Oops, I erased a 1GB Lexar 40X CF card with live images, no backup. Erase was done by format in the camera, a Canon 10D. Any ideas how to recover the files, if possible? Thanks for any replies.

You can use any file recovery software if the card can be attached as a disk drive. If your camera can't act as USB storage, then you have to use a card reader.

Zero Assumption Recovery ZAR is a nice tool that lets you recover images for free and I have recovered all images from a Canon-formatted CF with it. (The fscking camera didn't have a confirmation frompt for the format command!)

download and run pc inspectory smart recovery. Bear in mind, provided you haven't overwritten on the flash card, most items should be recoverable.