The Imperfectionists

Chapter 1Ever Curious

“Can I see the photograph, Daddy?”

Edwin Land was a brilliant scientist whose early inventions included Polaroid sunglasses and photographic filters. He later developed valuable cutting-edge technology that was used in World War II. Yet it took a simple question from his three-year-old daughter to unlock the key to perhaps his most famous discovery of all, the instant camera.

In 1943 Land and the young Jennifer were holidaying in Santa Fe, New Mexico, walking the streets and taking photographs along the way. It was decades before the advent of smartphones, digital cameras, or even the first “Fotomat” drop-off kiosk, and tourist “snaps” at the time took several days or even weeks to come back from the lab. For most consumers, the inconvenience of not knowing straightaway whether they had blinked or scowled was a small price to pay for the miracle of being able to distill a moment into a paper-thin memento. But Land's inquisitive daughter felt otherwise.

“Can I see the photograph, Daddy?” Jennifer asked after her father's index finger triggered the shutter of his 1941 Kodak. Unbeknownst to her, the young child had precipitated one of the great inventions of the twentieth century. Land was immediately taken by the concept of instant photography and set off on a long walk to think through the idea. He would later reflect:

“As I walked around that charming town I undertook the task of solving the puzzle she had set me. Within the hour, the camera, the film, ...