#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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Scientific and Practical Seminar: Scientific and cultural dialogue with representatives of specialized institutions regarding the record and management of archaeological collections and the archive of archaeological research

September 29, 2023

On September 29, 2023, at the Museum of History of Moldova, the Scientific and Practical Seminar "Scientific and cultural dialogue with representatives of specialized institutions regarding the record and management of archaeological collections and the archive of archaeological research" was held. The event was organized within the project "Museum heritage and historical memory: research, interpretation, presentation" (Code: 20.80009.0807.43), in the context of the European Heritage Days.

The Seminar was attended by 38 researchers, museographers and master's students in the field, from 6 archaeological profile institutions from the Republic of Moldova (Ministry of Culture, National Archaeological Agency, State University of Moldova, Ion Creangă State Pedagogical University, National Museum of History of Moldova, Institute of Cultural Heritage) and 5 local museums.

During the Seminar, topics related to the administration of mobile archaeological heritage objects kept in the national and local museums of the Republic of Moldova were discussed. In this context, 8 communications were presented: "The legal framework of the Republic of Moldova regarding the record and administration of archaeological collections and the archaeological archive" (Gheorghe Postică); "Management of the national archaeological archive within the National Museum of History of Moldova" (Mariana Sîrbu); "Management of the archaeological collection within the National Museum of History of Moldova" (Natalia Mateevici, Ecaterina Abâzova); "Management of the collection of pottery, paleoanthropology and archaeozoology within the National History Museum of History of Moldova" (Ion Tentiuc, Eugen Mistreanu); "The problem of forming the collection and digital database of images and photo films from archaeological excavations in the Republic of Moldova" (Denis Topal); "Management of the archaeological collection within the Tudor Arnăut Museum of Archeology of the State University of Moldova" (Sergiu Matveev); "Management of the archaeological collection of the Old Orhei Cultural and Natural Reserve" (Ion Ciobanu, Vitalie Burlacu); "The problem of theft from sites and illegal commercialization of the national archaeological heritage" (Vlad Vornic).

As a result of the debate, the urgent need was recognized to restructure policies for the protection and recording of mobile archaeological heritage in national, institutional and local museums, to prioritize and intensify activities, including inventory, systematization and conservation of mobile archaeological heritage objects.