#Exhibit of the Month

Manufactured in 1902 by AG vorm Siedel & Nauman in Dresden, Germany.

Dimensions: Length - 38 cm, Width - 35 cm, Height - 20 cm. Weight - 16 kg. It entered the museum collection in 1984, transferred from the National Museum of Ethnography and Natural History.

The typewriter features a standard carriage mounted on ball bearings and rollers, along with a keyboard equipped with 42 keys. These contain two complete sets of Latin and Cyrillic alphabets, punctuation marks, numbers, and mathematical symbols, enabling the typing of 126 characters. Beneath the metal casing, the type bars are arranged in a fan-like pattern, holding embossed characters and ink ribbon rollers. When the keys are pressed, the type bars strike the inked ribbon, imprinting characters onto the paper tensioned in the machine's roller system.

The side panels are elegantly decorated with refined cast-iron elements in the Art Nouveau style, displaying the brand name - "Ideal." The Polyglott model, featuring a bilingual keyboard patented in the United Kingdom by Max Klaczko from Riga, Latvia, was produced between 1902 and 1913, marking the first typewriter capable of writing in two languages. The "Ideal Polyglott" typewriter was actively sold in the Russian Empire and gained significant popularity in Poland, Bulgaria, and Serbia.
The typewriter - a mechanical device used for printing text directly onto paper - ranks among the most important inventions of the modern era, as it revolutionized communication. From the late 19th century to the early 21st century, it became an indispensable tool, widely used by writers, in offices, for business correspondence, and in private homes. The peak of typewriter sales occurred in the 1950s when the average annual sales in the United States reached 12 million units. In November 2012, the British Brother factory produced what it claimed to be the last typewriter, which was donated to the Science Museum in London.
The advent of computers, word processing software, printers, and the decreasing cost of these technologies led to the typewriter's disappearance from the mainstream market, turning it into a museum exhibit.
June 23 marks Typewriter Day, commemorating the date when American journalist and inventor Christopher Latham Sholes patented his typewriter. This day celebrates the simple yet revolutionary device that has become history, as well as the remarkable literary achievements it has enabled since 1868.

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Events Archive

Commemorating 25 years from the beginning of military actions aimed to protect the integrity and independence of the Republic of Moldova

February 28, 2017

The National Museum of History of Moldova in cooperation with the Association of Humanitarian Law held on February 28, a conference commemorating the 25th anniversary from the beginning of military actions for the defence of the integrity and independence of Republic of Moldova (March 2nd, 1992).

Dr. hab. Eugen Sava, general director of the National Museum of History of Moldova, was present at the event with a welcoming speech in which tribute was paid to the persons killed on the battlefield in 1992.

Many personalities directly involved in the armed conflict gave speeches at the event: Major General Anton Gămurari, Brigadier General Vasile Grosu, retired Colonel Andrei Covrig, and retired Colonel Chiril Panteleev. They spoke about lesser known moments related to the causes and beginning of the war.

Valeriu Muravschi, Prime Minister of the Republic of Moldova during 1991-1992, related about political realities of that time and their influence on political decision making. The situation of the population from the conflict zone, including the multiple violations of human rights, was described by the then mayor of the village of Pârâta, Dubăsari District. Assoc. prof. Vitalie Gămurari made a comprehensive analysis of the status of Moldova within the Negotiations Commission. Nicolae Pojoga, accredited journalist in the military zone, commented on a collage of photos made by him during military operations.

In the debates took part Vasile Şoimaru, deputy in the first Moldovan Parliament; Ion Iovcev, director of the Lyceum "Lucian Blaga" in Tiraspol, etc.

At the press briefing held during the conference, the organizers have stressed that the conflict in the eastern districts of Moldova is part of conflicts that erupted in the outskirts of the USSR and was a consequence of a number of internal and external factors. This conflict took the form of a war between the Russian Federation and Moldova. In particular was paid attention to the need to preserve the memory of those who died during military operations and after because of many suffered wounds. The organizers expressed their regret about the lack of a state policy of resolving the political crisis in the eastern districts of Moldova.