#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.

Virtual Tour

Exhibitions

“Official and unofficial symbols of the Republic of Moldova”

Dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the adoption of the State Flag and the State Coat of Arms of the Republic of Moldova and to the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the National Heraldry Commission

November 3, 2020 - June 21, 2021

Symbols are expressions of the spirit, which are evoked by specific material manifestations that define the individual or collective embodiment of the idea of homeland. Of the many symbols that exist in space and time, national symbols are of paramount importance. Their role is to coagulate national and state entities and to sensitize society in order to educate patriotism, dignity and the appreciation of national values. Among the national symbols of a state are distinguished the official ones, such as the coat of arms, the flag, the anthem, the state insignia, the national currency, but also other emblems that identify it in non-formal situations, such as flowers, trees, birds, animals, monuments, and so on.

The purpose of the exhibition is to present the official national symbols of the Republic of Moldova, but also the complementary national emblems fundamental for the country, which have the role of defining and popularizing the heraldic image of our country both within the country and in Europe.

The exhibition is divided into three compartments. The first of them is dedicated to the major national symbols: State Coat of Arms, State Flag, State Anthem, state and departmental insignia, national currency, and so on. Among others, original medieval documents from the collections of the National Archive of the Republic of Moldova are exhibited, which illustrate the use of the coat of arms of Moldova in the medieval and modern era. For the first time, several exhibits are displayed that highlight the life and work of the authors of the anthem Limba noastră [Our Language], the poet Alexe Mateevici and the composer Alexandru Cristea.

The second compartment includes derived national symbols, such as the banners of the highest officials of the Republic of Moldova or the state seal, but also some complementary national emblems, from the field of nature or culture, such as national plant, national flower, national tree, the national animal emblem, the national bird, the national river, the national holiday, the folk costume, and so on.

The purpose of the third compartment is to present to the public the model of a country that successfully and inspiringly promotes its natural and cultural symbols. This is Canada, where those symbols are adopted not only at the national level, but also at the provincial level. Thus, several materials are exhibited, including various products, souvenirs, coins, postcards, objects, clothing accessories, and other items, which contain images of unofficial symbols of this state.

Organizers:
National Museum of History of Moldova
National Heraldry Commission under the President of the Republic of Moldova

Partners:
National Museum of Ethnography and Natural History
Mihail Kogălniceanu National Museum of Literature
National Archives Agency
Researcher Maria Ișaev
Also collaborated: Eugen Belinschi, Varvara Buzilă,
Marina Chilat, Petru Costin, Svetlana Dernovici,
Alexandru Macovei, Daniel Racoviță, Valentina Rudâc,
Leontina Vatamanu, and others.