#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

The archaeological workshop "EU4Dialogue: Archaeology"

4-6 June, 2024

At the National Museum of History of Moldova (NMHM), between June 4-6, the archaeological workshop "EU4Dialogue: Archaeology" took place, a scientific event that brought together archaeologists from the Republic of Moldova, Germany, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Romania, with the aim to address topics in the field of archaeology, cultural-historical heritage, but also about the way to connect archeology with the technologies of the future, creating a digital register of archaeological sites in Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan and the Republic of Moldova.

The opening event took place in the Blue Hall of NMHM. At the official opening of the Workshop, welcoming words were presented by the General Director of NMHM, dr. hab. Eugen Sava, Director of the Eurasia Department of the German Institute of Archeology Prof. Dr.hab. Svend Hansen State Secretary of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Moldova Ion Budeci, General Scientific Secretary of the Academy of Sciences of Moldova dr. hab. Liliana Condraticova, who noted the international importance of the scientific event organized in Chisinau.

For the substantial contributions in the research activity in the field of archeology and for the effective collaboration with the academic environment of the Republic of Moldova, Mr. Prof. Dr.hab. Svend Hansen was awarded the "Dimitrie Cantemir" medal from the Academy of Sciences of Moldova.

The scientific communications within the Archaeological Workshop "EU4Dialogue: Archaeology" took place in the Conference Hall of NMHM, where over two days, several communications were presented, with reference to various aspects of the research and safeguarding of archaeological sites in Europe East and Caucasus. The presentations covered a wide range of topics, from the inventory and management of archaeological sites to their evaluation and excavation. A special emphasis was placed on the development and use of electronic databases for archaeological sites in Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan and the Republic of Moldova. Also, issues related to access to maps and digital data essential for specialists in the field were discussed, highlighting technological developments and their impact on archaeological research. Thus, the event offered a comprehensive perspective on the progress and challenges in the field of archeology but also on the need to create a common database of archaeological sites.

The event was organized by the Göthe-Institut Georgia branch, the Eurasia Department of the German Institute of Archeology and the National Museum of History of Moldova with the support of the European Union.

#Exhibit of the Month

"Ideal" Mechanical Typewriter, Model A Polyglott

The archaeological workshop "EU4Dialogue: Archaeology"

4-6 June, 2024

#Exhibit of the Month