Smith, W. Eugene. "The Conscience of the Print," in Camera 35, May 1970.

Entire issue of Camera 35 featuring article on W. Eugene Smith, with portfolio of Smith photographs, pages 36-42 and detailed analysis of Smith's working methods by Bob Combs, pages, 43, 60, 62, 64, 66-69. There is another full page Smith photo in a Soligor ad on page 61.  Other articles include using punched cards to find photos in a collection. Condition generally good with the two leaves in center of magazine detached (could be reattached).  Summary:

Camera 35, May 1970 is a highly collectible and historically significant issue of the prominent photography magazine. Edited during a period of intense cultural and artistic shift, this edition serves almost entirely as a monumental tribute to, and masterclass on, W. Eugene Smith—one of the most influential and uncompromising photojournalists in American history.

The W. Eugene Smith Feature

The vast majority of the magazine's editorial space is dedicated to exploring the genius, the obsession, and the rigorous mechanics behind Smith’s legendary career.

• The Portfolio (Pages 36–42): The issue features a meticulously printed, multi-page portfolio showcasing some of Smith's most iconic imagery. The selection highlights his signature style: high-contrast, deeply emotional, and humanistic black-and-white compositions that defined the mid-20th-century photo-essay.

• Detailed Working Analysis (Pages 43, 60, 62, 64, 66–69): Written by Bob Combs, this extensive text provides a rare, unvarnished look at Smith’s famously obsessive working methods. Combs breaks down how Smith embedded himself in his subjects' lives for months at a time, his relentless perfectionism in the darkroom (where he would spend days dodging and burning a single print to achieve theatrical chairoscuro), and his notorious editorial battles with corporate magazine editors over layout control.

• The Soligor Advertisement (Page 61): Further cementing Smith's presence in this issue, a full-page commercial advertisement for Soligor lenses prominently features another full-page photograph taken by Smith, demonstrating how his distinct artistic voice was revered even within the industry's commercial sectors.

Information Management in the Pre-Digital Era

• The Punched-Card Photo Retrieval System: Providing a stark contrast to the artistic weight of the Smith feature, the issue includes a forward-thinking technical article on archive management. It details a method for using physical punched cards (an early mechanical indexing system) to catalog, sort, and quickly locate specific photographs within a massive personal or professional collection. It stands as a fascinating, proto-digital look at data retrieval for photographers decades before computers and digital tagging became ubiquitous.

Significance

The May 1970 issue of Camera 35 is prized by photographic historians because it functions less like a standard monthly magazine and more like a definitive monograph. By pairing W. Eugene Smith’s masterworks with Bob Combs' exhaustive tactical analysis, the editors created an essential educational textbook on the sacrifices and craftsmanship required of "concerned photojournalism."