Polaroid Corporation - Specimen Stock Certificate - Famous Camera & Electronics Company
Inv# SE1565A Specimen Stock
Massachusetts
New York
Specimen Stock printed by Security-Columbian United States Banknote Company. Similar to SE1565.
The Polaroid Corporation was established in 1937 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, by Edwin Land and George W. Wheelwright III. The Boston Globe has referred to it as a 'juggernaut of innovation' and 'the Apple of its time', with Edwin Land serving as the founding CEO for forty years. Initially, Polaroid focused on polarized sunglasses, a product of Land's independent research into light polarization. After completing his freshman year at Harvard University, Land left to explore this market, leading to the creation of Polaroid. He later returned to Harvard to further his studies. With patents for its polarizer technology, Polaroid began by incorporating polarization into various products, including 3-D films and protective goggles for military dogs. During World War II, the company produced numerous items for the military, such as an infrared night vision device. Land led Polaroid as CEO for 43 years, transforming it from a modest research and marketing firm into a prominent high-tech enterprise. Kodak was among the clients for some of Land's polarizing innovations. Widely regarded as the pioneer of instant photography, he integrated all darkroom functions into the film itself. In February 1947, he showcased the first Land Camera, which required users to manually release the film, pull a tab, and separate the negative from the positive print. The SX-70, introduced in 1972, was the first model to automate this process. In 1972, Land appeared on the cover of Life magazine, labeled 'A Genius and His Magic Camera'. In the 1940s, Polaroid acquired the B B Chemical Company building at 784 Memorial Drive in Cambridge, Massachusetts, for its headquarters. This iconic Streamline Moderne structure was added to the National Register of Historic Places in Cambridge in 1982.
In 1976, when Kodak introduced instant film cameras, Polaroid responded by filing a lawsuit against them, alleging that Kodak had infringed upon its patented instant photography technology. Over the subsequent two years, sales of instant cameras increased significantly, rising from 7.4 million units in 1976 to 10.3 million in 1977 and reaching 14.3 million in 1978. The legal proceedings in federal court extended over a decade. Polaroid sought $12 billion in damages for the patent violations committed by Kodak. Ultimately, the court ruled in favor of Polaroid, mandating Kodak to halt the production of instant photographs and to compensate Polaroid with $909.5 million of the claimed $12 billion.
Stock and Bond Specimens are made and usually retained by a printer as a record of the contract with a client, generally with manuscript contract notes such as the quantity printed. Specimens are sometimes produced for use by the printing company's sales team as examples of the firm�s products. These are usually marked "Specimen" and have no serial numbers.
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