The Haunting Blueprint Folios of the Kovačić Carpentry Annex

The Carpentry Annex sits silent, the tools waiting in halted formation. A partially assembled stool leans against a workbench, its blueprint left mid-calculation.

Crafting a Life in Wood

These tools and papers belonged to Petar Kovačić, master carpenter (b.

1875, Zagreb), trained under a local guild yet providing furniture for urban households. His precise notes, written in Croatian, list board dimensions, joinery types, and varnish schedules. A brief slip referencing his brother, Mate Kovačić, “deliver chairs Monday,” indicates a life structured around exacting daily routines and meticulous planning.

Measuring Grain and Form

On the main bench, chisels and planes lie aligned by size. Blueprints for chairs, cabinets, and tables are stacked by project date. A small vise holds an unfinished cabinet door. A ledger beneath folded plans records client orders, delivery dates, and wood types. On a side shelf, a half-cut board bears pencil lines denoting measure, the project abandoned mid-marking.

Faltering Precision

Later entries in Petar’s ledger reveal uneven measurements, crossed-out dimensions, and smudged annotations. Several chair legs are carved asymmetrically, and a note—“client complaint unresolved”—rests beneath a half-finished tabletop. Eye strain and exhaustion caused his careful work to falter, leaving projects incomplete and partially assembled.

In the Annex’s final drawer, Petar’s last blueprint ends mid-line, dimensions and measure notes incomplete. A penciled reminder—“finish for Mate”—cuts off abruptly.

No record explains why he ceased work, nor why Mate never collected the pieces.

The house remains abandoned, boards, tools, and blueprints frozen in quiet incompletion, each line of wood and ink waiting for hands that will never return.