photographers he was mentioned
most often, because in 1841 he concerned himself with the
organization of the Painters' Academy, and this became a
national cause. It is likely that he taught photography
at his academy from the mid-1840s onward. In 1847 his
academy was mentioned as a Painting and Daguerreotypy
College.
In the spring of 1842, Marastoni went on business to
the Hungarian Diet at Pozsony (today Bratislava in
Czechoslovakia). Later in the same year he visited the
Transylvanian Diet at Kolozsvar (today Cluj, in Rumania).
He painted portraits and made photographs in both places,
in particular making nearly 100 daguerreotypes at
Kolozsvar. It is possible that some of his pictures will yet
56
come to light in these two towns. In recogllltlOn of his
merits, the Freedom of the Town of Pest was conferred on
him. After the 1848-49 War of Independence, Marastoni's
academy could not survive, and he himself ceased to take
photographs. He lived in very reduced circumstances, and
supported himself by painting portraits till his death in
1860.
The first Pest studio was soon followed by others.
One belonging to Ferenc Tarsch opened in June 1842, but
existed only for a short time, as did Khogler's studio,
which opened in 1843. Similarly, the daguerreotypist
Stuhr who came in that very year from Berlin managed to
run his studio only for some months. He must have been
skilled, because the contemporary papers paid tribute
both to his pictures and to the gold toning he adopted.
Moreover, the Hungarian Academy of Sciences invited
him to deliver a lecture. The daguerreotypist Kawalky, a
27
ken \Ver lb e der f)reebnog sv erh;;llni ~se der
Cill7.elul'n BCMl8odlinsen.
Nell nl IImll demna II die_en Krnm;nllllg~II.lblne8~~r
n, die Brennweileu der einzelnco Linsen p, p', p... .. .,
·die ihnen clIlsprecbe nden Brecllllllgsill uices D, D', 0" ... ;
~I) i '1 dem 311sgcsprocllenco Salze nach:
2)1_1 t · 1
R - ;p + nlpl + n"fl" + ....
Willman Q;lIncllllich ein ebenes Bild,~' d'elll R =co 0111-
.pri,·hl , ,,0
ist:
3) ~
"P
+~
hP
+.;,... + ... : =0
• p
sOlllit cine gewi •• e Arl von Glcichgewicllt lIocl,welldig
"'wi~c11cn 8""lIlIel- lind ZerSlrenungslillsclI . Eiu Vber-
ue wichl \'uo eile tlcr cr len gibt ein gcgen daB Li"sen-
"y~lelll lIIit de. CO II."''''CII 8fiie g~ke hrle geboaenes BilJ,
1i.lIs e in niches na·1t der letzlen Brcchll"g auel. wirk-
l iell 7. 11 Staude killlllllt, ulld IIl1tgekeltrt, wenn d.s Oberl
gewichl auf die eile cler Zer~lreuulIgsliosell milt, ~t)
isl dUB Bild wieder gekrull1mt, jedoch lIIit der couvc"en
Sci Ie der J .iusencolltbioatiou zu ewclldet.
n er KrnlllllluugsItalbme ser n is t sOlllit gall'" unnb-
tie r del' bc::idcn FUicbcn bcdcuten. fJl c"e BrcnnwcJlc lsi l!Ionlll
\"00 de" ••Inscndickc unnbhii ngtgJ und 1m allgcmelticn ,'CI"-
lIt1hl~den \'on derVcrfllnlguilgJlwcitc pualJeler Slr.lllcD. VieJ-
lelchl Btlbtinl deuhaJb die 8cnl!onuog BrennweUo rucbt glln)",
An lhrem PI.,zc j lIie bar aber beklll'lntUch I!ogar in dell Ble-
IIIcnten &ehon UDrgerrcoht cr.bIUeD J uad dilrric demnaeh 011110
Soth niCibt dutcb cine andero za er.-etzon eOYD. ,
Figure 7. Page 27 oj 'Bericht , by J6zseJ Petzval (Pest,
1843).
former goldsmith who also worked in Stuhr's studio and
who had been taught by two English travellers, set up a
studio of his own at the beginning of 1844. We know of
the rivalry between Stuhr and Kawalky, carried on in the
columns of the papers. It ended with the liquidation of
Stuhr's business. One of the papers gave a most graphic
description of the work done in Kawalky's studio, which
was still in existence in 1861.
Lip6t Strelisky, founder of one of the best-known
H,STORY OF PHOTOGRAPHY, VOLUME 2, NUMBER 1, JANUARY 1978
 Early Photography in Eastern Europe: Hungary

Independence, and it is likely, therefore, that he left the

country afterwards. The facts cannot now be checked, but
contemporary papers wrote about him as follows: 'Wh~n
the English Talbot had not even the slightest idea of this
invention [talbotypy], Mr Kramolin had already come
close to completing his own process. This can be cor-
roborated by the fact that Mr Kramolin's photographs
are not brown at all like those made with Talbot's
methods. s' Talbot's priority cannot be denied, because
we have no knowledge of the various phases and times of
Kramolin's experiments, yet it is also possible that this
well-trained chemist might have worked quite inde-
pendently.
In the history of Hungarian photography a special
place is held by Transylvania (today part of Rumania).
This is explained by the economic and political circum-
stances of the territory, which was subject to indirect rule
from Vienna. We cannot properly speak of a Transyl-
vanian 'school' of photography; but individual daguerreo-
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typists made experiments with the different processes and

tried to develop them for themselves. A feature ofTransyl-
vanian photography was its amateurism; few among the
first daguerreotypists were professional photographers.
Daguerreotypy probably reached Transylvania in
the summer of 1840, through the Counts Bethlen who
brought with them from Paris some photographs taken by
Daguerre. These pictures excited admiration and interest,
Figure 8. J6zseJ Petzval: The title-page oj'Zsaddny Physics', as mentioned in the memoirs of the land-owner Baron
with Ermenyi's handwriting. (Manuscripts of the Hungarian Karoly Apor (1815-82). Apor himself had mastered the
Academy of Sciences.) technique of making pictures from Marastoni, who had
come to Transylvania to take photographs at the 1842
Diet, and from whom Apor purchased his equipment.
early studios in Pest, was a goldsmith when he first began However, it was a landowner from Enyed (today Aiud in
to make daguerreotypes as an apprentice of Kawalky Rumania) called Mikl6s Zeyk senior (1780-1850) whom the
(Figure 4). Relying on foreign examples, he adopted pro- Transylvanians esteemed as their master. Zeyk took his
cedures for toning and retouching. He also took pictures doctor's degree at Goettingen and, after returning to
of extremely small sizes, which he delivered to clients, Transylvania, retired to his estate. He made daguerreotypes
mounted in medallions and rings (Figure 5) . After 1848 he with his home-made camera, and photography remained
introduced calotypy, and from 1850 he was probably the his favourite pastime until his death. According to a state-
only photographer to take stereo-daguerreotypes in ment by one of his contemporaries, he was one of the
Hungary. His pictures of the Hungarian generals and initiators of the positive-negative process, but it has been
their staff during the war of independence have historical impossible to check this.
value. His studio, passing from father to son, was operated Among the pupils of Zeyk was a landowner, Elek
for nearly 80 years. Buda (about 1812-90), who also interested himself in
In 1845 Adam Gola, one time maker of artificial daguerreotypy from the 1840s onward. In the 1860-70s
flowers, started his daguerreotype studio at Buda. He his photochemical formulae were widely known. Other
made a practice of tinting his pictures. His business teemed pupils of Zeyk were: Count Zsigmond Kornis, Count
with prominent customers. On 28th August 1846 in the Imre Mik6, the painter and photographer Hug6 Szegedi
courtyard of the famous sculptor Istvan Ferenczy (1792- Maszak (1831-1916), and two travelling daguerreotypists
1856), he took a series of 16 photographs of Ferenczy's from Transylvania, Lajos Mezey (1820-80) and Mikl6s
master moulds before they were smashed to pieces. This Sik6. A well-known photographer was Karoly Budai, a
picture-cycle constitutes a significant relic of Hungarian former goldsmith from Enyed. It was at his studio that
art and photographic history 7. The etcher J6zsef Heller, Ferenc Veress (1832-1916), who later achieved a world-
working until 1861, was also a daguerreotypist at Buda. wide reputation for his colour photography (heliochromy),
We must also mention Alajos Kramolin (1812-1892), started his career. Another Transylvanian was Karoly
an early Hungarian talbotypist of the 1840s. His father Szatm~ri Pap (1813-87), a painter and daguerreotypist
started a drug-store at Buda in 1817. Alajos Kramolin, who, at the invitation of Rumania's Count Bibescu, started
an amateur photographer, took his pharmacist's degree in a photographic studio in Bucharest in the autumn of 1843.
Pest, in 1832. As is shown by his self-portraits, he served He achieved great success with his photographic re-
as a member of the national guard during the War of portage of the 1854-56 Crimean War.

