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.
Memorial house "Alexei Şciusev" represents a heritage object located in the historic part of Chișinău. Here, on October 8, 1873, was born and raised the future to become architect, art historian and theorist, academician Alexei Şciusev.
The architect's parents - Victor and Maria Şciusev - built the property in the 50ies of the 19th century, offering their five children a happy family home and distinguished education. Alexei Şciusev lived in this house until 1897. The house remained in the family until 1928, when it was inherited by Sergei Şciusev, the elder brother of the architect.
On 18 September 1947 in this building was inaugurated the first museum of architecture from the republic, which was later reorganized into the Museum house "Alexei Şciusev." The exhibition showing the life and work of the famous architect was opened on October 15, 1973 and was concentrated in two rooms of the building.
The memorial house becomes from 1990 (by Order of the Ministry of Culture no. 411 of December 28, 1989) a branch of the National Museum of History of Moldova.
From November 2013 to May 2014 the memorial house "Alexei Şciusev" has been totally renovated inside and outside.
The permanent exhibition was conceptually reorganized in 2014; its chronologic and thematic framework was expanded. The memorial exhibition is divided into four sections: "Şciusev family salon", "Living room", "Children's Room" and "Cabinet of architect Alexei Şciusev". The exhibition preserves the vintage ambience, reconstructs the family atmosphere in which Alexei Şciusev, this outstanding personality of national and universal culture, grew up and worked.
Opening Hours
Tuesday - Friday, Sunday 9am – 4pm. Admission to the Museum is stopped 20 minutes before closing.
Closed: On Mondays and Saturdays, 1, 7, and 8 January, 8 March, first and second day of Easter, Memorial Easter, 1 and 9 May, 27 and 31 August, 25 December.
Admission Fees
Adults - 50 MDL Pensioners, Students - 20 MDL School students - 10 MDL
Free admission:
Preschool children (up to the age of 7), children from residential institutions, children with disabilities (up to the age of 18) and their companion, military personnel, official delegations and delegations of a cultural nature (within the limits of the museum's operating hours), employees of the national museum network, the Ministry of Culture and national institutions in the field of cultural heritage, holders of ICOM and ICOMOS cards, war veterans (pursuant to Law no. 317/2024), for the participants in the liquidation of the consequences of the damage at the Chernobyl C.A.E.
Free admission for all visitors: the last Thursday of every 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...
The National Museum of History of Moldova takes place among the most significant museum institutions of the Republic of Moldova, in terms of both its collection and scientific reputation.
The National Museum of History of Moldova takes place among the most significant museum institutions of the Republic of Moldova, in terms of both its collection and scientific reputation.
The National Museum of History of Moldova takes place among the most significant museum institutions of the Republic of Moldova, in terms of both its collection and scientific reputation.
31 August 1989 St., 121 A, MD 2012, Chisinau, Republic of Moldova
