#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

Scientific Conference "Liturgical Standard of Stephen the Great"

August 25, 2011

The conference highlighted scientific concept of the exhibition "Liturgical Standard of Stephen the Great" (held in Chisinau on August 27 to September 10), addressing the main historical, artistic and conservation issues on the flag. There were presented the following communications:

1) Dr. Ernest Oberländer-Târnoveanu (National Museum of History of Romania, Bucharest). Troubled History of "Discovery" of the Liturgical Standard of Stephen the Great in the Zograf Monastery (Mount Athos);

2) Dr. hab. Paul Parasca (Free International University of Moldova, Chisinau). Saint George - Patron of the Army of the Medieval Moldavian State;

3) Dr. Petre Guran ("Mihai Eminescu" Romanian Cultural Institute in Chisinau). From Standard to Icon: Introduction to the Prayer of Stephen the Great;

4) Acad. Andrei Eșanu, Valentina Eșanu (Institute of History, State and Law of the Academy of Sciences of Moldova, Chisinau). Sword of Stephen the Great - a Symbol of Royal Power;

5) Cornel Ilie Constantin (National Museum of History of Romania, Bucharest). 1917-1919: Recovery and Repatriation of the Liturgical Standard of Stephen the Great from Mount Athos;

6) Dr. Silviu Tabac (Institute of Cultural Heritage of the Academy of Sciences of Moldova, Chisinau). The Problem of Interpretation in Romanian Historiography of the Flag Given by Stephen the Great to the Zograf Monastery;

7) Dr. Oana Ilie, Alexandra Mărășoiu (National Museum of History of Romania, Bucharest). The 43^rd Year of Stephen the Great's Reign - the Year of Completion of Work on the Liturgical Standard of Zograf Monastery (12 April 1499 - 11 April 1500).

Organizers: Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Moldova, Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of Romania, National Museum of Archaeology and History of Moldova, National Museum of History of Romania and the "Mihai Eminescu" Romanian Cultural Institute.