HISTORY OF PHO TOGRAPHY, VOLUM E 2, NUMBER I, JANUARY 1978 57

 Karoly Karlovits
THE LITERATURE OF PHOTOGRAPHY
IN HUNGARY
Zimmermann's book (1840) and newspaper reports on
early photography have already been mentioned, but it is
important now to discuss the work of J6zsef Petzval
(1807-91) (Figure 6), which constitutes a part of the
classical literature on photographic history, and is still
frequently referred to. Petzval's book 9 was published in
Pest, the town where he achieved his first successes as a
young man in 1843 10 ,11. His seemingly insignificant book
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Figure 9. J6zseJ Petzval: A page from the manuscript of' Zsaddny Physics', with an illustration of the camera obscura.
of about sixty pages deals with the history of his famous
lens. It is also a milestone of applied science, because it is
one of the first works concerned with mathematical
optics l2 and gives a clear and closely reasoned account of
the mathematical design of optical systems. It was in this
book that he described for the first time the so-called
+
Petzval condition [1/nl1 1/nl2 + ... = 0]' that is used
even today for the design of astigmatic lenses (Figure 7).
His work on the lens was done in 1840 though, by that
time, the Frenchman Chevalier had actually made a
device of almost comparable efficiency by empirical
methods. Petzval's contemporaries did not fully appre-
ciate l3 his scientific achievements in optics, and his merits
have been widely recognized only recently. He is now
regarded as among the greatest scientists of the 19th
century, and his memory has been honoured by bestowing
his name on a lunar surface feature.
From 1843 to 1847, the Hungarian Istvan Krusper
(1818-1905) was chief assistant to S. Stampfer, professor of
geometry at the Polytechnisches Institut of Vienna.
Krusper was also engaged in developing the photographic
object-lens (1845-47). His researches were aimed primarily
at determining the exact refractive index of optical
glasses l4 , since only in this way was it possible to produce
lenses of greater efficiency. He had been considered as
a likely successor to the ailing S. Stampfer, but the out-
break of Hungary's War of Independence ruled this out.
58
He therefore returned to Hungary in 1850 as a university
professor at Pest, where he achieved an international
reputation ls .
Before the War of Independence, the population of
Budapest was about 100000. Apart from the professional
photographers already mentioned, it had a number of
amateurs. In the mid-1840s the bigger provincial towns
likewise had daguerreotypists: Vilmos Beck, a goldsmith
and lithographer, started a studio at Szombathely; Krisztian
Wagner, an optician, did the same at Sopron. Itinerant
photographers were also to be found.
Pioneering work was carried out by a daguerreotypist
(probably the engineer Janos Varsanyi) who wandered
through the country, in order to make illustrations for a
quarterly journal, which had been started by Imre Vahot
in 1846 under the title A Magyar Fold es Nepei, which
means The Land of Hungary and its People. The actual
photographs have been lost, but the quarterly published
lithographic prints made on the basis of these daguer-
reotypes. These were faithful presentations of ancient
monuments, first of Sopron, later also of other provincial
towns. Thanks to the democratic spirit of that time and
widespread interest in the life of the common people,
we have photographs of the family of J6ska Sobri, the
famous outlaw, as well as of an old Sopron bell-ringer.
These were probably the first ethnographic pictures made
in Hungary (1847).
By the end of the 18405 daguerreotypy had conquered
the Hungarian capital. We have data on the trade in, and
production of, photographic equipment during these
years. Among others, Istvan Calderoni, who had started
his shop for optical instruments in 1819, also sold cameras
and photographic accessories. As the agent in Hungary of
the Viennese firm, Voigtlander, he sold primarily Petzval-
Voigtlander cameras. In 1843, following a controversy
in the columns of the local papers, Walko's store became
the V oigtlander depot in Pest. The first photographic lens
of Hungarian manufacture, as far as we know, was made
HISTORY OF PHOTOGRAPHY , VOLUME 2 , NUMBER l , jANUARY 1978
 Early Photography in Eastern Europe: Hungary

Hungarian nation adopted passive resistance. Political and

~. r: q;.Wu\ Y)J,,~J' r
economic oppression was relaxed only in the second half
of the 1860s, following Austria's defeat by Prussia at
Koeniggraetz in 1866, and the 'Compromise of 1867'
",,~z..r ~ between Austria and Hungary.
_*to .\t....,\.~ ~..) Among those who went into exile, some were
daguerreotypists. A few returned to Hungary after the
~.'!, h~ .. storm of the Austrian reprisals had subsided, others made
C",,', their fortune abroad, making good use of their Hungarian
training. Others still learned photography abroad during
their years of exile, and adopted it professionally in
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Figure 10. J6zseJ Petzval: from the title-page of Petzval's

unpublished manuscript of 185813 . (In the Central Library of
the Budapest Technical University')

in 1843 by the optician Janos Fajth for A. Jedlik, because

Jedlik was not satisfied with the simple lens of his camera
constructed in Vienna 16 . In 1845, J. Fajth began to make
cameras in partnership with the instrument maker Antal
Nuss who had acquired a high reputation. At the
beginning of the 1850s the Oswald Brothers sold French
chemicals and silvered photographic plates. They were
helped by new regulations: from 1846, daguerreotype
plates were exempt from earlier customs regulations which
had been aimed at tightening up the importation of silver
goods.
In the aftermath of Hungary' s War of Independence,
the leaders of the revolution were cruelly treated. Several
patriots were executed by the Austrians and, fearing
reprisals, an even greater number had to leave the country.
The bustling political life was over and the development of
Hungary's economic life came to a sudden standstill. The

Figure 12. L4jos Mezey: Self-portrait with daughter (1852),

Figure 11. Istvan Krusper: Test chart for lenses, 1846. (In the daguerreotype (after Kreilsheim).
archives of the Museum for Science and Technology, Budapest.)
Hungary on their return. Among the first Hungarian
photographers forced to go into exile were Antal Vallas,
Karoly Nagy, and Lajos Kramolin.
. In Hungary, as elsewhere in Europe, the wet plate
process replaced daguerreotypy by the end of the 1850s.
In 1860, twenty-four professional photographers are
known to have been active in Pest-Buda. No daguer-

111111111111111111111111Ij~
reo typists were among them. As to the former daguerreo-
typists, only the studios of Strelinszky, Kawalky, and
Heller kept operating, but by that time they too had
switched over to the wet plate process.
The Viennese-born Johan Baptist Clarot (1795-1854),
a painter and lithographer, was the first to start a studio in
Pest after the suppression of the War of Independence
(1851). He was also among the first to adopt the wet plate

