In the interdisciplinary field of book history booksellers’ catalogues are recognised and reliable resource but have not often been used in Croatia as a starting point of a thorough research. The theses therefore focused on 8 preserved catalogues published in Zagreb by 3 local booksellers between 1796 and 1823. Time of their publication coincides with time known as pre-revolutionary i.e. several decades before the Croatian National Movement of 1848. This raises the question of the potential role of the book in this important period. The research comprises a description of the catalogues and the quantitative analysis of data about the books listed in them. To enable the analysis a database was created and all of the 9938 titles and other bibliographic data were entered. Some of the results confirm what was already known about Zagreb catalogues: majority of listed books were printed in German language, they were mostly published in Austria and Germany and many of them were of religious nature. However, results are much more precise, showing the percentage of books printed in German and Latin but also in more than 10 other languages. Even though most books were printed in Austria, the research also establishes that editions from all over Europe were sold in Zagreb. Books of religious content were numerous but were represented in total stock with equal share as novels, theatre pieces and poetry. Other popular subjects were economy, medicine and law, the emphasis being on the variety of subjects and the availability of up-to-date literature from all subject groups. Correlation of language and year of print shows that Latin language was gradually replaced with German during the 18th century and correlation between subject and year of print shows that religious topics were only prevailing in books printed before 1790. While the analysis of price confirms that books were very expensive, it also shows that booksellers kept a steady stock of cheaper editions. In conclusion, it could be said that even in unfavourable economic circumstances in Croatia, with estimated poor literacy rate and limited buying power of reading population, book trade in Zagreb was a part of the international network and it had undergone the changes experienced all over Europe as a part of secularisation of societies. This could have indirectly influenced the reading audience in Croatia.