#Exhibit of the Month

One of the great technical achievements that revolutionized the idea of time and space, opening a new era in the history of communication, is telegraphy. It is based on the transmission of electrical signals through a cable over long distances, allowing people to communicate instantly. The telegraph spread very quickly and a network of wires stretched around the world.

In 1837, the American painter and physicist Samuel Morse invented the first electromagnetic device for telegraphy, patented in 1840. To send messages by wire, Morse developed in 1838 a simple code of dots and dashes, which represented the letters of the alphabet, known as "Morse code ".

Both Morse code and the telegraph machine were improved over time, with the telegraph becoming the most widespread system of communication and information transmission for more than a century, until the advent of the Internet. The telegraph system consisted of a series of stations repeaters along the transmission line route. Each station had an operator who received and transmitted messages by telegraph. The Morse machine transmitted about 25 words per minute, which were recorded in code on a paper tape. The operator in charge of transmitting the message would decode it and write it on paper using a special typewriter.

In Bessarabia, the telegraph entered in 1860: on April 8, the Bender telegraph station began its activity, and on April 24, the one in Chisinau, following the construction of the first Odesa-Chisinau-Leova telegraph line. Currently, telegraph services have been discontinued. The only ones who still use coded communication are radio amateurs.

The Morse telegraph machine shown comes from the Osinoostrovsky electrotechnical plant, Soviet Union, and dates back to 1934. The exhibit was restored by Mihail Culașco.

Virtual Tour

Exhibitions

"Christmas Nostalgia"

December 24, 2012 – January 28, 2013

On the eve of winter holidays, the National Museum of Archaeology and History of Moldova suggests the visitors a temporary exhibition based on its collection, which is entitled Christmas Nostalgia. It brings together over 300 museum pieces: Christmas balls, decorations, and illustrated postcards collected as a result of collaboration between the host institution and the collectors Andrei and Larisa Vacaruc and painter Iurie Caminschi. The exhibition invites you to a journey through the history of Christmas tree decorations covering more than a century (1913-2013).

In terms of its conception the exhibition is divided into two compartments:

1. From the history of Christmas tree decorations

Tree decorations are ornaments made of glass, metal, wood, cloth, and the newest ones - of plastic or different recyclable materials. One of the most interesting objects for the Christmas tree decorating undoubtedly is a glass globe. Its history begins in 1847, in the town of Lauscha, Germany, where Hans Greiner began producing glass ornaments in the shape of fruits and nuts. The exhibition is reflected only categories and key moments in the development of Christmas production. Its organizational principles were the chronological, typological, and aesthetic criteria.

2. Winter holidays in pictures

Postcards and photographs reflecting the theme of the winter holidays give a touch of originality to the exhibition. They hang on the walls and are decorated with Christmas decorations. It is interesting that the first Christmas card was made in 1843 by British painter John Callcott Horsley by order of Henry Cole, director of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

Way of placing the exhibits enhances the perception of the exhibition subject by the visitors.

The exhibition is complemented by works of different sizes, shapes and colors of the Origami Center of Moldova. They are performed under several practices of origami (modular and kusudami).

The exhibition will help to improve the activities of the museum by carrying out a number of actions with the public. After "active visits" to the exhibition and the impressions received from the exhibits, the children and their parents can practice their skills of artists in the workshop experimenting with various techniques and methods for manufacturing Christmas decorations.