HISTORY OF PHO TOGRAPHY , VOLUME 2, NUMBER 1, JAN UARY 1978 59

 Karoly Karlovits
Figure 13. Anonymous: Portrait oj
Miklos Konkoly Thege, aged 11
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(1856), daguerreotype (after Kreil-
sheim).
process in Hungary. In 1853 Janos Tiedge began to make
photographs. His pictures are renowned for their fine
sense of character and their brilliant retouching. At the
1862 World Exhibition of London, where photography
was for the first time a separate section, a certificate of
merit was awarded to him for his series on Hungarian
national costumes.
Antal Simonyi (1821-92), one of the greatest Hun-
garian photographers in the 19th century, started his
studio in Pest in 1855. After taking an engineering degree
in Pest (1842), he went to the Vienna Art School and from
there to Italy and France. In Paris, probably under the
influence of Fourier, with whom he had a personal
connection, he became acquainted with Utopian socialism,
and there also he mastered photography. In 1847 he re-
turned to Hungary and for a long time devoted himself to
painting. In 1852 he and his comrades from Pest were
arrested but, through the self-sacrifice of one, Simonyi,
and his followers went unpunished. As an engineer and a
painter he was equally versed in the world of technology
and the arts. He was destined to express his conceptions of
art in photography, relying on optical and chemical laws.
He started his career as a professional photographer with a
gold medal, which he had received at the 1855 world
Exhibition held in Paris for his invention of 'instantaneous
photography'. His first studio was built in 1855 (Figure 16).
It was a small one, and he took pictures in a glass hall on
the second Boor. An explosion burned his studio to the
60
ground in 1864, but he soon built a larger one in which
several photographs could be taken simultaneously.
Simonyi's career reached its peak in the mid-1860s when
he had a chain of studios in the country, a rapid expansion
due largely to his prompt adoption of technological
innovations. Following Disderi, Simonyi began to make
photographs in the shape of calling cards, and he also
introduced negative retouching. He worked in all branches
of photography then known. One of his outstanding
works, because of its historical interest, is an album of
members of the 1861 Diet, consisting of 360 portraits. This
Diet was dissolved by military force for defying the coun-
try's amalgamation with the Austrian Empire. The pictures
show exceptionally sharp characterization (Figure 17).
Simonyi also photographed the men who, having par-
ticipated in the War of Independence, were imprisoned
or went into exile to escape the gallows. A significant
landmark in his career was a lecture delivered at the
Hungarian Academy of Sciences in 1859. In this Simonyi
talked about the future of photography, and all his predic-
tions were later realized.
The number of professional photographers in Pest
was increasing year by year; in 1858 there were 14; by
1865 the number had risen to 27. As a result of all this
competition, Simonyi's studio incurred growing losses.
In 1872 the Association of Hungarian Photographers
elected Simonyi as their first president, recognizing him as
a photographer of highest standing. Though his photo-
HISTORY OF PHOTOGRAPHY , VO LUME 2. N U MBER 1, J ANUAR Y 1978
 Early Photography in Eastern Europe: Hungary

graphs were shown again at the Wodd Exhibition of partners also made photographs of real artistic value.
Vienna in 1873, the financial collapse of his firm could not Within a short time they were talked about as two of
be averted. Budapest's best photographers. Beside portraits, they also
The first professional woman photographer in Budapest took photographs of horsemen and carriages, and ran a
was Karolina Werner who established her studio in 1858. private photographers' school, headed by a pharmacist,
In the 1860s, a number of painters, driven to it by J6zsef Szentkuthy. All their employees became photo-
financial worries, opened photographic studios. Many, graphers of good reputation when, eventually, they
even some of high reputation, gave up their brush for the established their own businesses. For four years (1869-73),
camera, both in the capital and the provincial towns. the Borsos-Doctor studio was managed by Karoly Koller
Among them was Mikl6s Barabas (1810-98), one of the (1838-89), a photographer and former teacher of drawing
greatest Hungarian painters in the mid 19th century, who had been operating a studio of his own in the country
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Figure 14. Anonymous: Portrait oj Mrs Daniel Gerhardt KiralyJalvi, around 1855. Hand-coloured stereodaguerreotype. (In the
collection oj the Museum Jor Science and Technology, Budapest.) .

who played an important role in making Pest the centre of since 1861, and who later (1873) again made himself
Hungary's artistic life. He was primarily a portraitist, independent in Budapest. His first successes were at the
noted for meticulous and conscientious work. But after Vienna Wodd Exhibition. In contrast to the tasteless
the suppression of Hungary's war of independence, an photographic practice of that time, his portraits strove for
inner crisis and a diminishing number of customers a more natural style, less 'embellished' by retouching.
induced him to work as a professional photographer Calmness is the characteristic mood of his pictures. His
(1862-64). In due course he became life-president of the clients were generally from the upper classes. He retired in
Union of Fine Arts. 1889, decorated with several medals. His studio passed to
There were other painter-photographers. J6zsef his assistants, who retained Koller's name and kept the
Borsos (1821-83), after a successful painter's career in business running for decades.
Vienna, started a studio together with Albert Doctor In the capital, some large photographic studios were
(1818-83). It was run on a commercial basis, but the also founded in the 1860s. They had several employees

HISTORY OF PHOTOGRAPHY, VOLUME 2, NUMBER 1, JANUARY 1978 61

 Karoly Karlovits
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Figure 15. Anonymous: Pest, the guard-house of the Kecskemet Gate, around 1855 (after Kreilsheim).
and were engaged in mass production with up-to-date
equipment. Thus, the playing-card maker Gyorgy Mayer
(1817-?) established a studio of this kind in 1856. He
was known for doing cheap but good work. During the
18605 he had three chain stores and studios in Pest and one
studio in Graz (Austria), another one in Zagreb (today in
Yugoslavia) and yet another in Belgrade (then in Serbia,
today in Yugoslavia). Similarly, Ignac Strecker opened a
studio in 1863 which, in its heyday, employed ten workers.
Strecker took some series of photographs of historical
value which were published in album form. Another such
studio belonged to Ferenc K6zmata (1856-1902). When
young, K6zmata worked as a telegraph officer, and learned
photography from Antal Simonyi (Figure 22). First he set
himself up in the country in 1863, later he moved to Pest
and started a studio there. The 1870s were the climax of his
career; at that time he took 6-7000 photographs annually.
His name is also linked with the invention of the picture
postcard. He could not exploit the idea in Hungary, and
so he later sold it in France (1880). His blockmaker's
workshop employed 25 photo-engravers. He photo-
graphed members of the house of Hapsburg, posing in
tail-coats and stove-pipe hats. His works were reviewed in
the foreign press by H. W. Vogel, the dye-sensitization
pioneer. Later he lost his fortune in speculative transac-
tions, and died in a poorhouse.
Zincography was introduced in Hungary by Antal
Weinwurm. Gyorgy Klosz, a photographer and former
pharmacist, took views of Budapest squares and streets
62
at the beginning of the 1860s (Figure 23). He went round
the town, accompanied by two or three assistants, and his
dark-room was set up in a horse-drawn carriage. Later he
also founded a photo mechanical workshop. One of
Hungary's most cultured 19th century photographers
was Karoly Divald (1830-97), who had come from the
Rhineland (Figure 24). He started his studio at Eperjes
(today Prdov, in Czechoslovakia). In the summer he used
to take photographs of holiday makers in the Tatra Moun-
tains. On his photographic expeditions to the peaks of the
High Tatras (Vysoke Tatry in today's Czechoslovakia),
he would take a team of between ten and fifteen men.
His pictures were displayed in 1875 at exhibitions of the
Karpat Association. Divald was the founder of the first
Hungarian photo typic institute. In 1886 he employed
eighteen workers, and by that time he used a high-speed
printing machine, with which he supplied picture post-
cards even to the smallest villages of the country. He moved
to Budapest just before the turn of the century. His son
continued'his studio, which was operated up to the 1940s.
Of the provincial towns, Sopron was among the first
to become a centre of photography. Sandor Tiefbrunner
worked there from 1862 to 1875, and Mihaly Rupprecht's
studio was started in 1863. Ferenc Knebel, a pharmacist
from Szombathely, took photographs from 1860 and was
decorated with several foreign and Hungarian medals.
He also produced and sold dry-plates from 1874 onward.
Sindot Beszedes from Esztergom founded his studio in
1868. He worked mostly for museums and libraries, and
H,STORY OF PHOTOGRAPHY, VOLUME 2, NUMBER 1, JANUARY 1978
 Early Photography in Eastern Europe.' Hungary

l
' a....
1-1 ~r-__~~I--""-Ij~It.I_ _-f! /~ . .,44 r$.u-<" .
' .' . ..' . ,f' t .1 - 1_ _ _

