Today in history marks the day when the first commercial instant camera, Polaroid Land camera Model 95 went on sale at the Jordan Marsh department store in Boston – 28 November 1948
The camera was an instant hit – it produced sepia toned photographs in about one minute. It was easy to use and the instant gratification that came from the self-developing film.
Only 57 units of the camera were put up for sale to last the Christmas period. All the units were sold on the first day.
The name “Land” came from the company’s founder and the camera’s inventor Edwin H. Land.
Close to one million Model 95’s were produced making the company’s name synonymous with instant film and the cameras that used them. True black-and-white instant film was released in 1950, but Polaroid didn’t create colour film until 1963. Polaroid produced their instant film cameras until 2008.
