THE POLAROID LAND CAMERA
The most recent donation to our collection of historic objects is a Model 95 Polaroid Land Camera (see photo). Designed and produced by Edwin Land, founder of the Polaroid Corporation, this was the first camera to produce a finished photograph at the time it was taken, or an instant photo camera. The story is that Edwin Land was inspired to create the instant camera when taking a picture of his young daughter, she wondered why she could not see the picture he had just taken. It took years to perfect but he eventually succeeded. The concept was first demonstrated to the public in February 1947 and 57 of these, designed as model 95 were placed in the market in Boston before the 1948 Christmas holiday as a market test. They were all sold on the first day! The instant camera was a smashing success. About 1.5 million Polaroid Land Cameras were sold under the designation of Model 95, then 95A and 95B over the years. Later models were smaller, more streamlined and eventually Land produced a color film instant camera. The secret, of course, was in the film which contained the chemicals needed to develop a positive image. The camera was designed to pass the exposed film through a set of rollers to activate the development process and eject it from the camera. It took about one minute for the finished photo to be ready.
There is no way to know if our camera is one of the first 57 sold in Boston but it is a model 95, the first Polaroid model to go on the market. We are proud to place this camera on display in the Archives along with our big antique mahogany Isham camera and the old box camera which was perhaps the first mass produced camera, popular in the 1920s, 30s and 40s. If you are a camera buff we invite you to come up and see this display