#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

Summer camp at the museum

August 15-26, 2022

Between August 15-26, 2022, the National Museum of History of Moldova hosted the day camp organized by the "Chabad Lubavitch" Jewish community in partnership with the museum.

The program of the camp was a complex one, based on activities dedicated to the knowledge of Jewish history and traditions, such as workshops, excursions, watching films and other interactive games. The camp was attended by 30 Jewish children from Chisinau and Ukraine, coordinated by educators from Israel.

From the very first day, the children got to know the museum, taking a guided tour of the exhibition halls. They got to know the museum and the history of the Republic of Moldova. Many children visited the museum for the first time, especially refugee children from Ukraine. This was a great opportunity to familiarize themselves with both the host institution and the history of the Republic of Moldova, from ancient times to the present. Also, several workshops offered by the museum guides were organized for them - „History and the Art of Writing" and „Secrets of Prehistoric Ceramics". Thus, the children allowed themselves to be captured by the enigmas of history, learned the secrets of pottery modeling and wrote down their history in ink on parchment at the museum.

For the children it was a real adventure! The parents were also impressed. They thanked the organizers and everyone involved. One of the mothers described the summer camp at the museum as „...a rare combination of a fun and a useful way to end to summer vacation!".

During the 2 weeks, the children learned about their roots, about the country they live in and about the traditions of the Jewish people. The summer camp at the museum ended with a concert for parents, where the children showed what they learned these days, sang songs in Hebrew, read prayers, received gifts from the synagogue and took a group photo, which over the years they will become memorable memories.

The National Museum of History of Moldova is delighted to be the partner of such events and promotes activities aimed at children, because children are the future, and the future must know its history and perpetuate traditions!

#Exhibit of the Month

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

Summer camp at the museum

August 15-26, 2022

#Exhibit of the Month