#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.

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Events Archive

A new edition of the Autumnal school “Dialogue between young people from both banks of the Dniester for the edification of the European culture of memory and the promotion of democratic values. Implementation of good practices between Lithuania and Moldova”

November 1, 2024

Between November 1-3, 2024, the National Museum of History of Moldova, in cooperation with the History Institute of the Moldova State University and the Avdarma Village History Museum, with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Lithuania and the Hanns Siedel Foundation - Republic Moldova organized a new edition of the Autumnal School "Dialogue between young people from both banks of the Dniester for the edification of the European culture of memory and the promotion of democratic values. Implementation of good practices between Lithuania and Moldova".

The activities implemented during the Autumnal School focused on the creation of a common communication platform between young generations from both banks of the Dniester. In this context, the head of the branch Museum of Victims of Deportations and Political Repressions, NMHM Dr. Ludmila D. Cojocaru mentioned that "the exchange of opinions, knowledge, feelings and experiences is intended to create dialogue bridges for today's generation in the knowledge of history and memory of the inhabitants of both banks of the Dniester, to find that there are more aspects that bring us closer than those that keep us apart".

In the welcome speech on behalf of the Hanns Siedel Foundation - Republic of Moldova, Mrs. Violeta Avram, referred to the role of young people in preserving historical memory in today's society, noting that democracy, respect for human rights and the wise assumption of the past by the young generation in the Republic Moldova contributes to the consolidation of the entire society, promoting the truth and freedom.

The project director, Dr. Virgiliu Bîrlădeanu, head of the Contemporary History Section at the Institute of History, MSU referred to the problems inherent in the post-totalitarian memory culture in the Republic of Moldova, bringing into discussion solutions, policies and commemorative practices from the example of the Republic of Lithuania.

The collaborators of the National Museum of History of Moldova, Mrs. Maria Evdochimova and Mrs. Vera Serjant, during a practical lesson presented to the young scholars aspects of the process of identification, collection and scientific-museographical valorisation of the artefacts on the topic of Stalinist deportations and anti-Soviet resistance in Bessarabia, illustrating in this regard the dynamics of memory culture in the Republic of Moldova.

Field studies, meetings with actors of memory from different regions of the Republic of Moldova, discussions and the exchange of opinions contributed relevant experiences to the active involvement of young people from both banks of the Dniester in promoting democratic values. Nevertheless, the effort of historical knowledge and edification of a European culture of memory in the Republic of Moldova requires the consolidation and mobilization of the entire society.

The project "Dialogue between young people from both banks of the Dniester for the edification of the European culture of memory and the promotion of democratic values. The implementation of good practices between Lithuania and Moldova - Edition 2024" is implemented with the support of the Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania in the Republic of Moldova and the Hanns Seidel Foundation - Republic of Moldova.