Connections Between Sunday News (Vasárnapi Ujság) and Photography

Sunday News (Vasárnapi Ujság), weekly published newspaper between 1854 and 1921 has been of importance in Hungarian photo-culture. Facts written in this paper can be found in any books dealing with history of photography of that age. During its 68-year-history we can follow the development of press-photography from engravings to war reports.

In 1854, after political life had become relieved, there was a possibility to print the first edition of Sunday News in Gusztáv Heckenast’s press. The paper was started by Albert Pákh (1823-1867), Mór Jókai (1825-1904) and Pál Gyulai (1826-1909). They wanted to establish a cheap, illustrated, encyclopaedical paper. After Albert Pákh’s death, Miklós Nagy, who was at that time 24 year old, became the editor in chief. Later from 1905 until its last edition Pál Hoitsy was in charge of the paper.

From technical point of view photos published in Sunday News can be divided into 3 main groups. During the first ten years prints taken from drawings or paintings and engravings were came out. There was a transitional period when not only prints of drawings and paintings but also photos were published. In the last phase the number of engravings was reduced and photos printed from clichés appeared. Sunday News was illustrated only with engravings until 1884.

The very first provable woodcut of a photo was published in 1864. It showed a photo 38th item of a series called „Photos of national people’s life” and folklore dress of Mohács. Neither name of the photographer was indicated, nor the woodcut master put his sign on his work. Technically it did not mean a lot of changes: the original sample for the cliché was not a drawing or a painting but a photo. So the woodcut master’s projection and talent were involved as well as technical defaults of the engravings.

Before photos became popular in papers, engravings had been made from photos of Ede Ellinger and Károly Koller. The year of 1884 was turning point, when 48th edition of Sunday News was published. After this time the paper was not exclusively illustrated by engravings.

Appearance of photos changed the visual concept of the paper. Parallel with reduced number of engravings more and more photos were published in the paper, and drawings were also directly printed. Technical development of photography was a good base for photos taken from daily life and from the 1890s photo-reports appeared. The classical photo-reporter activity of press-history was born during the time of World War II on the pages of this paper. Most important figures were Rudolf Balogh and Gyula Jelfy.

Last edition was published in December, 1921. Notice of closing-down intention was not declared, so probably declining circumstances were the reason why this important chapter of Hungarian press- and photography-history was terminated.