#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

Launch of the "PAIN IN REFUGEES" exhibition

February 24, 2023

On February 24, in the premises of the National Museum of History of Moldova, the exhibition "PAIN IN REFUGEES" was launched.

The exhibition was organized by the team of the Society for the Study and Combat of Pain from the Republic of Moldova, and aimed to sensitize the population and outline the fact that pain affects every aspect of human life. The results of the study conducted on the basis of 264 respondents, suffering from acute and chronic pain but also from the psychological impact of war attributes, were presented. The idea of the biological association of colors with pain was projected onto a white canvas; visitors were invited to paint in the colors with which they associate pain.

Burmistr Iana, the president of the Society for the Study and Combat of Pain: "Together with Mr. Professor Dmytro Dmitriyev from Vinnytsia, the president of the Ukrainian Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Therapy, we cordially greet you and are grateful to you for agreeing to be present at this event, generated, unfortunately, by sad reasons. Exactly one year ago, the Russian Federation attacked Ukraine unawares, in its desire to seize territory, exterminate the Ukrainian people and suppress freedoms, rights, democracy and the desire to have a decent living, together with the other peoples of the United Europe". In this context, the participants held a minute of silence for the Heroes of Ukraine and for those who were deprived of the joy of life by the invaders.

Olesea Şevcenco, wife of E.S. Marko Shevchenko, the Ambassador of Ukraine to the Republic of Moldova: "We are grateful to the citizens of the Republic of Moldova for helping Ukraine beyond words in these difficult moments. Please do not tire of helping the Ukrainian people, because the war continues, and now more than ever we need support and shelter."

During the event, Livia Sîrbu, deputy director of NMHM, Maura Reap - World Health Organization, Angela Capcelea - UNICEF, Katri Koch - Swiss Cooperation, project collaborators: Alexia Caisîn and Victor Ghereg took part in the event.

At the end of the event, those present at the launch of the exhibition participated in the creation of a painting on this occasion. The obtained painting will be donated to the Embassy of Ukraine in Moldova, to immortalize this event.

The exhibition "PAIN IN REFUGEES" can be seen between February 24 and March 12, 2023, on the fence of the National Museum of History of Moldova, 31 August 1989 str., 121A.

#Exhibit of the Month

Folding bellows camera, “Agfa Isolar Luxus”. AGFA Company, Munich, Germany, 1928

Launch of the "PAIN IN REFUGEES" exhibition

February 24, 2023

#Exhibit of the Month