Re: Polaroid

[P3D <dlevy@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I got Land's Polaroid by Peter C. Wensberg from the library. I had read it a
number of years ago and remembered something about 3-d in it, but did not
want to give bad information. 

In 1936, Land-Wheelwright, the predessesor of Polaroid, Inc. held its first
news conference to introduce Polaroid material and its applications. Land's
major drive (no pun intended) was its application in aauto headlights and
windscreens to reduce glare. He learned that Detroit was not interested in
safety as a selling tool. Anyway, at the news conference he also showed a
3-d movie called Polaroid Marionettes  (in colour) to the audience who had
to wear the Polaroid 3-d glasses. It was the first 3-d movie (their
statement of fact, not mine). It apparently was repeating 2 more times in
1936. During the 1939 World's Fair Polaroid with Chysler put together a 3-d
movie showing Chysler parts coming together to make a Plymouth. It was a 12
minute film. It was in colour and with sound. On May 12, 1939, The New York
Times reported that it was "the first full polaroid sound motion picture in
three dimensions ever made".

There was another interesting display at the Fair involving disappearing
skirts made of Polaroid material, but for that you need to check out this book.

It seems that in 1940, Harry Warner, Jack Warner's brother, at the
instruction of Jack visited Polaroid to view 3-d movies which Land was
trying to get Hollywood interested in. After the viewing, Harry couldn't
figure out what all the fuss was about and left. Consequently, Warner did
not accept 3-d movies. Land subsequently learned that Harry had a glass eye.
Strange how history can be dramatically influenced by such a little
occurrence. Imagine the last 50 years worth of entertainment had Harry had 2
good eyes.

In either 1938 or1940, the book is not clear, Land and Joseph Mahler
published a paper on a new form of 3-d photography depending upon the use of
the Polarized glasses which were used in the moving pictuce. It goes on to
describe this procedure, and states that Polaroid's prewar files were filled
with "bland images of fruit, New England churches, and pretty lab
assistants". This process was developed during WWII into Vectography.

The book does not specifically state whether Polaroid produced stereo
cameras for these projects. Since the company had a gifted machinist who
produced almost everthing the company needed in unigue machinery, it is more
probable they Polaroid did produce some stereo cameras for these projects
than having them outsourced, though since this preceded their involvement in
plastic optics or cameras per se, the optics and shutters were probably
outsourced.  
>> 
>> In regard to the polaroid material from the 1930s:
>> 
>>      I have an SVE (Society for Visual Education) projector and about 
>> 30 boxes of slides dated 1939 and 1940 including the NY World's fair and 
>> the Golden Gate expo at San Francisco.  The plate on the projector says 
>> for POLAROID 3 DIMENSIONAL PICTURES.  I don't know much about this yet 
>> but am actively looking.
>> 
>> Mike Amundson
>> History Department
>> Mesa State College
>> Grand Junction, CO
>> 
>> 
>I remember Polaroid 3-D at the 39 or 40 NY World's Fair. It was a travel
>movie at the Canadian exhibit, with polarizing glasses. I took the 
>glasses home and made a polarizer and analyzer for my microscope. 
>
>My other early exposure to 3-D was a Holmes type viewer in grade
>school, but I can't remember which came first.
>
>The World's Fair was also my first exposure to TV; I was not impressed.
>
>
Brian Levy, J.D.
Agincourt Ont.
dlevy@xxxxxxxxxx


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