Figure 16. The ground-plan of Antal Simonyi's studio, after a drawing enclosed with the 1855 building permit.

photographed the excavations at Vise grad in 1874. One of Council of the Governor-General invited the Association
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the original publications of his photomechanical printing of Fine Arts to give an expert opinion of photography. On
shop was a series of Diirer's engravings (1871). Antal the committee, apart from some painters, there was only
Pribek and Agost Biilch worked at Szekesfehervar, a town one art historian, namely Imre Henlszmann, the author of
in Central Hungary, and the firm o(Zelensy was active
at Pees. We also have knowledge of several other photo-
graphers who were active in the capital, as well as in the Figure 17. Antal Simonyi: Portrait of Antal Gubicz, a manu-
country in the 1860s. Their works have been preserved on facturer of agricultural machines, after 1865. (In the archives of
the cartes-de-visite produced in large quantities. On their the Museum for Science and Technology, Budapest.)
backs we can see the photographers' letterheads with
ornaments, which was a style of that time. Itinerant
photographers could also be found in the country. There
were some highly cultured, literary persons among them,
great enthusiasts, who described the hard life of the ,
itinerant photographer in diary form.
The principal supplier of photographic instruments
was the firm of Calderoni, known from the earliest
daguerreotype days. Calderoni was the first to undertake
the importation and sale of Austrian and French cameras.
Later, he was the means of getting English-made cameras
into the hands of Hungarian photographers. With the
spread of amateur photography, increasing numbers of
Kodak cameras appeared in Hungary from the 1890s
onward. By the turn of the century, the German Ernemann
a1?-d Goerz types came to replace the cameras made in
Austria. Some very good and beautiful studio cameras,
made of wood, were manufactured in Hungary. They were
made in Mihaly Simon's photographic joinery and were
sold by the Calderoni Company. When customers re-
quired it, the cameras were equipped with lenses imported
from abroad (1890). In the 1860s photochemical reagents
could be purchased only at certain pharmacies. The produc-
tion of dry plates was started rather early; by 1882 there
were two dry plate factories in Budapest, offering the
entire range of sizes. According to contemporary opinions,
their plates were in no way inferior in quality to the
available foreign plates.
Official art critics and art associations were biased
against photography in Hungary. Photography was not
mentioned either in the temporary trade law of1852 or the
final one of 1859, so that it was classified as a professipn
which could be exercised without restriction. In 1867 the

HISTORY OF PHOTOGRAPHY, VOLUME 2, NUMBER 1, JANUARY 1978 63

 Karoly Karlovits
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Figure 19. Albert Doctor: Portrait of photographer JozseJ

Borsos (1821-1883), around 1863 (cifter Kreilsheim).

Figure 20. JozseJ Borsos: Portrait of a lady around 1865 (after

Kreilsheim) .
Figure 18. Mikl6s Barabas: Portrait of watchmaker Samuel
Kralik (1825-1885).

the devastating criticism written in 1841. According to

the opinion of the jury, which was heavily biased in favour
of painters: ' ... photography is open to artistic correction,
retouching or colouring; it can obtain the stature of an
applied art only after [such] correction, and due to its
reproducible character it jeopardizes the copyright of the
products of fine art ... '. For a long time this damning ,
verdict influenced the attitude of official circles towards
photography. As a consequence, the Hungarian industrial
laws of 1872 and 1894 both again designated photography
as a trade that could be exercised freely without any par-
ticular qualifications. This permitted bunglers, with only
a smattering of knowledge, to mingle with professional
photographers, so detracting from the reputation of the
outstanding experts. This explains why it was only after
considerable delay that the first photographers' association
could be founded in 1871. By this time, in other places,
for example in neighbouring Vienna, photographers had
already set up their well-run associations. However, in
1871, the Society of Hungarian Photographers was
-. -- --- ~ - ...'"\. ~
.- ... -
established by an enthusiatic group, which planned the
organization of exhibitions and the publication of a
bilingual (German-Hungarian) professional journal, aimed
at promoting the further training of photographers,
especially of those living in the provinces. But because of

64 HISTORY OF PHOTOGRAPHY, VOLUME 2, NUMBER 1, JANUARY 1978

 Early Photography in Eastern Europe: Hungary

lack of wider support, the association came to a sudden end, graphic aesthetics by Professor Aladar Sarffy (1858-1900),
and the journal ceased. in which he championed the recognition of artistic values
Meanwhile the number of photographers continued in photographs.
to increase. According to the 1880 statistics, the number of The development of technical literature in the
professionals totalled nearly 550, of whom 275 were master Hungarian language was greatly promoted by the de-
craftsmen with their own businesses. The foundation of a velopment of amateurism. Twelve special books appeared
new association was made more urgent by the fact that in between the mid-1880s and the end of the century. The
1872 the government, following the American example, first was On Photography by Professor Armin Ring (1884).
wanted to levy a stamp tax on the photographs. A Bill A well-formulated book by Zoltan Kiss, written for
was presented in 1883, but never passed. A new protective amateurs, came out in six up-dated editions until 19162 °.
organization was therefore set up, called the 'Self-training Two Hungarian astrophotographers also made notable
and Lend-a-Hand Club of Young Photographers'. Besides
further training, it envisaged provision for the sick,
unemployment insurance and an employment exchange.
This association, modifying its rules and name from time
to time, existed until the end of the First World War
(1918). The club was especially helped in 1897 by a most
generous endowment, made by the Photographers'
Co-operative Society, the interest on which was used as
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prizes and awards in various competitions. This society

was an association of nine leading Budapest photographic
firms, especially established in order to execute photo-
graphic works in connection with the celebrations com-
memorating Hungary's millennium (1896).-
The technical literature in Hungary came into being
only after considerable delay, in the 1870s. The Hungarian
Academy of Sciences was first to recognize this deficiency.
In 1859 it offered a prize of 70 gold-pieces to the person
who would compile a manual of some new branches of
industry, photography included. A prize essay was
published in 1865 17. Its author, academician Lajos Bard6cz
treated the contemporary situation of photography with
firm knowledge and a clear and easy style. A photo-
chemical book had already been published in 1863 by the
pharmacist Laszl6 Tamasvary18; and the publication of
two technical journals began somewhat later: Fenykepeszeti
Lapok (Photographic Papers) in 1872, followed by Fenykepe-
szeti Kozlony (Photographic Bulletin) in 1886. Both
periodicals were published in Hungarian and German.
The scarcity of technical publications was explained by
the fact that, at the time, a very large number of Hun-
garians spoke German. Hungarian publications appeared
only in a small number of copies, and so could not com- Figure 21. Karoly Koller: Portrait of a lady, around 1880
pete in price with those published in neighbouring Vienna. (after Kreilsheim).
After the 1860s the direction of photographic journals
passed more and more from the Hungarian Academy of
Sciences to the 'Society of Natural Sciences'. The society contributions to the literature. Photography by Jena Gothard
published articles on photography in its bulletin, and also (1890) was a popular compendium of the scientific photo-
reviewed international news items. Its publishing house graphy of the age, while Introduction to Photography by
produced several works in Hungarian19 . In 1882 yet Mikl6s Konkoly-Thege (1891) was a work for amateurs,
another journal called Fenykepeszeti Lapok (Photographic written with a scientific slant. The spread of the amateur
Papers) was started by its editor-in-chief and proprietor movement was also marked by the publication of seven
Ferenc Veress, a photographer from Kolozsvar. It was periodicals.
the most important journal of the period, and published The first organization of amateur photographers was
both technical studies of high standard, and articles for the Hungarian Karpat Association founded in 1873 at
beginners. It dealt with the problems both of the Hun- Otatrafiired (today Starf Smokovec in Czechoslovakia).
garian photographic industry and of amateurs; it advo- Among its purposes was the scientific exploration of the
cated the setting up of a vocational school, and suggest~d Carpathian Mountains, which could not have been
that a photographic museum be established. In this carried out without photography. A Budapest section was
journal there appeared studies on the problems of photo- established in due course; this was the first association to

