Annuals. U.S. Camera Annual 1958.

U.S. Camera Publishing, 1957. Edited by Tom Maloney. [With special section containing the first publication of photos from Robert Frank, The Americans, including some that didn't make the final cut, with an introduction by Walker Evans.  Other contributors include Brassai; Dan Weiner; B. Gallagher; Andreas Feininger; Harold Feinstein; Peter Basch; Ferenc Berko; Edouard Boubat; Bill Brandt; Wynn Bullock; René Burri; Joe Clark; Larry Colwell; Andre De Dienes; Mario Giacomelli; Frank Horvat; Hoyningen-Huene; Anthony Armstrong Jones; Charles Kerlee; Dorothea Lange; Jacques Lowe; Russell Lee; Rollie McKenna; Wayne Miller; Louis Stettner; W. Suschitzky; Todd Walker; Rolf Winquist; Michael Wolgensinger; Harold Feinstein; Space program; Hungary; Eugene Cook; New York Art Directors Club; Richard Avedon; Irving Penn, et al.] Hardcover, illustrated paper over boards, not issued with dust jacket but just a plain glassine wrapper, which is not present on this copy. Good plus with spotting on covers; moderate shelf wear; internally near fine. Summary:

U.S. Camera Annual 1958 is a landmark yearbook-style photographic anthology edited by Tom Maloney and published by U.S. Camera Publishing that captures some of the most striking and diverse photographic work of its time while also serving as a cultural snapshot of the late 1950s. This 302-page volume brought together a broad array of images, reports, and portfolios by both established and emerging photographers, reflecting the aesthetic, documentary, and journalistic currents shaping photography in that era.

One of the most historically significant aspects of the 1958 Annual is that it contains the first publication in the United States of photographs from Robert Frank’s series that would later become The Americans—including a portfolio of 33 images introduced with an essay by Walker Evans and a personal statement by Frank himself. This sequence acted as an early public unveiling of Frank’s groundbreaking vision, which would go on to deeply influence American photography by challenging conventional pictorial styles and embracing a candid, critical view of mid-century American life.

Beyond Frank’s work, the Annual features a wide range of portfolios, essays, and individual images by major photographers of the day. Contributors and featured practitioners include Brassaï (notably his graffiti studies), Édouard Boubat, Bill Brandt, René Burri, Mario Giacomelli, Tony Armstrong-Jones, Dorothea Lange, and Wolf Suschitzky, among others, offering a rich mix of documentary, street, portrait, and artistic photography from around the world.

In addition to portfolios and individual works, the book reflects broader photographic interests of the period, including coverage of notable events and societal topics—ranging from urban scenes and international subjects to technological and cultural developments—making it both an artful collection and a visual chronicle of its time.

Overall, U.S. Camera Annual 1958 functions as both an important historical document and a nexus of mid-20th-century photographic voices: it celebrates technical skill and artistic expression while marking a key moment when new, more personal approaches to photography were beginning to reshape the field.