John Hinde

Who was John Hinde?

John Wilfrid Hinde was an English photographer, whose idealistic and nostalgic style influenced the art of postcard photography and was widely known for his meticulously planned shoots.

Born in Somerset, England, his interest in colour photography arose during the 1940s. From the later half of the 1940s to the middle half of the 1950s, he entered the circus life, where he met his future wife. However, he soon returned to photography and, in 1956, he left the circus and founded John Hinde Ltd. in Dublin to produce and distribute his colour pictures of Ireland. Hinde's most famous work is that of the Butlin's Holiday Camps, in which he portrayed a welcoming and jubilant environment. In 1972, he sold his company in order to pursue his love of painting. The Irish Museum of Modern Art recognized his work with a retrospective in Dublin in 1993. In 1998, Hinde died in Dordogne, France. At the time of his death, millions of his postcards had been sold worldwide.