55. Daguerreotype of Lajos Kossuth (1802-1849), politician...

... in his youth, enclosed in a medallion.
The oval, gold-framed medallion featured a bust of the politician on one side and a piece of woven hair on the other. The strap - which presumably served as a necklace - is also made of hair, and its metal ornaments and clasps are made of 9-karat gold. According to the family legends of the former Transylvanian owner, the relic was owned by Sarolta Zeyk, the object of Kossuth's late admiration. In April 1884, Lajos Kossuth, the "hermit of Turin", met Sarolta, a young noble lady from Transylvania, who was coming to the world exhibition in Turin with her relatives. Kossuth was 82 then, and the young lady was only 19. In addition to viewing the world exhibition, they went on a family trip to the surrounding mountains and visited each other several times. Kossuth’s heart - who had been widowed for decades at that time - was briefly ignited. When the girl returned to her home in Transylvania at the end of 1884, they began a correspondence that continued until 1891. The ageing Kossuth, who harboured tender feelings for the young girl, called her "my dear beloved daughter" or simply "my sunshine". The "great exile" asked the girl to destroy his letters, saying: "I would almost hate childish playfulness if I didn't know that no one else would read it." However, Sarolta could not do so. Thus, thirty letters from the summer of 1884 to May 1891 have survived. In one of them, Kossuth writes: "I attached your flowers to your photograph, which I always carry with me in my wallet, I look at it every night before going to bed, and I do to it what you have certainly never done to mine". Our item may be the photograph mentioned in the letter.
Dimensions: 39 x 33 mm. The daguerreotype preserved by the medallion is in excellent condition. In a modern jewellery box.
 
Starting price: 350 000 Ft