HISTORY OF PHOTOGRAPHY, VOLUME 2, NUMBER 1, JANUARY 1978 65

 Karoly Karlovits

orgamze an exhibition of amateur photography in

Hungary.
On the mltlatlve of Professor Vince Wartha the
Circle of Amateur Photographers was organized in 1893
and it was followed (1899) by the Budapest photo Club.
The first President of the Club, which existed until 1937,
was Count Mihaly Esterhazy (1853-1906). Photographic
associations were also formed in provincial towns at the
turn of the century. The first among them was the Arad
Amateur Club, which organized a national exhibition
in the very year of its foundation. Amateur photographers
from Budapest also took part, led by Professor Baron
Lorand E6tv6s, the famous physicist.
Among Hungary's amateurs, there were several who
excelled, primarily in the field of scientific photography.
One of the first was Pal Rosty (1830-79), a product of his
time. After the War of Independence he pursued ethno-
graphical and archaeological studies in the Netherlands.
He could not draw, and therefore set out to learn photo-
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graphy in Paris. Then he left for Central America, with

the hope of gaining honour and reputation for his
country in exploration. He recorded his 1856-58 journey
in 41 large-size pictures21 , the works of an amateur with
artistic inclinations. Their value is enhanced by their being
made in highly unfavourable circumstances. The book on
his journey (1861) was illustrated merely with engra- :.
vings made from the photographs.
Another renowned traveller of that time, who also
took photographs, was M6r Dechy (1851-1917), explorer KOlMATA HREIICL.
of the Caucasus. The pictures he made during his expedi-
tion to the Himalayas in 1877 appeared in geographical
journals throughout the world, and were highly regarded
for their aesthetic and technical qualities. Count Mihaly
Esterhazy himself began his career as an explorer. Accord- Figure 22. Ferenc K6zmata: Portrait of song-writer Kalman
ing to his contemporaries, he returned from his 1872 Simonffy (1832-1881), 1873. (In the Archives oJthe Museum
expedition to the Sudan with 100 precious photographs. for Science and Technology, Budapest.)
He also took a well known 'instantaneous' photograph
(Figure 27) in Hungary in 1885. Janos Varsanyi, the secondary school teacher. These men were also the first
engineer who had made daguerreotypes of landscapes and who succeeded in making 'Schlieren' photographs of the
monuments in 1846 also made photographs in the mid- supersonic (438 m/sec) bullet of an infantry gun and of the
1850s for Imre Vachot's album in Hungary, and he assisted air waves developed by the projectile. They took about
Janos Erdi in his archaeological studies. An amateur, the 80 photographs, as described in the columns of the con-
pharmacist Gy6rgy Stupa, recorded the excavation of temporary Hungarian press by Sandor Riegler 24 .
13th century buildings at Visegrad during 1857-62. Astrophotography also had two outstanding pioneers
Baron Lorand E6tv6s (1848-1919), was a physicist of in Hungary at a time when only a few experiments had
international reputation at the turn of the century, and a been made in this field anywhere in the world. The first
passionate tourist who took artistic land~cape photo- astrophotographer was Mikl6s Konkoly Thege (1842-
graphs in the course of his journeys23. Similarly, Lajos 1916), an astronomer and all-round scientist. He built an
L6czy, the geographer, and Otto Hermann, the orni- observatory at his own expense at Ogyalla and began
thologist and ethnographer, illustrated their books with astronomic observations there in 1869. In 1874 he began
their own photographs, as well as with engravings made work on the spectral analysis of stars. From the late 1870s
from such records. onward he concerned himself with the wider application
It was indeed from amateur photography that of photography in the field of astronomy, and summarized
scientific photography in Hungary developed toward the his experience in a book published in German in 1887
end of the 19th century. Pictures of a rifle bullet at super- under the title Praktische Anleitung zur Himmelsphoto-
sonic speed were taken in Hungary's Fiume (today Rijeka graphie (Halle a.S.). This book is one of the classics of
in Yugoslavia) in 1884 to assist the researches of Professor E. astrophotography. At the turn of the century nearly every
Mach of Prague. They caused a sensation among physicists astronomical work quoted from it. Konkoly Thege also
at the time. The pictures were actually made by p. Salcher, designed astrophotographic and measurement equipment.
a teacher at the Naval Academy, and Sandor Riegler, a Between 1883 and 1890 he wrote three books on

66 HISTORY OF PHOTOGRAPHY, VOLUME 2, NUMBER 1, JANUARY 1978

 Early Photography in Eastern Europe: Hungary
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Figure 23. Anonymous: Flood in Budapest, 1876.

Figure 24. Karoly Divald: Karoly Divald and his employees in 1865. They are dressed in the Hungarian
national fashion of that time. This was in itself a protest against the Hapsburg oppression. (After Kreilsheim.)

H,STORY Of PHOTOGRAPHY, VOLUME 2, NUMBER 1, JANUARY 1978 67

 Karoly Karlovits
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Figure 25. Anonymous: The Buda Castle around 1870 (after Kreilsheim).
astronomy, primarily on instrument technology. Some
1500 of his negatives have survived and bear witness to
his photographic skill. His photographs of lightning are
particularly beautiful. In recognition of his activities, he
was elected vice-president of the international photo
exhibition held in Trieste in 1882, and Vienna's photo-
graphische Gesellschaft awarded him first and second
prizes2s .
One of Miklos Konkoly Thege's friends was the
landowner Jena Gothard (1857-1909)26 who started work
in 1881, also in an observatory equipped at his own
expense. Gothard's interest was drawn from the outset to
astrophotography. In due course he discovered, by means
of photography, the central star of the annular nebula in
the constellation of Lyra. News of the discovery was re-
ceived with scepticism in professional circles, which chose
to regard the evidence, even in repeated photographs, as
plate faults. A year later, visual observations proved
Gothard correct. With this work he established for ever
the value of photography in astronomy. International
recognition followed: he was elected a member of both the
Royal Astronomical Society and the Astronomische
Gesellschaft. At the 1887 photographic exhibition held in
Vienna, he was awarded the highest honours . But the
significance of his work is reflected in the opinion ofH. C.
Vogel, the well-known astronomer: ' . . . Gothard's nebula
photographs bear witness to the fact that even relatively
small photographic instruments can yield results which
overshadow all that could be achieved previously by
visual means ... 27, Gothard also became prominent in the
68
field of astronomic spectrophotography, using instruments
which he had himself designed. In this way he took a
photograph (with an exposure time of2-4 hours) of Nova
Aurigae in 1892, as well as of several other planetary
nebulae (Figure 28). This was the first quantitatively
measurable nova-spectrum. The first spectral classification
of the stars (excelled only by the astrophysical researches
of the 20th century) was also started along lines laid down
by Gothard. Similarly, he was the first to study the phe-
nomena of the instrumental light diffraction and polariza-
tion, as they arise in astrophotography, and was also
engaged in researches on anti-halation28 . Gothard made
several pictures by combining negatives of various ex-
posure times, on plates sensitized in different ways. With
this, he laid the foundations, both of the so-called 'com-
posite photography' and of equidensitometry that were
rediscovered only in the 1950s and have since been applied
to the exploration of the galaxies29 .
Gothard also went deeply into several other branches
of photography, and made interesting experiments in the
field of chemiluminescence. He investigated the photo-
chemical effect of the light from the firefly (Lampyris
noctiluca) on emulsions sensitized in different ways30, and
at the beginning of 1896 he took X-ray photographs of
various objects31 . As a curiosity, mention should be made
of Gothard's 'gun', designed and constructed c.1885.
(Figure 29). This was' a twin camera with identical lenses,
one for viewing and one for picture taking. Behind the
latter, there was a shift-cassette for twelve 6 X 6·5 cm
glass negatives. Behind the viewing-lens there was a
HISTORY OF PHOTOGRAPHY, VOLUME 2, NUMBER 1, JANUARY 1978
 Early Photography in Eastern Europe: Hungary

