This is the only public collection in Hungary which undertook the systematic collection and documentation of puppet theatres in Hungary. The collection was founded by Hedvig Belitshka-Scholz in 1970. Today it comprises more than 2000 puppets and set design elements, from the marketplace puppetry of the 19th century to the avant-garde puppet characters. The oldest puppets in the collection come from the Hincz family of puppeteers. The puppet player dynasty, which started performing from 1941 onwards in Hungary, travelling from one fair to another, decided to settle in the City Park (Városliget) in 1889, founding the First Hungarian Puppet Theatre. The puppets in our collection testify of the changes in programme and style along three generations of players and puppet makers. From 1910 onwards we have representatives of all important styles and makers: Lóránd Orbók, Béla Szokolay, Géza Blattner, Sándor A. Tóth with avant-garde and experimental puppets, the glove and shadow figures of Béla Büky, the rod puppets of István Árpád Rév, which use a specific moving technology, and many other artefacts belonging to the school puppetry movements. Beyond the puppets there are abundant other resources in the collection: fine arts, photos, manuscripts, small prints, video recordings.
