[Self-portrait of Anatol Josepho with terrier]

Your Mirror: Portraits from the ICP Collection
Section: Self portraiture
Invented by Anatol Josepho, who originally immigrated to the United States from Siberia, the photobooth (or Photomaton) was first installed in 1926 at 1659 Broadway, on the west side of Times Square in New York. The new, inexpensive process made photography more accessible and was an instant success. People lined up around the block and could have their pictures taken twenty-four hours a day. Photobooths soon sprang up in fairs, amusement parks, and bus stations all over the country, where families, friends, or people and their pets could eternalize themselves. The absence of a human photographer tends to make photobooth subjects much less self-conscious and creates a more intimate experience. Although the original chemical photobooths still exist, most have been replaced by ones that produce prints from digital files.