89. Béla Széchenyi (1837-1918), traveller...

... and son of the "greatest Hungarian". Autograph letter to architect Miklós Ybl, addressed "Tisztelt Ybl úr!" (Esteemed Mr Ybl!).
At the beginning of the letter, he recalls that in 1869 he entrusted the addressee with the construction of his palace in Buda, then, after discussing the details of the contract in great detail, requests an account of the work carried out so far and the agreements concluded with subcontractors. Judging by the measured tone, it seems that his trust in Ybl may have been somewhat shaken, although at the end of the letter he refers to him as his "esteemed compatriot". Presumably, their relationship was resolved, as the building was completed in the mid-1880s. The palace, which was destroyed during the siege of 1945, stood slightly south of the Buda bridgehead of the Chain Bridge. After the Compromise, it was a popular idea to build a row of palaces on the banks of the Danube below the royal castle in Buda. In 1874, the Fővárosi Lapok newspaper wrote: "The magnates should build their palaces not on Sándor Street, but on the Buda side of the Danube, where commercial traffic is unlikely to develop and where the beautification of the capital also requires development. Countess Károlyné Andrássy, Count Gyula Andrássy, Baron Béla Lipthay, Count Széchenyi and Count Zichy built their palaces from the same perspective."
6 written pages.
Dated: Nagycenk, 30 January 1877.
 
Starting price: 300 000,-