#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

Museum structure

General Director

Eugen SAVA, Doctor Habilitated in Historical Sciences

Education:

• Faculty of History, Moldova State University (1983).
• Institute of the History of Material Culture of the USSR Academy of Sciences, Leningrad/Saint Petersburg (1988) - PhD.
• Moldova State University (2003) - Doctor Habilitated.

- Research field: Prehistoric archaeology in the Eurasian space.
- Corresponding member of the German Archaeological Institute (Deutsches Archäologisches Institut), Berlin (2009).
- Honorary member of the Institute of Archaeology of the Romanian Academy, Iași (2010).

Tel.: +373 (22) 24 43 25
Email: eugen.sava@nationalmuseum.md

Deputy Director for Heritage

Livia ERMURACHI

Education:

• Faculty of History and Ethnopedagogy, "Ion Creangă" State Pedagogical University (2003-2008) - Bachelor's degree.
• Faculty of History and Ethnopedagogy, "Ion Creangă" State Pedagogical University (2008-2010) - Master's degree.

- Research field: Prehistoric archaeology in the Carpathian-Dniester area.
- Corresponding member of the German Archaeological Institute (Deutsches Archäologisches Institut), Berlin (2023).

Tel.: +373 69 570 373
Email: livia.ermurachi@nationalmuseum.md

Deputy Director for Public Relations

Olga ANDRANOVICI

Education:

• Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, "Lucian Blaga" University of Sibiu, Romania (2019-2022) - Bachelor's degree.
• Faculty of History and Philosophy, Moldova State University (2022-2024) - Master's degree.
• Faculty of History, University of Bucharest, Romania (2023-2024) - Master's degree.

- Research field: Industrial cultural heritage.

Tel.:‪+373 67 176 232‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬
E-mail: o.andranovici@nationalmuseum.md

Deputy Director for Administration

Alexandru ARGINT

Education:

• "Alexandru Ioan Cuza" University, Iași, Romania (2004) - Bachelor's degree.
• "Alexandru Ioan Cuza" University, Iași, Romania (2006) - Master's degree.

Tel.: +373 69 206723
Email: alexandru.argint@nationalmuseum.md

Scientific Secretary

Maria ZINOVII, PhD in History

Eduation:

• Faculty of History and Psychology, Moldova State University (2002-2006) - Bachelor's degree.
• Faculty of History and Psychology, Moldova State University (2006-2007) - Master's degree.
• Academy of Public Administration, specialization in Theory and Practice of Public Administration (2016-2018) - Master's degree.
• Doctoral School of Humanities, Moldova State University (2017-2023) - PhD.

- Research field: History of crimes and communist regimes.

Tel.: +373 699 43 038
Email: maria.zinovii@nationalmuseum.md

Chief Accountant

Angela MARCHITAN

Education:

International Institute of Management, Chișinău (2006).

Tel.: +373 (22) 23 82 69
Email: angela.marchitan@nationalmuseum.md

Departments

Heritage Colections Department

Head: Ana Maria RUSNAC

Education:

• Faculty of Social Sciences, "Dimitrie Cantemir" State University (2017-2020) - Bachelor's degree.
• Faculty of International Relations, Political and Administrative Sciences, Moldova State University (2020-2023) - Master's degree.
• Faculty of History and Philosophy, Moldova State University (2022-2024) - Master's degree (2023-2025).

- Research field: Bessarabian personalities of the 20th century.

Tel.: +373 680 94 789
Email: anamaria.rusnac@nationalmuseum.md

Restoration Department

Head: Ecaterina BONDARENCO

Education:

Faculty of History, Moldova State University (1980).

Tel.: +373 (22) 23 82 84
Email: ecaterina.bondarenco@nationalmuseum.md

Public Relations and Museum Education Department

Head: Natalia POPOVICI

Education:

"Ion Creangă" State Pedagogical University (1992).

Tel.: +373 (22) 24 04 26
Email: natalia.popovici@nationalmuseum.md

Exhibitions Department

Head: Victor ŢOI

Education:

Faculty of History, Moldova State University (1983).

Tel.: +373 (22) 24 13 48
Email: victor.toi@nationalmuseum.md

Department of Heritage Digitization and Informatization

Head: Lilia CALUGHIN

Education:

Faculty of Library Science and Bibliography, Moldova State University (1992).

Tel.: +373 (22) 24 36 71
Email: lilia.calughin@nationalmuseum.md

Publications and Editorial Marketing Department

Head: Aurel ZANOCI, PhD in history

Education:

• Faculty of History, Moldova State University (1991).
• Moldova State University (1993-1996) - PhD studies.

- Research field: Prehistoric archaeology in the Carpathian-Dniester area.

Tel.: +373 (22) 23 82 79
Email: aurel.zanoci@nationalmuseum.md

Supervision Department

Head: Eugenia GOLBAN

Education:

• Faculty of History, Moldova State University (1993-1999) - Bachelor's degree.
• Faculty of History and Ethnology, "Ion Creangă" State Pedagogical University, specialization in Historical Heritage and Cultural Tourism (2010-2012) - Master's degree.

Tel.: +373 603 98 995
Email: eugenia.golban@nationalmuseum.md

Library and Scientific Archive Service

Head: Mariana BALAN

Education:

• Faculty of Letters, Moldova State University (1995).
• Faculty of Foreign Languages, Moldova State University (1997).

Tel.: +373 (22) 24 36 69
Email: mariana.balan@nationalmuseum.md

Department of History, Archaeology, and Museology

Head: Gheorghe POSTICĂ, University Professor, Doctor Habilitated in Historical Sciences

Education:

• Faculty of History, Moldova State University (1976) - Bachelor's degree.
• Moscow State University "M. V. Lomonosov" (1988) - PhD.
• Moldova State University (2006) - Doctor Habilitated.

Tel.: +373 68 896 767
Email: gheorghe.postica@nationalmuseum.md