Portrait of pharmacist Josip Grahovac
Hinko Brodjovin, Zagreb, beginning of the 20th century
oil on canvas, without signature
HMMF-337

Josip Grahovac

Josip Grahovac, Croatian pharmacist (Karlovac, 1863 – Karlovac, 1922), obtained a master’s degree in pharmacy in Graz in 1884, and gained his first experiences in pharmacy practice in pharmacies in Ljubljana and Vienna. After returning to his homeland in 1881, he took over the management of the pharmacy in Glina. Then, in 1892, he moved to Sisak and took a twelve-year lease on the pharmacy K zlatnom križu. He bought Winger’s pharmacy Svetom Duhu in Zagreb at the beginning of 1904, and it would remain in his ownership until 1910. In addition to working in the pharmacy, Grahovac is also active in the work of the Croatian-Slavonic Land Pharmacists’ Association, in which he held the position of president in the period 1908-1910. After the death of his wife, he leaves Zagreb and goes to his native Karlovac, where he takes over Vrbanić’s pharmacy K crnom orlu. Despite moving to Karlovac, he still remains an active member of the Association, a member of the Council and the commission for the composition of the price list, and regularly writes letters expressing his suggestions or remarks. During his lifetime, Grahovac ordered that the sum of 2,000 crowns be paid to the Croatian-Slavonic Land Pharmacy Association in Zagreb for a foundation called Zaklada Mra. Josipa Grahovca ljekarnika u Karlovcu (The Mr Josip Grahovac, a pharmacist in Karlovac Foundation). The interest was to be paid every year to the best listener of the training course established by the Association.