Description
Long before vernacular photography became a recognized collecting field, photographers Ken Graves and Mitchell Payne understood that the anonymous family snapshot deserved serious attention. Drawn from hundreds of American family albums (they knocked on doors and asked to look at family albums!), American Snapshots celebrates ordinary people, fleeting moments, awkward poses, celebrations, humor, and everyday life. Jean Shepherd’s introduction perfectly captures the charm of these unassuming photographs, reminding us that history often survives in the pictures families never expected anyone else to see.
Published by Oakland’s Scrimshaw Press in 1977, this attractive square-format first edition remains one of the earliest books devoted entirely to found photography and the American snapshot tradition. For collectors of vernacular photography, outsider art, Americana, and the history of photography, it represents an important early milestone—one that anticipated today’s widespread appreciation for anonymous photographs by decades.
A wonderful addition to the library of anyone drawn to found photography, vernacular images, or the quiet poetry of everyday American life.
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