Stoumen, Lou. Ordinary Miracles: The Photography of Lou Stoumen. Texts by William A. Ewing.

Hand Press, 1981.  First edition. Superb reproduction quality with black-and-gray duotones from laser scanned images, printed on heavy weight glossy paper. Catalog for a retrospective (1932-1980) exhibition that traveled from the Allentown Art Museum to the International Center of Photography and other venues, 1981-1983. [A native of Bucks County, Pennsylvania, Lou Stoumen (1917–1991), was a photographer and filmmaker who won two Academy Awards for his documentaries.] Fine with very good dust jacket.  Not to be confused with the 1985 Aperture reprint. Summary:

Ordinary Miracles: The Photography of Lou Stoumen is a retrospective monograph and exhibition catalog. Produced to accompany a major traveling exhibition, the book serves as a mid-career summation of an Oscar-winning filmmaker and acclaimed street photographer.

Key Elements of the Work

• The Visual Portfolio: The volume features 69 high-quality black-and-white photographic plates spanning roughly a half-century of work (1932–1980). The geographic scope is expansive, tracing a journey from California to Calcutta, with significant documentary sequences captured in New York City, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Los Angeles, and New Mexico.

• The Textual Framework: The publication includes an introductory essay by a prominent photo-historian and curator, William A. Ewing, alongside a biography and exhibition checklist. Crucially, the monograph features extensive commentary written by Stoumen himself, which provides deep narrative context to the imagery.

• The "Paper Movie" Concept: The book highlights Stoumen’s signature aesthetic philosophy—the "paper movie." Drawing from his background as a documentary filmmaker, the publication demonstrates his unique ability to marry text and image sequentially, transforming static pages into dynamic, cinematic narratives of human life.

Narrative Intent

The monograph functions as a celebration of the profound beauty hidden within everyday, fleeting moments. By documenting diverse cultures and ordinary people with absolute technical clarity and empathy, Stoumen’s work argues that the true magic of photography lies not in staged spectacles, but in archiving the "ordinary miracles" of daily human survival, resilience, and connection.