One piece, every second Thursday, plus a short note on what came through the archives that fortnight. That is the whole thing.
It exists because this is a publication about looking at objects, and nobody remembers to check a website. If a piece is worth reading, it should arrive.
What arrives
The piece itself, in full, in the email — not a link and a teaser. If it is a photo essay the plates come with it, credited exactly as they are on the site.
Then a paragraph on what turned up in the collections that fortnight: something found while looking for something else, an object that changed how a piece was written, occasionally a catalogue record that turned out to be wrong. It is the part that would not survive being written for anyone in particular, which is why it goes in a letter rather than on the site.
What does not
No digest of links you have already seen. No roundup of other people's writing. No announcements, no offers, no partner messages, and no third party is ever given the address.
If a fortnight produces nothing worth sending, nothing is sent. A schedule is a promise about the maximum, not an obligation to fill it.
Questions
How often, exactly?
Every second Thursday. Twenty-six a year at most, usually fewer. If you have not heard from us in a month, nothing was worth sending.
What does a free account get me?
The letter, and the six long-form essays, which are otherwise closed. The twelve Research photo essays are free to everyone with no account at all — those are the shop window and they stay open.
And what is behind the paid tier?
The Database: sixteen complete archives, one for each family of prescribed dress, every subtype as a chapter, with the full plate set and a rights-cleared inventory to download. It is a reference object rather than a stream of posts, which is why it is priced as one.
How do I unsubscribe?
One link at the foot of every email, one click, no confirmation step and no attempt to talk you out of it. The address is deleted rather than suppressed.
Do you track whether I opened it?
Ghost, which sends this, records opens and clicks by default. Nothing is done with that beyond seeing whether a piece landed, and it is never passed anywhere.