That's what photographer Nakki Goranin was thinking when she turned her focus to the history of the instant photo machine for her new book American Photobooth.

Emerging at the beginning of the 20th century, the photobooth was a development that made photography affordable for and accessible to everyone. Today, it's a novelty that makes photography accessible to tipsy hipsters at especially excellent bars and to random mall-goers at a few other select locations around the U.S., where the ~250 remaining authentic chemical booths are still intact.

Goranin's chronicle and accompanying images are the best PR for the photobooth since its major role in Amélie. And we have to mention, we'd be almost as charmed by this very similar endeavor, Found Polaroids, if we weren't still in denial over the impending extinction of polaroid film...

Image: left, from American Photobooth; right, from our personal archives.