Polaroid Corporation
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 D695The 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 M477Polaroid Corporation records held by the Polaroid Bankruptcy Estate
Collection Identifier: Mss:658 1951-2005 P762Polaroid Corporation records, series I: administrative records
Collection Identifier: Mss:658 1905-2005 P762 IThis 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 IIThis 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 IIIThis 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 IXThis 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 VIThe 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 XThe 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 XIPolaroid Corporation records, series XII: marketing and advertising records
Collection Identifier: Mss:658 1905-2005 P762 XIIThis 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 P762Polaroid Corporation records, series IV: Photographs and correspondence of Polaroid consultant photographer Ansel Adams
Collection Identifier: Mss:658 1905-2005 P762 IVPolaroid Corporation records, series V: records related to Edwin H. Land
Collection Identifier: Mss:658 1905-2005 P762 VThis 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 VIIThis 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.
REFINE MY RESULTS:
- Subject
- instant camera photographs 3
- Black and white photographs. 2
- Camera industry 2
- Cameras 2
- Landscape photography 2
- Photographic industry 2
- Photography 2
- 16mm (photographic film size) 1
- 35mm (photographic film size) 1
- 8mm (photographic film size) 1
- Audiocassettes 1
- Beta (Betamax) 1
- Betacam-SP 1
- Color photographs 1
- Judges -Massachusetts. 1
- Legal documents. 1
- Negatives (photographic). 1
- Notes 1
- Patent suits. 1
- Photographs 1
- Photography -- Negatives 1
- Tape reels 1
- U-matic 1
- VHS 1
- Women scientists--United States 1
- black-and-white photographs 1 ∧ less