In 2012, fours years since Polaroid discontinued instant film, the idea of the instant film camera has become a mere memory if not a novelty. Photographic film itself largely lives on in through the frame stylings and filters of Instagram and Hipstomatic. And while film in general has become more of an after thought, the book Instant: The Story of Polaroid by Christopher Bonanos seems like an interesting insight into the rise and fall of instant film photography and Polaroid as a company.
From the Author:
“INSTANT: THE STORY OF POLAROID is a book about a very unusual company. In the 1960s and 1970s, Polaroid was what Apple is today: the coolest technology company on earth, the one with irresistible products, the one whose stock kept climbing way past the point of logic. In its heyday, Polaroid was an absolute innovation machine—a scientific think tank that periodically kicked out a fantastically profitable, covetable product. In fact, the late Steve Jobs expressly said that he modeled his company to a great extent after Polaroid…
…INSTANT is a business story, about what happens when a company loses its innovative spark. It is a fine-arts story, showcasing the amazing things people did with Polaroid film. It is a technology story, of a company that created and maintained a niche all its own for 60 years. And it is a pop-culture history, of a friendly product that millions of people absolutely adored. I like to think that it also tells a larger story, about the rise and fall of American invention and manufacturing.”
No time to read the book? Catch the highlights in this 4 minute trailer about it:
(via Brain Pickings)