focusing screen; during focusing , the two lenses were 1916). Though now forgotten, he achieved fame in the
coupled together. The apparatus had a folding handle 1890s almost overnight33 . The young Ferenc Veress began
shaped like a rifle butt into which Gothard fitted· a pneu- working as an apprentice in the daguerreotypist-goldsmith
matic mechanism that moved the mechanical shutter studio of Karoly Budai. The retired landowner Mikl6s
release. Zeyk (already mentioned as a pioneer of photography in
At the end of 1895 W. C. Rontgen published an Transylvania) lived at that time in Enyed, and it was in
article on the new radiation he had discovered, namely his house that Veress made himself familiar with daguer-
X-rays. In December of that year, the first Hungarian reotypy and his researcher's instinct and love of work were
X-ray equipment was in use in the laboratory of the aroused. Another favourable influence on his studies was
Department of Physics led by Eotvos of Budapest Uni- his acquaintance with Zsigmond Kornis (1827-55), an
versity. On 16th January 1896, at the exhibition of the amateur photographer. With Kornis he first made experi-

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Figure 26. The first Hungarian bilingual photographic journal, 1872.

Mathematical and Physical Association, held under ments on the perfection of the wet plate process, and
Eotvos' chairmanship, his assistants, the physicists Dezso around 1853 the partners nearly succeeded with a dry
Pekar (1873-1953) and Jeno Kulpathy (1861-1931), emulsion process. After the death of Kornis, Veress, by a
presented the first X-ray photograph made in Hungary. It curious chance, found a new supporter, namely Imre Mik6
showed Eotvos' hand (Figure 30). Two days later, Profes- (1805-76) who later became a government minister.
sor Endre Hogyes (1847-1906) delivered a lecture entitled Returning from Paris in 1854, Mik6 brought with him
Skeleton Photography through the Body by Rontgen, and up-to-date photographic equipment. At Mik6's invitation
he also presented X-ray photographs32 . Dezso Pekar also Veress was thus able to use a modern laboratory for his
made experiments with Rontgen stereophotographs, and experiments. Mik6 also gave support to the studio of
physicist Karoly Kiss (1858-1914), working at the Uni- Veress, started in 1852. Later on, Veress was concerned
versity, studied X-rays thoroughly and designed several primarily with problems of enlargement, and in 1854 he
X-ray tubes. In 1897 he started an X-ray studio, and it was succeeded in enlarging a cabinet photograph to life size.
also in that year that he published his work under the title In the years between 1860 and 1880 Veress built an up-to-
On the Present State of Rontgen's Discovery. date studio at Kolozsvar and employed some 5-6 people
One of the greatest Hungarian photographers of the there. He made himself familiar with new inventions in
second half of the 19th century was Ferenc Veress (1832- photography and tried to apply them expeditiously. As

HISTORY OF PHOT OGRAPHY , VOLUME 2. NUMBER 1, J AN UARY 1978 69

 Karoly Karlovits
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Figure 27. Mihaly Esterhazy: High-jump by Count Nusi
Kinsky, 'instantaneous' photography 1885 (after Kreilsheim).
early as 1857 he experimented with panotypy (similar to
ferrotypy), carrying on researches into its possible applica-
tions, and he also tried cyanotypy. From the 1860s on he
dealt with enamel photography. First he took photo-
graphs to be mounted into breast-pins, later he made a
muffle furnace to produce bigger objects decorated with
photographic pictures.
Meanwhile Veress also started his career as a writer. His
first article gave a summary of the history of Hungarian
photography 34. He invited photographers to take views
of Hungary's landscapes and well-known persons, and to
hand over these photographs to museums. As early as the
mid-1860s Veress realized the documentary importance of
the photograph. He also toured Transylvania and, in 1872,
enriched the Transylvanian M].lseum of Cluj, which had
been founded by Imre Mik6, with 150 photographs. He
repeated his invitation to photographers once more in
1896 when the Millennial Exhibition was held. Alas, none
of his calls had any results, and so a great opportunity to
enrich Hungary's historical archives 35 was lost.
In 1882-83, he delivered lectures at Kolozsvar Uni-
versity, on photography and photochemistry, and he
combined these lectures with experimental demonstra-
tions. It was he who started the publication of Fenykepeszeti
LapoP6 in the same year, and it is, indeed, from this
journal that we are acquainted with the first period of his
life. In another journal of the period he published a study
on 'Heliochromia'37, in which he summarized the state of
70
colour photography. He did not discuss his own work in
this field, though we know that he had made experiments
on colour photography from 1867 onward. Like other
would-be inventors, he took pains to preserve his secret,
and wanted to appear before the public only with a
finished and viable process. However, this was not to be.
Veress expounded the first promising results of his
experiments during the 1889 World Exhibition held in
Paris. Through the French photographic publishing house
of Gauthier-Villars he sent his colour pictures to Londe,
the head of the photographic section of the exhibition.
Londe presented them within the framework of a lecture
in which he also said: 'Colour photography is no longer
impossible.' A year earlier, Veress had sent some samples for
his critical experiments in colour photography to astro-
photographer Gothard. Gothard commented on these
samples in his book published in 1890, under the title
Photography 38. One year later, in a contribution to Eder's
yearbook3 9 , Gothard summed up the state ofheliochromy:
'In this field the most important development was reached
by Ferenc Veress, the Kolozsvar photographer. He has
been dealing with this idea for a long time; recently he
has won successes which compelled the great admiration
Figure 28. Jeno Gothard: Photograph of the annular nebula of
the constellation G. C. 4447 Lyra, 21st September, 1886.
Exposure time: 60 minutes (collection of Gyorgy T6th).
of Dr Eder, as well as that of Dr H. W. Vogel. Thus, great
vistas have opened up in connection with the realization of
a practical process . . .'.
Gothard goes on to say that Veress had managed to
achieve exposures as short (!) as 2-3 hours and that his
pictures were permanent. He reports that Veress had also
succeeded in making colour transparencies on glass, which
could thus be used as 'photographic negatives'. Whether
on glass or paper, the photographs were made of a single
emulsion (gelatin or collodion) of which nothing was
known to Gothard, except that it contained silver
'subchloride'. Gothard declared that the result of copying
a transparency Was a colour positive. Gothard himself did
some experiments on paper and glass plates made for him
by Veress, and reported the reds, yellows, greens and
HISTORY OF PHOTOGRAPHY, VOLUME 2, NUMBER 1, JANUARY 1978

