Bert Stern

8 Polaroid Type 53 prints, 7 signed and dated in pencil on the reverse, one framed, a typed label on the reverse, 1958 (8)

One print:

San Francisco, The Friends of Photography, Innovation/Imagination: 50 Years of Polaroid Photography, May - July 1999, and traveling to 11 other venues through 2007 (see Appendix 1)

Innovation/Imagination: 50 Years of Polaroid Photography (Friends of Photography, 1999), p. 12 (one print)

These prints are in generally excellent condition. There are irregularities in the overall glossy surfaces, which is typical of the Polaroid process. Upon close examination, fingerprints and light discoloration are visible. In the margins of two prints, the annotations '2 9/16' or '2 5/8' are in pencil. On the reverse of these two prints, the annotation 'good' is in pencil. The reverse of the mat of the framed print is stamped 'Property of The Polaroid Collections Do Not Remove' and has a typed label.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

These Type 53 prints of jazz legend Louis Armstrong by photographer Bert Stern were made for a Polaroid advertisement produced by the Doyle Dane Bernbach agency.  DDB landed the Polaroid account in 1954, and this ad appeared on page 3 of the 12 May 1958 issue of LIFE magazine, with the following caption:

'First Showing of a New Polaroid Land Film.  This is an enlargement of an actual 60-second picture of Louis Armstrong.  It was taken with a new film, just introduced, which is twice as sharp as the previous film.  With this latest development, the Polaroid Land Camera not only gives you pictures in 60 seconds, but pictures of exceptional clarity and brilliance.  Polaroid Land Cameras start at $72.75.  The new film can be identified by a star on the box.'

This image of Armstrong was made the same year as Jazz on a Summer's Day, Stern's film about the Fifth Annual Jazz Festival in Newport, Rhode Island, in which Armstrong appeared, along with Thelonious Monk, Sonny Stitt, Gerry Mulligan, Dinah Washington, Chuck Berry, Anita O'Day, and Mahalia Jackson, among others.  Stern financed the film with $70,000 of his own money, and is acknowledged to be the first to make a concert film.