Ansel Adams

unique Polaroid Type 55 print, titled and dated in ink, 'Polaroid Land Photograph by Ansel Adams' and handling information stamps on the reverse, framed, a 'Property of Polaroid Corporate Archives' stamp on the reverse, 1961

Ansel Adams, Polaroid Land Photography, p. 25 (likely this print)

Other prints of this image:

Edwin Land, David H. McAlpin, et al., Singular Images (New York, 1974), p. 51

Andrea G. Stillman, Ansel Adams: 400 Photographs (Boston, 2007), p. 384

This beautiful and detail-filled print is in excellent condition. As is typical of hand-coated Polaroid prints, some minor inconsistencies in the print's glossy surface can be seen when it is examined in raking light. Some faint tape remains, as well as some evidence of the rust-colored Polaroid developing agent, are visible on the reverse of the print but are unobtrusive.
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.

This print was made with Polaroid's Type 55 positive/negative film, a product that provided the photographer, after exposure, with both a unique positive print and a negative from which conventional photographic prints could be made.  Adams championed this film in his Polaroid manuals, stating that Type 55 produced 'negatives of very high quality, equal to almost any conventional fine-grained negative in their capacity for great enlargement' (Polaroid Land Photography, p. 46).  It is likely that the unique print offered here was used for reproduction in Polaroid Land Photography.  The prints reproduced in Singular Images and 400 Photographs were gelatin silver prints made from the resultant negative.  The prints offered as Lots 295 and 376 in the present sale were made from this negative, and demonstrate the extent to which Type 55 negatives could be enlarged without noticeable degradation of the image.