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Figure 29. Jena Gothard with his photographic gun, around 1885. (Fig. 11 of Gothard's book40 ).
violets to be better than the blues. He recommended the
use of an ultraviolet filter. Some shortcomings remained
but Veress, he remarked, 'will perhaps succeed in sur-
mounting the obstacles that still exist, and enriching
photography with a most interesting and, what is essential,
a Hungarian invention'4o. When Gothard wrote these
words, h~ was well aware of western experiments in this
field (Becquerel 1848, Niepce de Saint Victor 1857,
Poitevin 1865, Carey Lea 1887), and he emphasized the
advantages of Veress' process. The inventor's own records
have not been found.
Because of personal financial difficulties and ill health,
Ferenc Veress was unable to continue his experiments. In
1893 he applied for state help, but to no avail. Alone and in
poverty, he worked throughout his declining years. His
last colour pictures were made in 1911 with the contact
process, and are marked 'No. 6000', written with a
trembling hand. They have been preserved to this day
with their full range of colours 41 .
The details of the heliochromic researches carried out
by Veress were published in 1907. This was done when the
inventor's son, Professor Elemer Veress (1876-1959)
delivered a lecture on his father's photochemical researches.
The essence of the process was as follows: 'Through
collodion an emulsion is made of the solutions of the
various metal nitrates and chlorides. When this dries on
glass or paper, it becomes sensitive to colours. At first,
compounds were used in pairs (e.g. metal chloride-silver
nitrate). When such a collodion emulsion was applied, it
appeared that pictures could be taken with colours which
varied in accordance with the various metal chlorides.
HISTORY OF PHOTOGRAPHY, VOLUME 2, NUMBER 1, JANUARY 1978
Early Photography in Eastern Europe: Hungary
Thus, calcium fluoride resulted in brown pictures, mag-
nesium chloride in greyish violet, cadmium chloride in
blackish violet, and lithium chloride in magenta imprints.
If with the colloid we mix several metal chlorides and
nitrates with silver nitrate, we can have an emulsion
sensitive to all colours of the spectrum .. .'42.
In the end, the experiments resulted in some very
complicated emulsions; Veress tested more than 500 differ-
ent recipes. Because of their low speed, the exposure time
was several hours. When Gothard used the plates for
spectrophotography, he managed to reduce the exposure
time to several minutes, by concentrating the light of the
spectrum with a cylindrical lens43 . The emulsion which
yielded a picture of good quality contained not only silver
nitrate but uranium, strontium, potassium, and am-
monium nitrate, as well as chlorides of calcium and cad-
mium. Elemer Veress stated that papers coated with this
mixture were dried in diffuse daylight, presumably for a
short period only, during which they turned grey and
became 'sensitive to colours'. Some colour diapositives
made by the Veress process have been preserved in the
estate of Lor and Eotvos. They probably date from the time
in the 1890s when Veress sought state support with
Eotvos' backing 44 .
The development of artistic photography is reflected
by the success of Hungarian photographers in exhibitions.
From the 1855 World Exhibition onward, Hungarian
photographers took part in international competitions, and
obtained recognition, as shown by the decorations they
received. The first major photographic exhibition in
Hungary was held in 1872 within the framework of the
71
 Karoly Karlovits
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Figure 30. Dezso Pekar's X-ray photograph, Budapest,
January 1896. (In the Archives of the Lorand Eotvos Geo-
physical Institute.)
Industrial Exhibition at Kecskemet (central Hungary).
A similar event at Szekesfehervar in 1879 attracted as many
as 25 artists 4S • Finally, the 1885 National (Industrial)
Exhibition held in Budapest marked the official recog-
nition of the photographers. During the 1860s, the
Association of Fine Arts had characterized photography
as the 'poorest industry', one 'that could be mastered in a
few days'. In 1885, they were ready to concede that
photography demanded 'special professional knowledge'
and 'artistic taste'. Judging from the surviving evidence,
Hungarian photographers of the period worked with
remarkable skill, and their activities became something of
a public service. They recorded forever the grand mo-
ments of history, and in this endeavour amateurs and
professionals played an equal part.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The photographic illustrations in this paper were taken
by Endre Bozsan.
72
Figure 31. Ferenc Veress: Self-portrait around 1865. (In the
Archives of the Museum of the Hungarian Workers'Movement,
Budapest.)
BACKGROUND MATERIAL
The town of Budapest was formed by the administrative
unification in 1873 of Buda and Pest, situated on the two
banks of the Danube. Its population numbered 100 000
in 1840, 300 000 in 1867 and 900000 in 1910. Today it
totals 2 000 000.
GENERAL SOURCES
IMRE FEJos: A magyar fenykepezes kezdetei (1840-55),
in Folia Archaeologica (A Magyar Nemzeti Museum
Evkanyvei), Budapest, 1957 (Vol. IX), pp. 243-255.
Ft~nykpeszetiink elsa vidgkora (1855-85), ibid.,
Budapest, 1958 (Vol. X), pp. 209-222.
Articles by Fejas, published in the monthly Fot6,
between 1954-64. Fotolexikon, Akademiai Publishing
House, Budapest, 1963.
IVAN HEVESY: A magyar fotomiiveszet tortenete, Budapest,
1958.
GYORGY KREILSHEIM: Regi magyar jenykepezes, Budapest,
1941.
HISTORY OF PHOTOGRAPHY. VOLUME 2. NUMBER 1. JANUARY 1978

