The First Instant Photo (Polaroid).
1 - Test photo of Edwin Herbert Land, inventor, on March 13th 1944.
2 - Scan of the patent.
3 - Demonstration of Land at OSA

Land conceived the idea of an instant camera on a vacation in New Mexico late in 1943 in response to Jennifer, his 3-year-old daughter’s bewilderment at why a camera could not instantly produce pictures. 

After a few early successes developing polarizing filters for sunglasses and photographic filters, Land obtained funding from a series of Walls Street investors for further expansion. The company was renamed the Polaroid Corporation in 1937. On February 21st of 1947, Land was ready to unveil the prototype. Showing the model at a meeting for the Optical Society of America, the new camera amazed the audience members.  From there it was still a year and a half before the camera was released to the public.  The first camera and film went on sale in November of 1948.  They were the Land Camera Model 95 and the Polaroid Land Type 40 film.  Immediately they were a success, as the idea of having a picture that could be developed in a minute appealed to many post-War Americans.  The original Land model was such a success that it remained the prototype for Polaroid cameras for the next 15 years. During that time, an abundance of the cameras were sold, as evidenced by the millionth camera rolling off the assembly line in 1956.

Dr. Land, who held 533 patents, was also an adviser to the Federal Government on military matters, advocating the use of photographic satellites in orbit to spy on enemy targets several years before such craft or the rockets to launch them came into being. In 1955, he was chairman of a secret intelligence panel for President Dwight D. Eisenhower that advised a vigorous program to develop advanced means of reconnaissance, including satellites. The Polaroid Corporation, donated its corporate archives to Baker Library in 2006. 

for more info http://www.osa.org/en-us/history/biographies/edwin-h–land/