Return to Sender: Revisiting John Hinde's Ireland

by Paul Kelly

John Hinde was a pioneer of colour photography and one of the most successful postcard publishers in the world. His largest collection of postcards celebrated Ireland. He portrayed an island brightened by his imagination, a place where children were red-haired and freckled, the sun always shining, and the sky forever blue. His idealistic images were to become the stereotypical portrayal of Ireland for many years, and to this day elicit feelings of nostalgia from viewers worldwide.

Return to Sender pairs Hinde’s iconic, instantly recognisable postcards from the 1950s, ‘60s and ‘70s with corresponding contemporary photographs. The side-by-side contrast of these then-and-now photographs, wonderfully captured by photographer Paul Kelly, illustrates the ways Ireland’s rural and urban landscapes have changed over the decades or, in some places, not changed at all.

224 pages, Hardcover

Published September 18, 2019

About the author

I've been reading and writing books since as long as I can remember, although this is the first book I've ever managed to bring to publication. In my other life I work as a School Cover Supervisor. The Lost Brigade is the first in a series of three books, the original idea of which came from a dream (or perhaps nightmare is a better description!)