Polaroid®

Edwin Land, a renowned American physicist, invented the polarized lens in 1929. It is still used for sunglasses today. This revolutionary discovery eliminated the annoying reflections that compromised photographs. Yet, a big issue still remained: the mistakes in the picture only emerged upon development in a dark room – a dark environment where photographic paper was dipped into baths of chemical compounds. The full process could last hours, days, or even months because you had to go through an entire roll of film before developing it. 

Jennifer, Land’s oldest daughter, was only three years old when she asked him, naively, why she couldn’t immediately see a picture. That question turned on a light bulb in his mind. In 1948, after 20 years of research, Land patented the Polaroid® 95, the first-ever instant camera. All you needed to do was insert the special roll of film and, after a mere 50 seconds, the photograph developed automatically when exposed to sunlight. 

In the 1950s, the Polaroid® was bought by millions, although the prints were still in black and white. As late as 1963 came the Polacolor, the first-ever color film, which opened up new horizons in instant photography. 

In the 1970s, the Polaroid® became a cult phenomenon. With the launch of the SX-70 in 1972 and the first integral film, even artists began to experiment with this technology. Andy Warhol, the quintessence of Pop Art, was one of the greatest Polaroid® fans. He used the famous camera to record the progress of his work, take portraits of celebrities, and immortalize landscapes. His pictures are included in the book Andy Warhol – Polaroids, 1958-1987. 

In the 1980s, the Polaroid® Sun 600 made the brand establish itself as a pop culture icon. In 1999, Polaroid® returned with the i-Zone, an innovative camera that produced stamp-size adhesive photographs.