Hereditas Antikvárium

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12. Könyvárverés

In arce Kreüsch Transylvaniae, (1684-1690. Székesi P. Mihály.) (24)+832p.
It is a special piece of Hungarian cultural history as well as an incomparably rare memory of an interesting chapter in Hungarian printing history.
The author and his work
Farkas Bethlen was a politician of outstanding importance of his time, the lord-lieutenant of Alsó-Fehér County, and – from 1678 – the chancellor of Prince Apafi. Based on reliable sources, he wrote Transylvania's history (from 1525 until 1609) in this monumental work. He had already agreed with István Bosytz, a printer from Kassa, to publish the work, but this was interrupted due to his early death.
The printing workshop
His younger brother, Elek Bethlen, took over the publishing tasks. For this purpose, he created a printing press in his castle in Keresd with equipment from Kolozsvár. This happened at the end of 1683, and the printing of the "Historia" already began the following year. In addition to this publication, the reference books know of seven other printing house products, their rarity is indicated by the fact that four have single copies only, and three are only known by mention. The head of the printing workshop was Mihály Székesi P., but only his name survived on a few copies – no other information is known about him. Thököly's raid in 1690 put an end to the operation of the printing house. Its supplies were first taken to Segesvár, and from there, they were returned to Kolozsvár.
The edition
The printing, which began in 1684, was interrupted by the attack of 1690. The work is completed up to page 832 (naturally, with the exception of the title page). Some half-finished pieces were walled up in the castle's basement and got ruined in the wet place. The rest, together with the printing press, were taken to Segesvár. Members of the Bethlen family gave away many of these copies, the rest became spoils of war during Rákóczi’s War of Independence, some of them were destroyed. Almost 80 years later, the German Gottfried Schwarz printed a title page and a 12-leaf preface (RMK III XVIII 3585) in Lemgo, Silesia. Despite the book's unfortunate fate, several copies are preserved in Hungarian public collections, but it seldom appears on the market. A complete copy was last auctioned about half a century ago.
The work was published a second time – thanks to József Benkő, now with the complete text – between 1782 and 1796 in Szeben.
Signed („Bóka Lajos könyvkötő Pesten”), richly gilt, 19th-century leather with clasps and marbled endpapers. Inner edges gilt and painted. Some leaves waterstained.
Poss.: With ownership stamp of Baron Béla Radvánszky.
RMK II 2036., Borda: 4608., V. Ecsedy: Nyomda a keresdi várkastélyban, 1684–1690. (Magyar Grafika. 2009. november.)