Budapest Poster Gallery

2nd auction | posters and poster designs

59 x 42 cm. Fine, one fold mark.

"Draw: 12th of July, 1946 First prize: 1 billion tax pengő
Price of a lottery ticket: 20 000 tax pengő." The state lottery had a double purpose: buyers could win with the tickets but it was more of a charity act - the goal was to reconstruct Budapest after World War II from the money gained. The siege of Budapest took place between 1944 December and 1945 February, where the Red Army coming from the East took over the German and the Hungarian Arrow Cross (Nazi) troops. During the course of the siege the Germans blew up all the bridges on the Danube to stop the Soviets from crossing the river. Rebuilding the bridges was one of the most important tasks of the reconstruction. In 1945-1946 only pontoon-bridges connected the two sides of the city. The bridges were completely rebuilt by 1964.
The image of the blown up Franz Joseph Bridge (today: Liberty Bridge) is the symbol of the reconstruction, which is placed on a huge 1, because the jackpot was 1 million Pengős (the Hungarian money of the time). It seems to be a big amount, but due to the high inflation, it wasn’t: the price of the lottery ticket was 20000 Pengős (which is also written on the poster). The bridges also appear on the printed tickets. Many Hungarian families still havethese slips today.
The poster follows the style which appeared in 1945 and it defined the political poster art of the era. In these times the parties of the free elections were promoted by György Konecsni's and his fellow artists' works. These works applied the tools of modernism, used boiled down actuating messages and spectacular symbols easily interpreted by everyone. This poster by an unknown artist shows all these characteristics, and it’s not just an important historical document, but bears aesthetic values as well. - Signed 'Corte'
(Anikó Katona)