Magyar Posta is commemorating the centenary of the birth of Sándor Püski by issuing a special stamp.
Sándor Püski (Békés, 4 Feb 1911 – Budapest, 2 Aug 2009) was a Hungarian book publisher.
In 1930 Püski enrolled at the Faculty of Law of the Pázmány Péter University in Budapest, where he became a Doctor of Law in 1935. In 1938 he opened his bookshop. In 1939 he founded Magyar Élet (Hungarian Life) Publishing House, which mainly published the works of folk writers. The publishing house was nationalised in 1950, and in 1962 Püski was imprisoned on trumped up charges and released after a year. He was given a passport in 1966 and then emigrated to America with his wife in 1970. Following the move, they continued their work, at first in rudimentary condi- tions. Later, they organised lecture tours with art- ists invited from Hungary. In 1974 Püski bought a small bookshop in a run down state named Corvin in the Hungarian quarter in New York. In 1975 he established the Püski Publishing House, which, apart from authors of Magyar Élet, also published works by writers who were denied the chance to do so in Hungary for political reasons. The Püski-Corvin Hungarian Bookstore, which he exchanged for a larger premises in 1984, became an intellec- tual centre for Hungarians living in the West.
In 1989 he returned to Budapest. His bookshop on Krisztina Boulevard became the place where the works of the intellectual inheritors of folk literature could be found. The work of the founder was aided later by his sons, László and István Püski, and then his grandsons, Attila and Csaba Püski. Since the establishment of the publishing company, it has published works by writers, historians and poets dealing with essential Hungarian issues. Their bookshop has all the volumes which deserve to be read from a Hungarian viewpoint.
Awards: Bethlen Gábor Prize (1990), Petőfi Sán- dor Press Freedom Award (1995), Hungarian Heri- tage Award (1996), Bocskai István Prize (1996), Pro Urbe Budapest (1996), Commander of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary (2001), Honorary Citizen of Budapest District I (2001), Gold Medal of the Hungarian Academy of Artists (2002), Book of the Year Award (2003), For Hun- garian Art (2004) and the St Stephen Award (2005). (Source: hu.wikipedia.orgpuskikiado.hu)
The stamp design marking the centenary shows books with a portrait of Sándor Püski on their spines. The cover of one of the books features the emblem of the Püski Publishing House and is in- scribed “Sándor Püski was born 100 years ago”. On the first day cover there is likewise a row of books, which bears the inscription “Sándor Püski 1911-2009”. The graphic design of the special postmark employs a stylised drawing of the em- blem of the Püski Publishing House.