VINCE MESZAROS: Proceedings in the monthly Fot6,
Nos. 6, 8, 9 and 19,1969.
MARGIT SZAKACS: A Magyar Munkismozgalmi Muzeum
daguerreotipiii, Budapest 1973, in: A Magyar Mun-
kismozgalmi Muzeum evkonyvei, pp.5-61, with 47
figures and a description of99 daguerreotypes.
PHOTOHISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
Museum of the Hungarian Workers' Movement, Budapest:
approximately 90 000 photographs.
Union of Photographers, Budapest: approximately 12000
photographs and 100 cameras.
Museum for Science and Technology, Budapest: approxi-
mately 6 000 photographs and 300 cameras.
NOTES AND REFERENCES
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1. Hasznos Mulatsdgok (weekly), Pest, 13th April 1839.
2. KAROLY KARLOVITS, 'The 27th Original Daguerreotype in
Hungary', Fotomuveszet (monthly), 3/1973. The picture donated
to Apponyi is now the property of the National Technical
Museum.
3. Der Spiegel (weekly), Pest, 25th January and 10th April 1840.
After that, Novakovics and Skolnik are not mentioned among
the photographers.
4. Honmuvesz (weekly), Pest, 2nd July, 1840.
5. Pesther Tageblatt, Pest, 14th July 1840.
6. IMRE HENLSZMANN, Pdrhuzam az 0- es ujkori muveszeti nezetek
es nevelesek kozt (Parallel between Ideas on the Arts and Education
in Antiquity and in Modern Times) (Pest, 1841).
7. The series of daguerreotypes containing 16 pictures is the
property of the Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest.
8. Der Spiegel, 27th January 1847 and Honderu (weekly), 2nd
February 1847. Dr Vince Meszaros: 'Talbotipia?-Kramolino-
tipia?', Foto, 10/1969, pp. 466-467. Kramolin's original photo-
graphs are in a private collection.
9. J. PETZVAL, Bericht uber die Ergebnisse einiger dioptrischer Unter-
suchungen, Pesth, 1843-Facsimile edition and postscript by
Karoly Karlovits, Akademiai Publishing House, Budapest,
1974.
10. The activity of J6zsef Petzval, originally an hydraulics expert,
invited attention in Pest as early as 1843. His detailed city plan
was shown to the Palatine (then the highest administrative
dignitary of Hungary) who wrote approvingly of the plan
to Petzval, and also helped him to secure a Professorship in
Vienna. Budapest's archives have several maps and documents
concerning Petzval's engineering activity. Most of them are
still in need of research.
Petzval was one of the founders of the Royal Hungarian
Association of Natural Sciences (1846) and an associate member
of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (1873). He was born at
Szepesbela (today Spisska Bela in Czechoslovakia" in 1807.
After taking his engineering Diploma in the Institutum
Geometricum (Engineering Institute) of Pest, he studied
mathematics at the arts department of the Royal Pest Uni-
versity. He obtained his doctorate there in 1832. From 1828
he worked at the Pest Municipal Engineering Office, and after
1832 he lectured on mathematics, both in the Institutum
Geometricum and at the Royal University. He was appointed
professor at the Royal Pest University on 15th September 1835.
On 19th November 1837 Emperor Ferdinand V appointed
him Professor of Higher Mathematics in Vienna University.
He took up this chair in 1837, and was succeeded in Pest by
his younger brother, Otto Petzval (1809-1883).
HISTORY OF PHO.TOGRAPHY, VOLUME 2, NUMBER 1, JANUARY 1978
Early Photography in Eastern Europe: Hungary
11. Diarium Zsadanearum (Zsdany Diary), in the archives of the
Hungarian Academy of Sciences (4 folios 13), to which it was
presented by Ermenyi. It consisted of 65 pp. In 1973, a further
18 pp. were found. The Diary is a textbook of physics, with
illustrations, compiled by Petzval from various sources. The
book was prepared by Petzval in the 1830s and rewritten by
another hand so that the surviving text may represent some-
one's notes on Petzval's lectures at Pest University.
12. P. T. Professor Petzval's Vorlesungen uber analyt. Mechanik und
Reflex und Brechung des Licht's, Wien, 1858, manuscript,
VII+300 pp. In the Central Library of the Budapest Technical
University, K-56.
13. ERMENYI, Dr Josef Petzval's Leben und Verdienste, Halle a.S.,
1903 (in German). The same book was published in an ampli-
fied Hungarian edition: Petzval Jozsef elete es erdemei, 1906.
Ermenyi's book is the most important source on Petzval,
though it treats only briefly Petzval on theoretical optics.
14. ISTVAN KRUSPER, 'Two New Methods of Determining the
Refractive Index of Transparent Bodies, Especially of Glass',
Magy. Term. Tud. Tdrsulat evkonyve (Vol. III), 1851-1856,
Pest, 1857. Pp. 135-158 (13 illustrations).
15. Krusper was an outstanding mathematician. He attended
Petzval's lectures on higher mathematics at the Vienna Uni-
versity in 1842-1843. Krusper's manuscript notes on the lectures
are in the archives of the Museum for Science and Technology,
Budapest. Krusper also made designs for some geodesic
instruments, which are now in the collection of the Museum
for Science and Technology, Budapest. (See: K. Karlovits:
Krusper ]., a geodeziai muszertervezo, in: Technikatorteneti
Szemle, Budapest, 1974.)
16. Jedlik's camera, made by optician Prokesch in Vienna. It and
Janos Fajth's invoice are today in the collection of the
Museum for Science and Technology, Budapest.
17. LAJos BAnn6cz, 'A fcSnykepezes', published in: AfelJedezesek
es taldmdnyok tortenete. Pest, 1865.
18. LAsZLO TOMosvARY, 'Magyar Fenykepesz', Kezikonyv jenykep-
eszek es mukedvelok szamara, Pest, 1863. (A photochemical
manual with a collection of formulae.)
19. IvAN HEVESY, A magyar fotomuveszet tortenete, Budapest, 1958,
with a detailed bibliography of the photographic books written
in Hungarian.
20. ZOLTAN KIss, A jenykepezes gyakorlata, Szombathely, 1891.
21. PAL ROSTY, Uti em!ekezetek Amerikdb61, Pest, 1861. The photo-
graphs he took in Havana, as well as his journey along the
Orinoco and in Mexico, are now in the National Szechenyi
Library.
22. Photographische Correspondenz, 1906, p. 354.
73
 Karoly Karlovits
23. About 2,000 photographs of Lorand Eotvos are now in the
National Technical Museum.
24. SANDOR RIEGLER, Termeszettudomanyi Kozlony, February 1887
(Vol. XIX), p. 81, a,nd: A lovedekekrOl a levegoben eloidezett
tiinemenyek lefotografalasa, ibid. Supplementary Vol., Jan-
uary 1889 (Vol. XXI), pp.29-32.
25. LA]OS STEINER, 'Konkoly Thege Mikl6s emlekezete'. (In the
collection of Memorial Speeches of the Hungarian Academy of
Sciences, Budapest, 1943, in Hungarian.) With a bibliography
on Konkoly Thege's works. About 1,500 of Konkoly Thege's
pictures are now in the Museum for Science and Technology,
Budapest.
26. GYDRGY T6TH, 'Gothard Jeno tudomanyos munkassaga'
(in: Savaria. A vasmegyei muzeumok evkonyve. Vol. 6, 1966-
1970), a general study on Jeno Gothard, with a detailed
bibliography. A memorial museum is now open in Gothard's
observatory at Szombathely.
27. Eder'sJahrbuchfur Photographie und Reproduktionstechnik (1897),
Vol. 11, pp. 130-134.
28. JEND GOTHARD, Ueber den Reflex von der Riickseite der
Glasplatten, ibid., Vol. 4 (1890), pp. 241-244. Jeno Gothard:
Downloaded by [University of Sherbrooke] at 23:08 11 April 2015
Ueber Beugungserscheinungen bei Sternphotographien, ibid.,
Vol. 6 (1892), pp. 18-20.
29. JEND GOTHARD, Die Tatigkeit des Observatoriums zu Hereny
im Jahre 1893, Vierteljahrgeschrift der Astronomischen Gesell-
schaft, Leipzig, Vol. 29, pp. 122-124. Vogel, H. c.: Ueber die
Bedeutung der Photographie zur Beobachtung von Nebel-
flecken. Astronomische Nachrichten, Kiel, 1888, No. 2854 (119),
pp. 337-342.
30. Photographische Correspondenz, Vol. 24 (1887), pp. 442-445.
31. In the documentary and photographic archives of the
Szombathely Gothard Observatory.
32. The X-ray pictures mentioned can be seen in the collection
of the Hungarian National Lorand Eotvos Geophysical
Institute, Budapest.
33. IMRE FE]OS, 'Ferenc Veress', Fot6, Vol. 4 (1957), pp. 215-229.
34. FERENC VERESS, A fenykepeszet multja, jelene es jovoje
74
hazankban, in: Orszag Tukre (weekly), Nos. 9-10, 1862.
35. Fenykepeszeti Ertesito, Nos. 3, 4, 7, 9, 11 (1894).
36. Fenykepeszeti Lapok (scientific review) published from 1882 to
1890 at Kolozsvar (today Cluj in Romania), Editor-in-Chief:
Ferenc Veress. It was the best Hungarian review of the 19th
century.
37. FERENC VERESS, 'Heliochromiar61' published in: Fenykepeszeti
Ertesito, 1894, No.2.
38. A Pallas Nagy Lexikona, Vol. 16, pp.782-783 (see article by
K. Divald).
39. JEND GOTHARD, 'Ueber die neuren Fortschritte der Helio-
chromie', in Eder'sJahrb. 5 (1891), pp. 46:...50.
40. JEND GOTHARD, A fotograjia gyakorlata es alkalmazasa tudomanyos
dlokra (' The Practice of Photographing and its Applications to
Scientific Research'), Hungarian Association of Natural Sciences,
Budapest, 1890, 183 pp.
41. Eighteen of Veress's colour prints, dating from 1911, are in
the photographic collection of the Museum of Hungarian
Workers' Movement, Budapest. (Gift to the museum by
Elemer Veress.)
42. Lecture by Elemer Veress, delivered to the Association of the
Transylvanian Museum, October 5, 1907. The manuscript of
the lecture was studied by Imre Fej os who published some of its
excerpts in Fot6, Vol. 4 (1957), pp. 215-219.
43. According to the information of Gyorgy T6th, the pictures of
Veress's colour process made by Gothard may be seen in
Dr T6th's photographic collection at Szombathely (Gothard
Memorial Museum).
44. Four of these colour diapositives can be seen in the collection
of the Museum for Science and Technology, Budapest.
45. A china plate from the 1879 exhibition is now in the Istvan
Kiraly Museum at Szekesfehervar. On this plate are reproduced
the portraits of the 40 organizers of the event. It is an out-
standing piece, both from photo technical and aesthetic
points of view, and was probably made in the studio of Ferenc
Veress.
HISTORY OF PHOTOGRAPHY, VOLUME 2. NUMBER 1. JANUARY 1978