Scotland’s only current analogue photobooth will open to the public at Stills Centre for Photography in October 2024
Stills Centre for Photography has announced the launch of the first and only analogue photobooth available for public use in Scotland.
The history of the analogue photobooth
Anatol Josepho invented the first fully automated, coin operated photo booth in 1925, which he named the Photomaton. Sitting on Broadway near Times Square in New York City, over 280,000 Americans used the photobooth in its first year – the cost was a mere 25 cents per strip and photos would develop after 10 minutes.
In the ’50s and ’60s, photobooths became a common feature at fairs, shopping centres and train stations across the country. Loved by everyone from John Lennon and Yoko Ono to John and Jackie Kennedy, the quirky booths added a haphazard charm to photography that couldn’t be replicated by other analogue models at the time. Photobooths also made photography and portraiture accessible to the public.
The UK’s first analogue photobooth
It wasn’t until 1968 that the UK manufactured its first analogue photobooth, named Photo-Me Model 17 Black and White Booth. It spent most of its time in a Woolworth’s in Canada. The next UK model was the Photo-Me Model 17C and is thought to have been the only public colour analogue photo booth in Western Europe at the time.
Analogue photobooths are now considered artifacts, with a few still sprinkled across bigger, culturally diverse cities like New York, Berlin and London, but not in Scotland – until now.
The first analogue photobooth in Scotland
Just under 100 years since the photobooth invention, Scotland is finally getting its own analogue booth: the Stillsautomat. Edinburgh’s Stills Centre for Photography is proud to share the booth with the public, welcoming visitors from October 19th 2024.
Development Manager at Stills Centre for Photography Caitlin Serey says, “We envision that introducing an analogue photobooth will further enrich Stills through its historical significance and cultural value, reflecting our aim to support the advancement, enjoyment, exploration and understanding of photography.”
Serey continues, “By bringing a booth to Stills, we will not only revive a vanishing form of photographic expression, but we will actively participate in its preservation, as it will be the only analogue photobooth in all of Scotland, making it a focal point for both regular Stills visitors and new enthusiasts seeking authentic, vintage photography experiences.
“Importantly, Stills is a registered charity and we also hope the photobooth will provide a new stream of income for Stills, contributing to our long-term organisational resilience”
The Stillsautomat is made possible with thanks to Project Echo. Stills Centre for Photography is supported by Creative Scotland, City of Edinburgh Council and the William Grant Foundation.
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