Online magazine Valleywag has offered a bounty on a photo or video that would prove the existence of Apple's as-yet unannounced tablet. Why the site hasn't gotten its photographic proof, it did get a Cease & Desist order from Apple's legal team, which prompted Valleywag to quip that Apple itself had supplied the proof of the device's existence.

The site offered four bounties in its stunt, US$10,000 for "bona fide pictures" of the device, $20,000 for "video of one in action," $50,000 for "video of Steve Jobs holding one," and $100,000 to "let us play with one for an hour."

"We've had enough of trying to follow all the speculation around Apple's impending tablet -- how it'll work, its size, the name, the software and whether it will save magazines," the company wrote. "We want answers, dammit! And we're willing to pay."

While it has received a lot of correspondence to the offer - including one chap claiming to know that there is no Apple tablet - it also drew the attention of Apple, which sent the above-mentioned C&D from Michael Spillner, and attorney from the Menlo Park law firm Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe.

In that C&D, Mr. Spillner wrote that, "Apple has maintained the types of information and things you are soliciting ... in strict confidence," which resulted in Valleywag claiming that Apple's C&D order was the first definitive proof of the tablet's existence.

Though failing the four categories of bounty listed above, Valleywag sent Mr. Spillner a gift basket with the following items in compensation:

• A DVD of Legally Blonde 2
• A $25 Zune Marketplace giftcard
• And a fabulous set of steak knives!

The Wall Street Journal confirmed the C&D's authenticity, though no one has as yet confirmed the tablet - then again, we published a photograph that a trusted source told us was the glass that will be used for the device.