Twin Peaks Publicity – Associated Press Laserphoto of Laura Palmer’s Funeral

One of the more unique publicity photos I recently acquired at auction is an Associated Press (AP) Laserphoto of Laura Palmer’s funeral scene from Twin Peaks episode 1.003. This printed image on paper is a relic from laser technology first introduced in the mid-1970s. I even found the newspaper where the image was printed in September 1991.

WHAT IS AN ASSOCIATED PRESS (AP) LASERPHOTO?

Prior to the annual meeting of Associated Press members at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel on Sunday, April 22, 1973, Wes Gallagher, president and general manager of the organization, shared details of a revolutionary photo transmission system using laser beams. He also shared plans for “electronic dark-rooms” where pictures would be stored in computers, edited on video screens and transmitted at high speeds.

In 1935, the AP introduced Wirephotos which revolutionized the transmission of photos. With the growth in offset printing and demand for higher quality printed images, the AP needed a completely new system of transmitting pictured by wire.

Dr. William F. Schreiber with the Research Laboratory of Electronics of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology worked with the AP Research and Development Department for more than two years to create the Laserphoto system.

Photos sent via digital transmission lines delivered pictures four times faster than the current delivery methods, meaning AP members would receive a standard 8-inch by 10-inch photograph in approximately two minutes.

“Two and a half years ago, the AP Board of Directors approved a research and development project to break out of the limitations imposed on picture quality by current facsimile methods,” said Gallagher from an article in The News Item from June 29, 1973 (which was a syndicated story first published on April 23, 1973).

“That research has paid off today with a revolutionary picture receiving device that delivers pure photographs,” he continued. “It uses a laser beam as a light source, and prints pictures on a specially developed photographic paper which requires no liquid chemicals for processing”

Gallagher promised to install Laserphoto equipment beginning in 1974 and that the AP “will replace every photo receiver and transmitter now in the United States during a production run lasting approximately two years.”

The Associated Press continued using Laserphotos in 1993 when the modern World Wide Web became the primary method for sharing digital images.

AP LASERPHOTO OF LAURA PALMER’S FUNERAL FROM TWIN PEAKS EPISODE 1.003

The AP Laserphoto of Laura Palmer’s funeral from Twin Peaks episode 1.003 arrived as a slightly yellowed 8 x 10 piece of paper. I’m assuming the discoloration was a result of the image being 34 years old.

I removed the yellow hue to get a more accurate representation of what a newsroom received. The image’a caption read:

“(NY41-May 23) –TWIN PEAKS FINALE–Cast members of ABC’s “Twin Peaks,” from left, front row, Madchen Amick, Peggy Lipton, Everett McGill, Wendy Roble and Kyle MacLachlan stand graveside as Laura Palmer, victim of a grisly murder, is eulogized in an earlier episode of the series. The season finale of the surreal, darkly comic series aired Wednesday keeps the story shrouded in mist and mystery. (AP LaserPhoto) (bw32100f1s) 1990 SLUG: TWIN PEAKS”

It appears the photo was originally published in newspapers on May 23, 1990, the same day the first season finale, episode 1.007, aired on the ABC Television Network. I found examples in The Shreveport Journal, complete with the same caption found on the Laserphoto above.

The Leaf Chronicle ran the AP story about the first season cliffhanger on May 24, 1990 which included the Laserphoto and a slightly edited caption.

An even more cropped image, sans the Laserphoto credit, was published in The Reporter on May 24, 1990.

Granted, the funeral image in The Reporter could have been taken from the original publicity photo created on April 3, 1990 in advance of Twin Peaks episode 1.003 airing on Thursday, April 26. The late ABC photographer Craig Sjodin took this iconic image which has been used in numerous publications for more than three decades.

AP LASERPHOTO OF LAURA PALMER’S FUNRAL ON SEPT. 5, 1991

The date “9-5-91” was scribbled on the back of the AP Laserphoto I own.

A quick search revealed the image was used in a story from The Modesto Bee about filming for Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me beginning on September 5, 1991 in Snoqualmie Valley, Washington. This discovery confirms my recently acquired publicity photo collection must have originated in the Northern California’s newsroom.

This Laserphoto is a rare item in my collection as it’s not something often seen outside of a printed newspaper.

You can download high-resolution images of these photos on my Flickr account in the Twin Peaks | Publicity folder