Found Lives: A Collection of Found Photographs [Hardcover]

James Nocito (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 112 pages
• Publisher: Gibbs Smith Publishers; 1st edition (April 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0879056185
• ISBN-13: 978-0879056186
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 7.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,379,109 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unique perspective on old photographs created by Nocito., December 6, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Found Lives: A Collection of Found Photographs (Hardcover)

In Found Lives, James Nocito has devised a unique method of utilizing his many old photographs, either given to him or collected at various estate and tag sales. Through careful scrutiny of the elements in the photograph (the people, expressions, angles, shadows, background, etc.) Nocito has created new and imaginitive lives and situations for the subjects. In one, an outdoor scene under tall trees, a smiling man holds an equally smiling woman upside down in his arms. "Everyone said poor Aunt Constance was made of patience, married to a man like Roscoe. The ladies in her Bible group prayed that there'd be a moment's rest for her someday...."

The book is divided into sections, with headings such as "Family Album," "Talking Pictures," and "Love." Under "Children," Nocito has reproduced a picture of a laughing child on a back porch, along with a quote from Anne Cameron, "A Child of Happiness always seems like an old soul living in a new body...she smiles, then the sun lights up the world." Each photograph provides a little vignette into the imagined lives of men, women, and children in the past, bucolic scenes which may recall photographs we may have, stored away in our own attics or old shoe boxes, forgotten, until James Nocito revives and revitalizes them for us.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A visually exciting, charming , and thoughtful collection., September 15, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Found Lives: A Collection of Found Photographs (Hardcover)

What a treat to come across this book! I am neither a photography buff nor someone steeped in nostalgia, but Nocito's eye for snapshots from an earlier time and his ear for the stories that might go with them is astonishing. The lure is in both the details and in the window it provides to an earlier time and place, one we all share on the level of memories that are visceral. The pictures are funny and startling and genuine. They tell us how much of our lives have changed and how much they have stayed the same over the past decades. A real delight and one that bears repeating. Unlike other "picture" books, this one offers its delights over and over. Great gift, especially to yourself.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A nostalgic treat for the heart and soul., September 19, 1998

By 

Sandra Sellani ([e-mail]) (Newport Beach, California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Found Lives: A Collection of Found Photographs (Hardcover)

No matter what your age, you will be touched by the compelling words and images brought to life by James Nocito. With every turn of the page, one feels as if they have discovered a private family treasure. It evokes tender emotions, sadness, wonder, and joy. It satisfies the need we have to connect with our past, and find wisdom in the lives of others. This is a wonderful gift that will grow more precious with time.