#Exhibit of the Month

The main parts of the camera include the body, bellows, lens, and viewfinder system. The body consists of two lacquered walnut wood frames, joined by a folding black textile bellows that allows the necessary extension for focusing. On the front panel is the Agfa anastigmat lens, mounted in a Compur-type shutter produced by F. Deckel in Munich. It features a foldable "brilliant" viewfinder for both portrait and landscape orientation. It uses glass photographic plates coated with a photographic emulsion, mounted in walnut wood holders, with a frame size of 9x12 cm.
The walnut wood model, considered the flagship "Agfa Isolar Luxus," was designed by the A.H. Rietzschel factory in Munich, acquired by AGFA in 1925, which continued producing this type of camera under its own name until the late 1920s.
The piece was restored by Mihail Culașco, Restoration Department of NMHM.
Brief History of the Camera
The history of the camera spans 200 years, evolving from the camera obscura to today's digital devices. Key milestones include: the first permanent photograph in 1826 by French physicist Joseph Nicéphore Niépce, using a wooden box and a plate coated with bitumen of Judea; the invention of the first photographic process - daguerreotype - in 1839 by Frenchman Louis Daguerre, marking the official birth of photography; the invention of calotype, based on the negative/positive principle, by British physicist and chemist Fox Talbot; the invention of wet collodion plates by Englishman Frederick Scott Archer and dry glass plates by Richard Leach Maddox and John Huds Bennet; the introduction of flexible roll film and the launch of the first Kodak camera by American inventor George Eastman; the release of the first 35 mm film camera by German company "Leica"; the launch of the first instant camera "Polaroid," invented by American Edwin Land. Finally, starting in 1975, this path led to the digital photography revolution. Each successive step made cameras smaller and faster, significantly improving image quality.
The first photographic studio in Chișinău was opened in 1854 by Eduard Glewski, and before World War I, there were already about 100 photography studios in Bessarabia.
The collection of the National Museum of History of Moldova includes over 30 cameras, made in Austria, Germany, France, USSR, Japan, and China, dating from the late 19th century to the 2000s. Among them are folding bellows cameras, BOX-type cameras, single-lens reflex (SLR) and twin-lens reflex (TLR) cameras, as well as digital (DSLR) cameras.

Virtual Tour

European Night of Museums 2014

This year, two of the most important events in the worldwide community of museums - International Museum Day and Night of Museums were celebrated by the National Museum of History of Moldova on May 17. On this occasion, the museum prepared for visitors many interesting and varied activities, which started at 11:00 and ended at 02:00.

The theme for these extraordinary celebrations was "Museum collections make connections...between visitors, generations and cultures of the world.

Poster International Day of Museums 2014

The International Museum Day program started at 11:00 and ended at 18:00; it included a series of activities in the museum's rooms and in the courtyard. Among them:

In the museum's rooms:

Opening of the International Museum Day

Presentation of the museum's publications:

- Album "National Museum of History of Moldova (1983-2013)"

- A. Grițco. "Karl Schmidt"

- "Marketing in Contemporary Museum - Achievements and Problems"

Opening of the temporary exhibition "Courage and Faith" (Military decorations from the collections of the National Museum of History of Moldova)
Concert of classical music "The Realm of Music", with the participation of children from the Center for Aesthetic Education "Lăstărel"
Workshops for children and their parents: "Historical artifact through the eyes of a child", "Little ceramists", "History and art of writing"

In the courtyard:

Brass Band Concert of the Center for Aesthetic Education "Lăstărel"
Exhibition of retro cars
"A day in the life of a prehistoric community" - interactive activities in the reconstructed Cucutenian dwelling
Contemporary Ceramic Workshop led by ceramist I. Prividiuc
Children's toy fair. Children came to the museum with their toys, which they donated to an orphanage.
Games and contests for children, music and dance show with participation of artistic groups from the Center for Aesthetic Education "Lăstărel"
Workshops of medieval weapon skills and of electronic shooting organized by the Academy „Stefan cel Mare" of the Ministry of Internal Affairs
Presentation of the album "Moldova. Military tradition and culture" edited by the Academy „Stefan cel Mare" of the Ministry of Internal Affairs

The activities dedicated to the International Museum Day were attended by 2371 people.

The European Night of Museums was celebrated from 18:00 to 2:00.

The program included:

In the museum's rooms:

Visiting the permanent and temporary exhibitions, entertainment with characters in costumes of different times
A musical journey through time:

- French music concert featuring winners of the National Francophone Song Festival 2014

- Musical interludes performed by pianist Vera Stoyanov, winner of International Music Competitions, and violinist Lia Rusu, winner of the National Music Competitions

- Chamber music performed by students of the Academy of Music, Theatre and Fine Arts

Thematic guided tours in the temporary exhibition "History of a Coin"
French films screenings, in the museum's Film Library "Clio": Ernest et Célestine by Stéphane Aubier, Vincent Patar and Benjamin Renner; Le Prénom by Alexandre de La Patellière and Mathieu Delaporte; Populaire by Régis Roinsard; Le gamin au vélo by Jean-Pierre Dardenne and Luc Dardenne
Interactive exhibition "My Country, My Family". The Night of Museums participants were invited to come with a family photo (older than 30 years), which will be exhibited in the hall of the museum within the exhibition reconstructing the history of the local community during a century. The exhibition included pictures owned by the Bejan, Chiciuc, Foca, Guja, Oprea, Sîrbu, and Semenciuc families.
Workshop "Newfound Stories. Hairstyle in History". Students of the Chisinau Professional School no. 1 presented the history of hairstyles (in ancient times, the Middle Ages, the modern time and the interwar period) and did all interested hairstyles from different periods of time.
"Behind the Exhibitions of the National Museum of History of Moldova" - interactive demonstrations and discussions. Museum restorers invited visitors to know how to identify, preserve and restore archaeological pottery, old books, clocks and icons.
Workshops for children and their parents: Origami Workshop "The Magic of Cucuteni Pottery" and the Glass Painting Workshop
Medieval armor stand and Photo Studio "Retro-Museum", in which the visitors could try on knights' armor and / or to make a picture in a specially designed vintage environment.
Screening Kaleidoscope of the Night 2014

In the courtyard:

"A night in the life of a prehistoric community" - interactive activities in the reconstructed Cucutenian dwelling
Interactive Workshops on weapon skills, archery, and javelin organized by the Academy „Stefan cel Mare" of the Ministry of Internal Affairs
Performance "Military Traditions. Between Past, Present and Future" staged by students of the Academy "Stefan cel Mare" of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. They offered a great costume show presenting mastery of weapons from different times.
Night guided tour "Architectural landmarks of Chisinau downtown". By means of two buses of the Urban Bus Fleet there were organized 14 guided tours to Stefan cel Mare Street, from one end to another, to discover some interesting details about the emblematic buildings of Chisinau.
Concert with Konstantin Pawliuk and the group "Clipele Moldovei"
Battles of knights and fire juggling staged by the Historical Club "Ensifer"
Concert of the band "No Stresss"

The celebration of the European Night of Museums at the National Museum of History of Moldova was attended by 15 845 people.