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Polaroid Corporation

 Organization

Biography

The Polaroid Corporation was an iconic, 20th century company whose pioneering achievements in optics and engineering continue to have technological, social and artistic significance. The beginnings of the Polaroid Corporation can be traced to Edwin H. Land's breakthrough research on polarizers. After a leave of absence from Harvard College in 1926 to study the development of a synthetic light-polarizing material, Land returned to Harvard in 1929 and continued his research in the Harvard Physics Department. There he met physics instructor George W. Wheelwright III, who provided Land with a laboratory to conduct his research. In 1932, Land presented a paper on his synthetic polarizing materials and Wheelwright convinced him to leave college before graduating to start a company together. Land-Wheelwright Laboratories was formed in 1933 and Land received his first of many patents for "Polarizing Refracting Bodies."

Over the next several years Land and Wheelwright set up operations to manufacture an inexpensive plastic sheet polarizer. At the end of 1935, the first advertisement of the material appeared in a scientific journal, followed by a public announcement in New York. Demand for the product grew quickly and in 1937, Land-Wheelwright Laboratories was reincorporated as the Polaroid Corporation. Wheelwright left the company in the early 1940s, but stayed on as a member of the Board of Directors until 1948.

Following the outbreak of World War II, the company's activities were largely directed to invention, development and manufacture of war products, materials and devices. Research projects were conducted under direct contracts with Navy Bureaus, the Office of Scientific Research and Development, and other agencies of the government. During this time, the number of employees increased from 200 to a wartime peak of 1,250. After the war ended, Polaroid was faced with a reconversion task of considerable magnitude which brought new organizational and technical skills gained from its wartime experience. In addition to Polaroid Day Glasses and Polarscreen Camera filters, uses for Polaroid polarized materials included glare-free lamps and airplane windows. Strong sales enabled the company to fund further research and development in other areas including 3-D motion picture film, vectographs, and the subsequent breakthrough with instant photography in 1947.

Land's landmark introduction of the concept of instant photography at a meeting of the Optical Society of America in New York City instantly changed photography and the company itself. In 1948, the Polaroid Land Camera, Model 95, and Land film, Type 40 was introduced to the public and through orchestrated marketing was a sellout. Edwin Land remained dedicated to creating a transformative photographic process and over the next three decades Polaroid developed dozens of new cameras, films, and products. Major innovations from the 1950s to the 1970s included the Polaroid Transparency System (1957), ID-2 Identification System (1966), the SX-70 (1972), and the Polavision Land System (1978).

During this time Land also approached the welfare of his employees in deeply humanistic ways, creating a culture of innovation and exploration within Polaroid that spurred research and innovation. He tapped into the talented pool of researchers at Harvard, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and Smith College, and routinely employed women in top-level research positions, an unusual practice at the time. After Land left the company in 1982, Polaroid continued to develop new products for various markets. In 2001, Polaroid filed for bankruptcy protection and the brand name continues to be used to license and market various electronics.

Found in 15 Collections and/or Records:

Elsa Dorfman collection of Polaroid cameras and film

Collection Identifier: Mss:6584 1950-2017 D695
Overview:

The Elsa Dorfman Collection of Polaroid cameras and film consists of eight cameras and thirteen packages of Polaroid film owned by Ms. Dorfman, a Cambridge, Mass., portrait photographer, dating from the 1950s to 2017.

A. David Mazzone notes on the Polaroid-Kodak lawsuit

Collection Identifier: Mss:98 1989-1991 M477
Content Description: Notes kept by United States District Judge A. David Mazzone from May 1, 1989 to November 20, 1989, while presiding over the trial phase of the Polaroid vs. Kodak patent infringement lawsuit. The handwritten notes include references to trial exhibits, his opinion of witnesses, questions raised, recess breaks, and his general thoughts about the trial. The notes were written in abbreviations, and read like a play-by-play of the trial as each witness testified. Included with Mazzone's notes are...

Polaroid Corporation records held by the Polaroid Bankruptcy Estate

Collection Identifier: Mss:658 1951-2005 P762
Scope and Contents: This collection contains records of the Polaroid Corporation that were in the possession of the Polaroid Bankruptcy Estate after the 2008 bankruptcy. The records include Board of Directors agendas and minutes, shareholder meeting records, legal records, and patents. The Board of Directors records date from the early 1950s to 2005 and include high level decision making that affected the direction of the company. The majority of the records were kept by Polaroid Counsel and...

