#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

Museum Event "Restoring History from Shards"

September 26, 2024

The National Museum of History of Moldova celebrated the European Heritage Days on September 26, 2024, with the activity "Rebuilding History from Fragments." The event was organized by the Public Relations and Museum Education Department in collaboration with the Museum Restoration Department.

The activity was held for a group of students from "Mircea Eliade" Theoretical High School in Chisinau and focused on sharing knowledge and information with the younger generation, offering them the opportunity to better understand the importance of preserving national cultural heritage and the process of restoring artifacts.

The first part of the activity took place in the ceramics restoration laboratory, where museum specialists Mariana Guzun and Daniela Feroni enthusiastically discussed the specialized work carried out on various ceramic pieces, each with different levels of degradation. They explained how hundreds of fragments, which may seem worthless at first glance, can eventually be brought back to life as a well-preserved museum piece.

During the activity, the students had the opportunity to talk to restorer Anastasia Craev, who introduced them to various specialized techniques and discussed the importance of heritage preservation. She also touched on the topic of souvenirs, highlighting how they can contribute to promoting and understanding national history and culture in an international context. The students learned not only about the restoration process but also about the educational and cultural value of national heritage.

Through interactive and educational activities, participants were encouraged to appreciate local history and traditions, thus contributing to the formation of a deeper cultural awareness. Upon leaving, the students expressed enthusiasm and appreciation for the experience at the National Museum of History of Moldova. They emphasized how interesting and informative the activities were, noting that they learned a lot about the importance of preserving national cultural heritage and the process of restoring artifacts. Many of them mentioned that interacting with the museum restorers and specialists gave them a new perspective on history and universal culture, inspiring them to explore these fields further in the future.

This initiative reflects a successful model of integrating education and culture, having a significant impact on the perception of the younger generations towards national cultural heritage.

#Exhibit of the Month

"Ideal" Mechanical Typewriter, Model A Polyglott

Museum Event "Restoring History from Shards"

September 26, 2024

#Exhibit of the Month