Târgul Moşilor în 1929. Chioşcurile de la intrare.
Mosilor Fair in 1929. Entrance Kiosks
The photo was taken in 1929, near the entrance
portal partially appearing on the right side of the
image.
The position it has, as compared to the portal,
indicates the fact that the photographer actually
leaves the fair. The elements of this image prove
that the identity focused speech may also be built
by means of the trade’s forms. The space marked by
the nationalist ideology is not the down town, where
we can find the windows of the great foreign
companies (Suchard, Chevrolet), but Mosilor Fair,
which was run from the very beginning under the
patronage of the Royal House. During the reign of
Carol I, the fair had the status of National
Exhibition, representing a way of stimulating the
autochthonous commerce. The products that were being
displayed here would receive qualifications from the
part of a specialized committee and the outcomes
would be communicated within the Official Gazette.
Ionescu’s photo proves the fact that the companies
from Mosilor Fair belong to autochthonous
manufacturers (their names are reiterated by the
company’s trade names: „At C. Popescu’s”). While
promoting the product, one would use epithets -
adjectives that denote not only excellence, but also
authenticity. The paintings from the exhibition
(whose space does not differ from the one of the
neighboring shops) are original paintings. Most
frequently, authentic means autochthonous and the
advertising speech is so powerful that it
appropriates even foreign elements: C. Popescu sells
the “traditional” ginger bread. As far as the Herdan
shops are concerned, the national flag floats on
something which is meant to be a distinctive company
mark: the wind mill. The flag is fluttering on
“neutral” heights, as well, such as the entrance
portal (in another photo by Ionescu, a sign board
mounted on the same portal encourages the national
production). The Herdan company is more
sophisticated though than Popescu’s store, since it
trades different kinds of pastry products: the
Risnov French bread and „biscuits” (which, as it
seems, did not become national enough since the form
of the word has not been yet adjusted to the lexis
of the Romanian language).
The alleys waving into this space proves the fact
that the norm setting, the ordering, the
rationalization had got hold of Mosilor as well,
even if only very recently. The trees had been
planted not a very long time ago, as one can see
from their modest sizes and the improvisation had
not been completely lost (we are not sure whether
what we can see in the far left side of the image is
a kiosk or a bunch of people who have gathered to
gamble.
