Methodology of dr. Danica Pinterovi？’s professional work exemplified on organisation of the clocks and watches collection in the Arts and crafts department of the Museum of Slavonia

Sa？etak Dr. Danica Pinterovi？, as a curator of the Museum of Slavonia in Osijek, independently organised objects that nowadays form two collections – the Clocks and Watches Collection and the Furniture Collection – in the late 1940’s at the Arts and Crafts Department. In order to properly value her professional work, we will present her methodology on the example of the Clocks and Watches Collection by reviewing her detailed diary and personal correspondence. It is important to emphasise that there were no legal regulations about the professional organisation of museum objects after World War II. Museum workers acquired experience from practice and short courses. In 1948, Danica Pinterovi？ started organising the first objects from the Arts and Crafts Department. The majority of the museum material was not organised and it was brought to the Museum in a short period and in large quantities. She sorted out the arts and crafts objects and opened a new Inventory book where she recorded them, with new numbering. The classification of clocks lasted from 1948 to 1951, and 60 watches were recorded in the Inventory book. The first task of making an inventory was to unify all the objects in the collection. The clocks were divided typologically into wall clocks, standing clocks, table clocks, and pocket watches. When we compare the information written down in the “old” Inventory book, started by prof. Vjekoslav Celestin (where all the objects were recorded under sequential numbers and one book was used for all professions) with the information recorded by Danica Pinterovi？ in the new one, we can see what she considered important. Using the information from the “old” Inventory book, Danica Pinterovi？ could copy the time of purchase and the amount paid for the clock, sometimes information about its procurement, but, in addition to a short description, she wrote down the dimensions of the object in the new book, believing that it is important to take note of the basic identification information. In the field Notes, she wrote the estimated value of the clock and the number of the record used when the object came into the Museum. That is how the first phase of collection organisation ended. All the objects were recorded with basic information, they were signed, and stored in the museum depot. The clocks were indexed by Danica Pinterovi？ and Jovan Gojkovi？. The folder consisted of cards; it was the so-called card catalogue, with three cards for each object. The card dimension was 16.8 x 20.7 cm and the words HRVATSKI DR？AVNI MUZEJ U / OSIJEKU (CROATIAN NATIONAL MUSEUM