The Restoration of a Hunedoara Noble Family’s Library: the Kenderesi from Sălaşu de Sus

Abstract

The Kenderesi family from Sălaşu de Sus was one of the oldest families of Hunedoara County, with roots in a well-known Romanian family Cânde, from Ţara Haţegului. In 1887, Mihály Kenderesi and his son Ernő, donated their ‘beautiful book collection’ to the Society of History and Archaeology of Hunedoara County. The information appeared in the librarian’s report for 1887 and did not specify the title or number of the books. Thus, a research project began with the aim to identify the books with the notes and signatures of Kenderesi family members, among the documents of the Deva Museum Library. The initial findings were a no. of 21 books, printed in the 16th-19th centuries. After a few years, an archived document on the donation of the books was identified listing 54 positions, representing one periodical and books, some in rare editions. A comparison between the donation list and the inventories of the Deva Museum Library, indicated a no of 15 missing books, whilst the others were identified in The Library. Considering the number of volumes, their age, topic or the notes preserved on the pages of the books, the Kenderesi family donation that entered the collections of the Deva Museum Library in 1887 is significant for the region of Hunedoara and enriches the actual image of the bibliophile heritage.