Monthly Archives: March 2020

ninety-nine percent sweat

Posted on March 31, 2020 by Robert

Toronto. We find photographic collectibles in the darndest places – like non photographic auctions. Edison was said to define genius as one percent inspiration and  ninety-nine percent perspiration. If you search out auctions, like one at Skinners, and patiently drill down, … Continue reading →

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lipstick

Posted on March 30, 2020 by Robert

Toronto. The Brownie Super 27 camera was advertised and sold in the early 1960s. It was basically a tarted up Baby Brownie: bigger viewfinder, built in flash, better lens at f/8, two speed shutter (but failure prone apparently), horizontal construction … Continue reading →

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instant film photos in style

Posted on March 29, 2020 by Robert

Toronto. My thanks to Clint who forwarded an email he received from member Stuart Moscoe. Stuart included this link to PetaPixel, a site we have mentioned before. Instax allows Fuji, Lomgraphy, etc to use SX-70 style “Polaroid” film. This article states, … Continue reading →

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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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stay home – stay inspired

Posted on March 26, 2020 by Robert

Toronto. By now we have all heard and felt the impact of COVID-19 and its repercussions. The terms – social distancing and self isolation have become common concepts as countries world wide struggle to contain this nasty virus. For entirely … 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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a snowball’s chance …

Posted on March 24, 2020 by Robert

Toronto. Many image collectors specialize. Some by process (like daguerreotypes), some by history, and some by topic (like bicycles). PHSC member and speaker, Jeff Ward sent me this interesting link to a New York Times article about a collector of … Continue reading →

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predicting glass

Posted on March 23, 2020 by Robert

Toronto. Wikipedia has an article on a famous essay that predicted things we take for granted today – like computers, Google Glass, AI, internet, robots and more. In 1939, Vannevar Bush published his essay “Mechanization and the Record”. After the … 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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