Unseen [Hardcover]

Elliott Erwitt (Author), Smith (Designer)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 15, 2007

For those already familiar with the scope and ingenuity of this photographic craftsman, this is an essential addition to your Erwitt collection. If not, you can look forward to discovering his eclecticism and expertise. Probing the limits of black-and-white photography, Erwitt's lens captures subtleties ranging from the duskiest grays to the most luminous whites. This intriguing collection of previously unpublished photographs highlights the drama in everyday moments. Its subjects range from anonymous faces in the crowd to candid glimpses of icons like John F. Kennedy, Marilyn Monroe, and Truman Capote.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

· A master lensman's quirky look at life · Appealing to both lovers of fine art photography and scholars of the human condition

About the Author

Born in Paris in 1928, Elliott Erwitt arrived in the U.S. in the late 1930s. Establishing himself in the 40s and 50s as a leading magazine photographer, he joined the prestigious Magnum Agency in 1953. In addition to his work in magazines, he achieved great success as an advertising photographer. He currently lives in New York City.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 159 pages
• Publisher: teNeues; 1st edition (September 15, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 3832792104
• ISBN-13: 978-3832792107
• Product Dimensions: 13.3 x 9.7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #457,509 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Mixed bag, January 16, 2008

By 

Tom - See all my reviews

This review is from: Unseen (Hardcover)

My main criticism about this book is about it's design -- there are no captions under pictures. Instead, the designer decided to add photo captions to the end of the book as index. So to see caption of a photo you need to open page 154, then find thumbnail-sized image of the photo you were looking at, or your photo's page number, and voila, now you can read its caption there. Repeat that for each photo in the book and you get what I mean. It is beyond me how someone can make so stupid usability mistakes, but that happens daily with many different products.

About photos. There are many very good images in best Erwitt style, but there are a few that make me think that it is a leftover, or filler. Looking up captions for these reveals that most such photos were included because the person on is a known figure. But probably it is a matter of taste, like everything else...

The book has only about 150 pages with photos, which considering my previous points makes me feel it is a bit over priced. By no means I don't think Erwitt's photos are cheap but there are some better books out there that cost the same or less. If this is your first Erwitt book I suggest to buy something else, like Snaps.

My rating: 3,5