Polaroid

Edwin Land founded Polaroid and invented instant photography, a technology so magical it felt like a magic trick every single time. Andy Warhol was obsessed with it. Ansel Adams consulted for the company. The SX-70, introduced in 1972, was one of the most elegant consumer products ever made.

Digital cameras killed instant film's reason to exist. Polaroid filed for bankruptcy in 2001 and again in 2008. The brand was sold to a holding company that licenses the name to whoever will pay for it. Today, 'Polaroid' appears on action cameras, portable printers, TVs, and tablets made by third-party manufacturers in China. None of them have anything to do with Edwin Land's vision.

The Impossible Project (now Polaroid Originals, now confusingly also called Polaroid) bought Polaroid's last film factory and produces new instant film for vintage cameras. It's the closest thing to a real continuation of the original company, but it's a niche product sustained by nostalgia, not the dominant consumer technology Polaroid once was.