#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

Inauguration of the exhibition of old photographs "Vilnius - 700 years"

June 5, 2023

On June 5, in the upstairs hall of the National Museum of History of Moldova, took place the inauguration of the photographic exhibition "Vilnius - 700 years". The event was an opportunity to bring to the attention of the public the historical evidence about the evolution of the city of Vilnius in the period of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

During the event, the Ambassador of the Republic of Lithuania in Chisinau, Tadas Valionis, emphasized the importance of this exhibition in conveying the message of modern Vilnius as a democratic city with free people and an ascending economy. Vilnius, the largest city in the Baltic countries both in terms of area and number of inhabitants, attracts attention with its historical and cultural uniqueness, but also with the comfort of modern life, green spaces and environment conducive to scientific research, studies and innovations in business.

According to the results of a survey conducted by the European Commission, 98% of Vilnius residents are satisfied with life in their city. Vilnius occupies one of the first places in the ranking of the most appreciated cities out of 900 cities in the European Union.

The historical photography exhibition was prepared by the National Museum of Lithuania, an institution that holds an impressive collection of images of Vilnius. This collection includes the remarkable works of photographers Abdon Korzon and Albert Swieykowski, who opened the first photo studios in Vilnius in the 1860s. The exhibition also presents the works of foreign photographers, such as Wilhelm Zacharchik, Antal Rohrbach, Konrad Brandel and Józef Czechowicz, who documented in detail the old Vilnius. In turn, the photographer Stanisław Filibert Fleury (1858-1915) immortalized the historical and architectural monuments, as well as the scenes of the city's daily life, photographing people on the streets, in the squares, bazaars and fairs. The richest collection of photographs of Vilnius was collected by the photographer and pioneer of artistic photography Jan Bułhak (1876-1950).

The exhibition was complemented by a collection of digital photographs of modern Vilnius, prepared by the Vilnius City Municipality. These images capture the beauty and progress of the contemporary city, highlighting the modern infrastructure, tourist attractions and vibrant life of Vilnius.

The exhibition "Vilnius - 700 years" aims to promote the cultural and historical dialogue between the Republic of Moldova and Lithuania, but also to offer visitors the opportunity to travel through time, exploring the fascinating evolution of the city of Vilnius and discovering its timeless beauty.

The "Vilnius - 700 years" exhibition can be visited until June 18, 2023, in the upstairs hall of the National Museum of History of Moldova, 31 August 1989 street, 121A.

#Exhibit of the Month

"Ideal" Mechanical Typewriter, Model A Polyglott

Inauguration of the exhibition of old photographs "Vilnius - 700 years"

June 5, 2023

#Exhibit of the Month