Tag Archives: ad

selfies: hope vs. reality

Posted on March 28, 2020 by Robert

Toronto. About 60 years ago, Polaroid advertised that “everyone” used their system to take home photos (i.e. “selfies” – a name coined  just a few years ago). That was hope since the reality was that a very small percentage of … Continue reading →

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cough, cough

Posted on March 27, 2020 by Robert

Toronto. Many companies last century offered deals on non-competing products to expand their market segment. An example was Marlboro cigarettes and Kodak (in the days before the link between cigarettes and lung cancer/heart disease was legally confirmed and tobacco products … Continue reading →

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film savings nearly 60 years ago

Posted on March 25, 2020 by Robert

Toronto. My good friend George Dunbar is a fabulous source of suggestions and inspirations as he pursues photographic history as reflected in magazine advertisements last century. Today’s item stems from George’s email a few days back showing a collaboration between … Continue reading →

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wishful thinking …

Posted on March 22, 2020 by Robert

Toronto. When Edwin Land announced the famous Polaroid Land system a few years after the war, dealers had difficulty keeping the “picture-in-a-minute” cameras and film in stock.  By the time this ad showed up, the Polaroid system was down to … Continue reading →

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snap, snap. snap, snapshot

Posted on February 25, 2020 by Robert

Toronto. Post World War 2, American photography companies worked hard to capture a segment of the amateur photography market. The most popular strategies were flash (for night and indoor shots), Colour (for realism), fast results (seeing how a shot turned … Continue reading →

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roll on

Posted on February 17, 2020 by Robert

Toronto. George Dunbar threw a challenge the other day. He asked if anyone knew about or heard about the ROLLAPRINT system as advertised on page 4 in the May 26, 1961 issue of LIFE. It is full page so it … Continue reading →

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KISS Photography

Posted on February 12, 2020 by Robert

Toronto. Photography in the terms of cameras followed the Keep it Simple, Stupid (KISS) philosophy for decades from the very beginning.  A box in a box served to adjust focus before bellows and threaded tubes came along. A ground glass … Continue reading →

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we all scream for a free screen …

Posted on January 25, 2020 by Robert

Toronto. … to paraphrase a kid’s chant from over a half century ago. In the 1960s every manufacturer of photo gear wanted a slice of the amateur photography pie – the bigger the better. By 1960, every factory aped its … Continue reading →

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wally’s world

Posted on January 16, 2020 by Robert

Toronto. The Wollensak home movie gear and home tape recorder were typical fodder for North Americans in the middle of the last century. The name was bought by Revere of Chicago and marketed enthusiastically with ads like this one at … Continue reading →

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Tommy, can you hear me

Posted on January 9, 2020 by Robert

Toronto. By the fall of 1960, Camera and material makers had tried hard to attract new amateurs to the photography fold. Slides, colour negatives, colour prints, movies, flash, built-in exposure meters, hand held exposure meters, pictures-in-a-minute, and more! All efforts … Continue reading →

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