#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.

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Annual Scientific Session of the Museum 2013

October 4, 2013

As part of the institutional project „Scientific valorification and promotion of various categories of museum heritage"(2013-2014) was organized the 23rd edition of the yearly session of scientific communications on October 3rd and 4th, 2013. This year the session was opened by welcome words from dr.hab. Eugen Sava, general director of the museum, Victor Ghilaș, scientific secretary of Humanistic Sciences Section of ASM, univ. prof. Ion Eremia, State University of Moldova, Sergiu Musteață, dean of History and Ethno-pedagogy Department of State Pedagogical University „I.Creangă". Their speeches are messages of appreciation of museum collaborators efforts towards scientific research and public valorization of museum heritage.

The participants at the opening session assisted also at the presentation of two numbers of the museum journal Tyragetia. Dr. Aurel Zanoci and dr.hab. Elena Ploșnița expressed their gratitude to authors which contributed to the publication of a new issue of this prestigious scientific journal.

The program of the session included 60 presentations divided in three sections. Three papers were presented at the plenary session by dr. L. Zabolotnaia (Institute of History of ASM), dr. hab. E. Sava and dr. A. Boldureanu (National Museum of History of Moldova).

This year the session was attended by researchers and museographers from universities, academic and museum institutions from the republic and from abroad: Romania, Ukraine and Russia.

At the section Archaeology, Ancient and Medieval History were presented 22 papers, most of them focusing on the results of the latest archaeological investigations. With a novelty spirit are the papers „Preliminary considerations regarding archaeological research at Soroca Fortress in 2012-2013"(S. Mustață, I. Tentiuc, I. Ursu), „Preliminary archaeological investigations at Manuc-Bey Complex" (O. Levițki, I. Ciobanu, L. Ciobanu), „Archaeological research at Saharna Mică open settlement from 2013"(I. Niculiță, A. Nicic, A. Corobcean) etc.

Those 24 papers presented in the section Modern and contemporary history revealed an array of topics regarding economy, culture, religion, personalities from national history and culture. Two papers - „Advertising for slaves trade in Romanian Principalities" (dr. Marian Petcu, Bucharest) and „Gipsies/Roma - the seventh national minority in Big Romania (1918-1940)" ( Ion Duminică, Chișinău, based on archival documents and multidisciplinary historiographic resources, highlighted some problems of the historic and social evolution of Roma in different historical periods. Interesting and novelty subjects were reflected in the presentations of dr. Dinu Poștarencu, dr. Igor Cereteu, dr. Liliana Condraticova, dr. prof. Valentin Tomuleț etc.

The presentations form the section Museology and valorization of museum heritage were rich in thematic and approached various problems from national museology and spoke about the need to permanently valorize museum cultural assets. Are worth of mentioning the papers „West-European dictionaries and encyclopedias from the collections of the National History Museum of Moldova" by dr. Andrei Emilciuc, „KEV Journal - an environment for advertising (19th - beginning of 20th cc.) by V. Serjant, „Book editors from Bessarabia (end of 19th - beginning of 20th cc.) by A. Grițco. Tina Fedoseeva from Ukraine, presented „Principles of organizing temporary exhibitions on the place of archaeological and architectural monuments" which raised many questions and provoked and serious debate.
Already a tradition of national museology, this year's edition of the session was part of events organized on the occasion of the 30th anniversary from the foundation of the National History Museum of Moldova.