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(Ridiculously kitsch) Object of the day: John Hinde tin box

I'd gone out to buy something from the DIY store, but it had just closed.

On my way back to the car I had to pass the farmer's market, which sells all sorts of random stuff, not just food. Serendipitously I thought (always a good approach to impulse buying) I passed a stall I often linger at, full of enticing old bits and pieces. No need to feel sad about the closed DIY store – here, surely, was the real reason I'd left the house. I just didn't know it till I saw it...

My love for John Hinde postcards from the 1960s-1980s era, as several readers will know, is large, especially the Butlin's series, as seen on the sweet tin above, which the lady from the stall sold to me for £8. I was too excited to haggle.

These images and many more were immortalised in Our True Intent is all for Your Delight edited by Martin Parr, an oft-flicked through book round my house. The equally colourful story behind the richly hued photographs is one I wrote about in a piece in the Independent a few years back, in case you're interested.


Meanwhile, since these tins aren't common (a quick trawl of Ebay and Etsy revealed nothing, I'm afraid) I can at least lead fellow Hinde fans to a some alternative resources for a photographic fix.

There's the above-mentioned book (the photos from which look great in frames – as seen in my recent radical loo makeover), and also Surface View, where you can purchase giant prints of various JH postcards, in all sorts of formats. There's also the John Hinde Collection, a site set up by even bigger fans than I, where you can buy original prints, lovingly restored and stripped of their trademark technicolour tints. Well worth a look.

As for me, I just have to decide what to keep in my new tin. Any suggestions?

Post by Kate

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