Zagreb City Museum publishing - 95 years since the first edition

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to present the development and provide an overview of the Zagreb City Museum (hereinafter: the Museum or MGZ) publishing, from its very beginnings to the present day, and thereby promote museum publications as direct results of the work of the museum and its employees – intermediaries in the transmission of ideas, messages and knowledge. Although founded in 1907, the Museum began publishing about twenty years later. Between the first publication, published in 1929, and the present day, there are over 180 publications, and this does not include the huge number of promotional publications, in the form of leaflets or posters.

The introduction provides general information about publishing and brief information about the beginnings of museum publishing, that is, about the first museum publications in the world and Croatia. The following chapter discusses the types of museum publications and examines the reasons for their publication. The central part of the paper is dedicated to an overview of the Zagreb City Museum publishing. The first chapter provides a more detailed overview of the actions from the beginning of the publishing, the first publication, and a large part of the insights presented in that chapter are based on research into original archival documents. A chapter on publications accompanying exhibitions as the most numerous publications is highlighted, with a particular emphasis on catalogues of temporary exhibitions, and the following chapters discuss the diversity of other publications published by the Zagreb City Museum, moving both thematically and chronologically through the publishing activity. The last chapter is dedicated to electronic publications, with a special focus on the virtual exhibition that discusses the publishing activity of the Zagreb City Museum.