Photobooth

by Babbette Hines

In 1925 the Siberian immigrant Anatol Josepho had an idea for a small curtain-enclosed booth where people could take affordable portraits anonymously and automatically. The photobooth was born. Within 20 years there were more than 30,000 in the United States alone, an explosive growth due largely to World War II, as soldiers and loved ones exchanged photos, hoping to cling to memories or moments in a world turned upside down. But by the 1960s the advent of Polaroid photography spelled the doom of the "four strip" that had become a fixture at arcades and drugstores everywhere. The recent resurgence of photo sticker machines has recaptured the fun and intimacy of the photobooth. With no photographer to please, people are at liberty to be whoever they like: brave or sexy, cocksure or wise, without fear of censure or ridicule. Free in the certainty of their solitude, families, couples young and old, best friends, and individual after individual have presented to the camera both real and imagined selves for three-quarters of a century.

Photobooth presents over 700 such photographs from the last 75 years, images at turns spontaneous and uninhibited, often goofy, and occasionally touching. It is a fascinating portrait of everyday people and a testament to the ongoing fascination with both the process and the result.

Genres: Photography, Art, Nonfiction

224 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2002

Reviews

[Jon Nakapalau · Rating 5 out of 5]

They are disappearing...but there was a time when they were in every mall. Here is the story of this American success story. I can remember a time when you had to go into a photobooth with your best friend when you went to the beach; still have some of these photos of childhood friends who I have long lost contact with. Wish I knew how they were doing now.

[Anna (Bananas) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adore this book. It's a collection of old photobooth pictures-simple enough-but the magic is in the photographs. In the glimpses of people's lives and the way they choose to represent themselves. In the scribbled notes on the backs of some photos, in the inherent mystery of each person.
These are people trying to capture a moment in time. It's what I love about photographs in general, but there's something unique in the photobooth medium. Friends, lovers, or solitary people are all represented starkly against plain backgrounds with no distractions, no scenery. The subjects are whatever you make of them, whatever impression you take away. For me it's a feast for the imagination.

[Luann Habecker · Rating 3 out of 5]

FASCINATING!

"They try on this pose and then that (funny the way that by the third or forth pose, as if on second thought, they often revert to the first), addressing first themselves and beyond that the intended other, but beyond that, well, something like the undifferentiated future--the faceless posterity-us! "

"And if, when the picture emerges after the interminable wait, you are not pleased with the results, if it doesn't tell the story you want, there is no proof that it ever existed."

how they originally would glance left, then right, then stared straight ahead. adults and children alike.

would've liked to have read more about the history of the invention itself.

[Princeton Architectural · Rating 5 out of 5]

In 1925 the Siberian immigrant Anatol Josepho had an idea for a small curtain-enclosed booth where people could take affordable portraits anonymously and automatically. The photobooth was born. Within 20 years there were more than 30,000 in the United States alone, an explosive growth due largely to World War II, as soldiers and loved ones exchanged photos, hoping to cling to memories or moments in a world turned upside down. But by the 1960s the advent of Polaroid photography spelled the doom of the "four strip" that had become a fixture at arcades and drugstores everywhere.

The recent resurgence of photo sticker machines has recaptured the fun and intimacy of the photobooth. With no photographer to please, people are at liberty to be whoever they like: brave or sexy, cocksure or wise, without fear of censure or ridicule. Free in the certainty of their solitude, families, couples young and old, best friends, and individual after individual have presented to the camera both real and imagined selves for three-quarters of a century.

Photobooth presents over 700 such photographs from the last 75 years, images at turns spontaneous and uninhibited, often goofy, and occasionally touching. It is a fascinating portrait of everyday people and a testament to the ongoing fascination with both the process and the result.



Babbette Hines is a collector of, and dealer in, vernacular photography. She lives in Los Angeles.

[Danelle Garrison · Rating 4 out of 5]

this book is a collection of photographs taken in photobooths. i liked learning about the origins of the photobooth and its subsequent history. i wish there was more information about where the photos in the book were found or who owned them, but you really get a good "snapshot" of people caught in the middle of making memories.

[Rory · Rating 2 out of 5]

I can't believe this library bought this when I requested it...it really IS a bound collection of usable post cards. Not a very practical library item. And, really, it wasn't fascinating or anything. I wish the "author" had written a tiny something about how she actually came across all these photobooth images!

[Salsabrarian · Rating 3 out of 5]

I hadn't realized the photobooth had such a long history. This made me want to take my picture in one; I don't think I ever have! My favorite picture was of an adorable round-headed little black boy in a shirt and woolen vest. He looked wary, curious and innocent all at once.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

for a superior collection + history, check out goranin's "american photobooth".

[Alaina · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a charming book, first page to last. I am a little in love with the woman on the front cover.