Obrtna politika

Crafts Policy by Ivan Čupak (1918) is a significant professional and journalistic book published at a crucial historical moment – ​​immediately after the end of World War I and the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy.

The author, Ivan Čupak (1875–1935?), a bookbinder, secretary of the Association of Croatian Craftsmen and a long-time fighter for the interests of crafts, systematically discusses the difficult situation of Croatian crafts in the new political and economic circumstances. He writes about the need to organize craftsmen, protection from competition, professional training, credit, tax policy and the role of crafts in the future Croatian economy.

The book is written in clear, accessible language and is intended primarily for craftsmen, artisans, their associations and young people. It represents a kind of program manual and appeal for the strengthening of domestic crafts at a time when a new state was being created.

The 1918 edition (VII + 138 pages) is among the rare antiquarian editions. Copies in solid condition are sought after by collectors of economic literature, books on Croatian economic history, and interwar editions. As the author's own edition, the book had a limited circulation and today represents an important historical source for studying crafts and economic conditions in Croatia at the transition from the Austro-Hungarian to the Yugoslav period.

This is a valuable read for lovers of old Croatian journalism, economic history, and those interested in the development of small businesses and crafts in the first half of the 20th century.