The Big Swinger
Polaroid Cameras at MIT
We went to see an exhibit on technology, at MIT, in Boston; I was expecting this to be an outing more centered on Kate’s interest and not that I would see my first camera – well not mine, but one just like mine. I could not believe it. Below are a few shots, which I took of the various displays, which were under glass and in a rather dark room, the following text accompanied the exhibit.
“Meet the Swinger, Polaroid Swinger. It’s more than a camera, it’s almost alive, it’s only 19 dollars and 95”
“Maybe you remember this catchy 1968 advertising jingle for the Polaroid Swinger camera? We heard it again this spring from the archivists and photographers who got the first glimpses of MIT Museum’s spectacular new collection of Polaroid artifacts. This is the very first (but not the last) public display of the museum’s most recent acquisition.”
“In March, PLR Holdings, LLC (the new owners of the Polaroid brand), donated a collection of some 10,000 artifacts to the MIT Museum including classic Polaroid products and prototype designs. MIT maintained a deep and long-lasting connection to Polaroid and its founder Edwin Land. We are delighted to welcome to the MIT Museum of the world’s largest and most significant corporate R&D collections.”
“It was as summer camp that Edwin Land first encountered the phenomenon of polarization when a camp counselor showed him a Nichol prism. Made of calcite, the prism split light into two parts, so the image on Land’s table suddenly doubled. He quickly became obsessed with the study of light, reading every physics text in his local library and even leaving Harvard College in December 1926 after a single semester in order to follow that passion.
“Study led to experiments and a new company – Land-Wheelwright Laboratories formed in 1932 – to manufacture sheet polarizers. The miracle film that they called Polaroid was to have transformed driving by eliminating the blinding effects of glare from automobile headlights. While making the case to the automobile manufactures, Land-Wheelwright made deals with Kodak for coated lenses and American Optical for the first polarized sunglasses. In 1937, Wall Street provided 375,000 to Land to pursue his headlight idea. Thus, the Polaroid Corporation was born.”
In December 1943 during a vacation trip to Santa Fe, New Mexico, Land’s three year old daughter asked why she could not, ‘see the pictures now.’ Pointing to the back of Land’s camera. The question spurred his imagination. Five years later, Polaroid sold its first instant camera, the Model 95. Invention after invention followed. From sepia to black & white to color film, and from large heavy cameras to the SX-70, Polaroid became a global enterprise and a household name.”
“In 2001, Polaroid filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Since then, the company’s assist have been sold three times. The current owner, PLR IP Holdings, LLC, is working to revitalize the consumer electronics giant by steadily reintroducing new cameras, film, and other products.”
“Polaroid both shaped and was shaped by MIT. Countless alumni and faculty worked at Polaroid. Partiucarly well known was Prof. Sephen Benton, who invented white light transmission holography at Polaroid. Edwin Land taught at MIT and origiinated the idea for the pionerring Undergarduate Resarch opportunities Program (UROP) in his famous 1957 speech. ‘Generation Greatness.’ As for most of its exisence, Polaroid has been MIT’s neighbor and helped make Kendall Square the dynamic humb of sciene and technology business it is today.”
