Proposal project for the restoration of the archive & laboratory of Marubi National photo museum

• Author: Irida Haxhi - Luçjan Bedeni
• Pages: 177-186

European Journal of Economics, Law and Social Sciences

IIPCCL Publishing, Graz-Austria

Vol. 1 No. 2

June, 2017

ISSN 2519-1284

Acces online at www.iipccl.org

177

Proposal project for the restoration of the archive & laboratory of Marubi

National photo museum

Irida Haxhi

Luçjan Bedeni

Abstract

Photo - Studio "Marubi " is the fi rst photographic studio in Albania founded in 1856 by

Italian Pietro Marubbi (1834-1903). Nowadays the National "Marubi" photo-museum remains

the only representative institution of art photography in Albania, with a 159 year history in

photography. Where the historical, artistic, anthropological and ethnographic signifi cance,

constitute a considerable value for this Albanian cultural heritage treasure. The National

photo-museum "Marubi" is one of the richest archives in the region, which contains 493,819

negatives.

These negative (photographs) belong to di erent photographs such as Pietro Marubbi, Mat

Kodheli, Kolë Idromeno, Kel Marubi, Gege Marubi, Shan Pici, Dede Jakova, Pjeter Rraboshta,

Angjelin Nenshati, Lazer Kodheli, Ali Voci, Hilmi Mustafa, Mehmet Kallfa, Osman Kallfa.

Part of this archive are also about 200 photographic studio museum objects and 300 historical

documents such as correspondence, notebooks, ledgers and journals of photographer’s work,

which constitute a rare world collection. The current place lacks the space for preservation,

conservation, restoration and digitization; although at the new museum building there is

given a special importance and space to these functions. The main reason for this funding on

the archives of the National Marubi photo-museum, is to create favorable conditions dedicated

to the preservation, restoration, conservation and digitization of photographs.

Keywords: Archive, photograph, preservation, conservation, restoration, digitization,

museum, historical, artistic, anthropological and ethnographic, Albania, economy.

Introduction

Photo - Studio "Marubi " is the fi rst photographic studio in Albania founded in 1856

by Italian Pietro Marubbi (1834-1903 ). A er the death of cra smen Marubbi, the

studio was inherited by the adopted Mr. Keli, son of the Kodheli’s family from the

village of Zadrima,. He was then be called by the people of the city as Kel Marubi, in

honour of the great master. Having inherited the studio and the master's surname,

in 1907 Kel Marubi renamed the studio calling it "Dritëshkroja Marubbi". A er the

death of Kel Marubi "Dritëshkroja Marubbi" was run by his son Gegë Marubi, who

was graduated in photography in the fi rst school of Film and photography of

“Lumiere Brothers” in France. The Marubi photo-museum was created as a sector of

the Historical Museum of Shkodra in 1970.

In 2003 the photo-museum "Marubi" lost the dependency from the City Historical

Museum passing thereby to the Ministry of Culture with the status of a National

Institution. Nowadays the National "Marubi" photo-museum remains the only

representative institution of art photography in Albania, with a 159 year history in