This blank Camera Work subscription form for the year 1905 was mailed by publisher Alfred Stieglitz to  photographer C.M. Shipman in Brooklyn, New York. (145 Milton St.) Included but not shown is the original mailing envelope (8.7 x 10.8 cm) addressed to Shipman in Stieglitz’s hand with a New York postmark of December 22, 1904. This subscription “blank” was folded in half for mailing. The form was most likely requested by the photographer as it is not marked as expiring with any No. of the journal. The form calls attention to the work of Scottish photographer James Craig Annan, which would appear shortly in Camera Work VIII. The back of the “blank” has been left unprinted, with the intent it would be filled in by the recipient and mailed back to Stieglitz in order to fulfill a subscription to the journal, which cost $5.00 per year and an additional .50¢ for registering and packing. This rare piece of Camera Work ephemera is shown here as a composite image in order to show the particulars of the subscription solicitation. Stieglitz edited and published Camera Work in 50 issues from 1903-1917.

Original copy for this entry posted to Facebook on March 18, 2012:

Even beginning collectors of vintage artistic and pictorial photography are aware of the glorious history of the American journal “Camera Work”. Published by Alfred Stieglitz from 1903-1917 in 50 issues, it redefined the very idea of a publication devoted to photography and art. In a testament to the quality of its’ photogravure plates, it is perhaps the only instance where contemporary exhibitions of the day would occasionally feature removed plates from issues and mount them for public display. Although I may occasionally present select examples from our own archive for instructional use, we gladly acknowledge and direct you to PhotoSeed’s very good friend Photogravure.com, where you can see every plate in all 50 issues, including supplements. We will continue however to present you ephemeral survivors, like this original Camera Work subscription form from 1905. A rare surviving example printed on Japan vellum, in our eyes it is a further exclamation mark on the impeccable high standards Stieglitz assigned to everything and anything related to the journal.