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# Instant photography since 1923, from bulky apparatus to Agfa and Polaroid
- URL: https://theparnassian.com/en/momentalnoe-foto-poiavilos-v-1923-godu-no-uzhe-v-knigakh-1927-goda-daetsia-slovo-shapshot-v-znachenii-delat-momentalnye-snimki/
- Published: 2024-05-24T10:03:29.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-02T18:33:55.000Z
- Author: Alexandr Radayev
- Tags: Books, Observations, Science

Instant photography appeared in 1923, but books of 1927 already give the word "shapshot" in the sense of "taking instant snapshots". What a swift entry of a neologism into everyday speech.

Though originally this required a most cumbersome contraption, in effect a portable photographic laboratory combined with a camera. More refined and convenient instant photography appeared only in the 1930s, with the development of new photographic materials by the Agfa company; Polaroid began mass production of built-in photo reagents only in 1948

![](https://theparnassian.com/content/images/2026/09/photo_12304@24-05-2024_13-03-29.jpg)