Polaroid Corporation records, series I: administrative records

Collection Identifier: Mss:658 1905-2005 P762 I
Overview:

This series of the Polaroid Corporation records contains the company's administrative records, circa 1930 to 2005. Included are corporate governance and leadership records, 1953-1995; public relations and communications records, 1937-2005; human resources and personnel management records, 1940-1996; facilities management records, 1951-1991; and financial records, 1938-2001.

Polaroid Corporation records, series II: legal and patent records

Collection Identifier: Mss:658 1905-2005 P762 II
Overview:

This series of the Polaroid Corporation records contains the Polaroid legal and patent records. Included in this series are patent application files, legal office administrative files, patents, material gathered for legal trials, and records relating to the landmark patent infringement lawsuit, Polaroid vs. Kodak.

Polaroid Corporation records, series III: research and development records

Collection Identifier: Mss:658 1905-2005 P762 III
Overview:

This series of the Polaroid Corporation records contains the research and development files, circa 1905 to 2000. Included are records of Polaroid scientists that document the development of products including goggles, polarizers, vectographs, three dimensional movies and the creation, development and perfection of instant black and white and color photography.

Polaroid Corporation records, series IX: corporate archives records

Collection Identifier: Mss:658 1905-2005 P762 IX
Overview:

This series contains records kept by the Polaroid Corporation archivist and curator related to photography and art collections, photographs and the day to day operations of the Polaroid Corporate Archives.

Polaroid Corporation records, series VI: audiovisual collection

Collection Identifier: Mss:658 1905-2005 P762 VI
Overview:

The Polaroid Corporation audiovisual collection contains over 5000 items of audio, video and film in a wide variety of formats.

Polaroid Corporation records, series X: Polaroid photograph and visual materials collection

Collection Identifier: Mss:658 1905-2005 P762 X
Overview:

The collection documents the progression of the photographic processes and film research and development efforts of the Polaroid Corporation beginning in the late 1930s and ending in the 1980s.

Polaroid Corporation records, series XI: Photographs of Polaroid consultant photographers

Collection Identifier: Mss:658 1905-2005 P762 XI
Scope and Contents: The photographs of Polaroid consultant photographers document the company's practice of employing fine art photographers to test and critique their products beginning in 1950 and ending about 1972. The collection consists of photographs taken by ten photographers who consulted for Polaroid and were part of the original loosely structured program: Paul Caponigro, Walter Chappell, William (Bill) Clift, Marie Cosindas, Nicholas (Nick) Dean, Gerry Sharpe, Brett Weston, Don Worth, Ann Bell Robb,...

Polaroid Corporation records, series XII: marketing and advertising records

Collection Identifier: Mss:658 1905-2005 P762 XII
Overview:

This series of the Polaroid Corporation records contains the company's marketing and advertising efforts from 1928 to 2004.

Polaroid Corporation research laboratory notebooks

Collection Identifier: Mss:658 1951-2002 P762
Scope and Contents: The collection consists of Polaroid Corporation research laboratory notebooks created as part of routine research and development activities, circa 1950s-2002. The notebooks contain detailed historical laboratory records created by Polaroid image scientists, organic chemists, polymer chemists, and physicists in the photometric laboratory in the research and development department. The scientists developed and invented Polaroid products, as well as conducted research on a variety of optical,...

Polaroid Corporation records, series IV: Photographs and correspondence of Polaroid consultant photographer Ansel Adams

Collection Identifier: Mss:658 1905-2005 P762 IV
Scope and Contents: Renowned landscape photographer Ansel Easton Adams was born in San Francisco, California, in 1902. During the course of the 1930s and 1940s, Adams produced some of his best-known works such as "The Golden Gate Before the Bridge" (1932) and "Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico" (1941), developed close relationships with prominent figures in photography circles such as Edward Weston, Beaumont and Nancy Newhall, and Charles Sheeler, and became a respected advocate for environmental conservation as...

Polaroid Corporation records, series V: records related to Edwin H. Land

Collection Identifier: Mss:658 1905-2005 P762 V
Overview:

This series of the Polaroid Corporation records contains records related to Polaroid co-founder and chairman Edwin H. Land. Included in this series are articles and presentations by Land, published biographical works about Land, and photographs taken by Land and featuring Land as the subject.

Polaroid Corporation records, series VII: records related to Meroë Morse

Collection Identifier: Mss:658 1905-2005 P762 VII
Overview:

This series of the Polaroid Corporation records contains records related to Polaroid scientist Meroë Morse. It includes administrative records, research and development records, and photographs. Morse was one of the first women scientists to work at Polaroid.