In 1818, Mihanović found an unpublished manuscript of “Osman” by Ivan Gundulić in Venice. He tried to publish it, and through a public call “to friends of science and the national language”, he invited subscriptions for the planned edition with the words: “It would indeed be shameful for us if some nations, our relatives, surpass us in the quantity of published works”. Unfortunately, this cunning marketing approach did not attract enough financial support. Nevertheless, this classic of early Croatian literature was published in 1826, but without Mihanović’s participation.