The Father of Instant Photography was a WOMAN


 
  
Her name was Dr. Edith Weyde, and she lived in Germany in the middle of the 20th Century -- a century of progress, war, great social change and expansion in the arts.  

Edith isn't well known today, but that is changing.  Her pioneering work in photographic science resulted in the first-ever instant photograph.  It wasn't until more than a decade after Edith's discovery that Polaroid adapted it into a single-step photography camera which, itself, made history.


Edith Weyde with her colleagues at Agfa in Germany

What happened to Edith?  She was revered by her colleagues at Agfa and is shown here re-creating the discovery of the "DTR Process."  That's the exact chemistry used today for black and white instant prints.  Both peelapart and integral black and white instant films made by Polaroid, Fujifilm, The Impossible Project and New55 FILM use this special process.

It turns out that in pre-World War II Germany, women could not vote and they often were not credited with scientific discoveries.  Although Edith was a rare exception, her achievements were not recognized.  Recently, historians have rediscovered Edith and other important women inventors whose work might had previously been overlooked.

New55 COLOR 4x5 instant peelapart film prototype
photography on Instagram by @olimpia_rende

Today we ask you to save a part of instant film that Edith helped create almost 70 years ago.  Your support of New55 COLOR is pioneering and, like Edith's work, it can open the way to new innovations for decades to follow.  If we don't act in Edith's memory now at this important time, we run the risk of her work being forgotten, and our ability to make instant films could be lost forever.

Please pledge now to help create a new, sustainable instant color peelapart film today at this Kickstarter.  Even if you don't want the rewards, , you can give them as gifts, or make a small donation today.

If Dr. Edith Weyde was here today, we know she'd be smiling.

Go here and pledge now.

 



As always, ,  thank you fo r the important part you have played in the journey so far.  Let's keep it going!

Robert J. Crowley
President

Soundwave Research Laboratories, Inc.
New55 FILM  |  New55 Holdings, LLC

support@new55.net

New55 FILM  |  New55 Holdings, LLC
72 Nickerson Road
Ashland, Massachusetts 01721

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