In contrast to the general chronology of Hungarian social history research, the analysis and interpretation of urban culture – and specifically of mass culture as defined in opposition to elite culture – began surprisingly early. This study aims to explore the transformations of one of the most traditional and widely popular forms of mass entertainment among the urban lower classes: the Vurstli, a fair-ground-style amusement venue located in Budapest’s City Park. Focusing primarily on press sources that reflect contemporary experiences, the paper offers a content-based analysis of popular entertainments from the 1860s through the early 20th century. It traces the evolution of these amusements in the context of Budapest’s rapid transformation into a modern metropolis. Particular attention is given to the thematic shift in entertainments – from folkloric and rustic spectacles to narratives reflecting urban concerns and global cultural influences. This includes the emergence of Americanized content and the eventual rise of an entirely new form of mass entertainment: the cinema.

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The study is an analysis of the complex micro world of fifty-six estate sales that took place in Kiskunhalas, a market town on the Great Hungarian Plain, between 1780 and 1850. It begins with the description of the auction process and goes on to reconstruct the composition of bidders at each auction and, finally, examines the individual bidders’ buying strategies and motivations. Another aim of the study is to reveal social relationships and networks through the persons present at auctions as socially and culturally defined events. In conclusion, the microlevel analysis of Kiskunhalas auctions suggest that items originally owned by tradesmen, merchants or the Catholic parish priest very seldom ended up with poorer farmers. On the social level, buyers at auctions formed strongly guarded networks: members of well-defined social groups, such as tradesmen or the urban elite, were more likely to attend auctions of their own peers. The social layer of the town’s affluent landed gentry constituted another clearly identifiable network of buyers, who attended a large number of auctions. Middle- and smallholders, however, replenished their tools and equipment at auctions of farmers of similar means, or wealthier on occasion. Second-hand items purchased at auctions and elsewhere played an important role in the sparsely furnished world of traditional peasant communities. While for poorer layers of society auctions were the only affordable means to replace tools and objects, even wealthier people considered them a good opportunity to make purchases.

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Nincs absztrakt.

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This essay examines the storage furniture fashion in the markét town Kiskunhalas between 1760 and 1790. The analysis is based on forty-three inventories of estates, which have been evaluated by quantitative methods (factor analysis). The primary aim was to discover social stratification as mirrored by matériái culture. The reason for the choice of storage furniture for this analysis was that storage furniture was available in several types and variations, thus making the choice of the suitable piece possible for everyone. For the purpose of analysis, individual cases were ranked intő groups, and cases of similar storage furniture sets were selected. Finally, social and cultural characteristics of the so emerging groups were examined. According to the results, the uniform and clear hierarchy of storage furniture in the decades following redemption (1745) shows the uniform and unambiguous nature of the Halas social structure in the period preceding the great nineteenth century transformations.

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