Preliminary communication
https://doi.org/10.32728/h2024.03
Print production in Croatian in Rijeka and Sušak during World War I (1914-1918)
Sanja Holjevac
orcid.org/0000-0003-1867-6837
; Zavod za povijesne i društvene znanosti Hrvatske akademije znanosti i umjetnosti u Rijeci s Područnom jedinicom u Puli
Abstract
After the work of Šimun Kožičić Benja’s renowned Glagolitic printing house in 1530–1531, and Franjo Glavinić’s, a Trsat Franciscan, unfortunately unsuccessful attempt, to establish a Glagolitic press to print Croatian Glagolitic liturgical books in the 1620s, the city of Rijeka once again became involved in printing activities in 1779 with the founding and operation of a printing house by the Czech Karletzky family. From the mid-19th century onward, with the city’s economic development and rise, several other printing houses were also established and began operating. These printing houses printed various literary, historic and other types of publications in several languages (Croatian, Italian, Hungarian, German, Latin), a result of certain socio-political opportunities in the city. After the 1870’s, printing houses were established in the then urbanized neighboring Sušak, a decidedly Croatian cultural center, basing its work mainly on printing in Croatian. The lively printing scene in Rijeka and Sušak continued at the turn of the 20th century, all the way until and during World War I. The work focused on printing production in Croatian in Rijeka and Sušak from 1914 to 1918, i.e., during the First World War. Attention was drawn to the content of that production and the need to view it in the context of the socio-political and cultural circumstances of the time in that area, while also considering the impact of wartime conditions on it. It leads to the conclusion that wartime circumstances didn’t shut down the printing and publishing scenes in Rijeka and Sušak, which were significantly more active at the beginning of the war, with the contents greatly adapted to the war and its influence on soldiers and their families. Toward the end of the War, the activities significantly decreased as a result of the general crisis. The majority of that printing and publishing activity was the result of the work of the Tiskarski umjetnički zavod Miriam (Miriam Printing Institute of Fine Arts) and the Kuća dobre štampe (House of Good Print Publishing Institute), run by the Capuchins of Rijeka. The printing and publishing efforts of the Rijeka Capuchins were part of the program of the Croatian Catholic Movement, aimed at promoting Croatian national consciousness and Catholic religious identity, as well as opposing liberalism.
Keywords
typography; Rijeka; Sušak; Croatian; World War I
Hrčak ID:
340507
URI
Publication date:
8.12.2025.
Visits: 475 *