The death has taken place of the photographer and postcard manufacturer, Mr John Hinde, whose best-known images depicted an Ireland of sunshine, donkeys and thatched houses. The man whose work is regarded by some modern critics as the apogee of Irish kitsch told The Irish Times in 1993: "I photographed donkeys and cottages simply because you can't imagine a Connemara bog without a donkey walking across with panniers filled with peat. It's part of the landscape the same way the Irish cottage is like a living thing which grew out of the ground."
Aside from his postcards, Mr Hinde made a substantial contribution to the history of photography. His work in the 1940s was groundbreaking, with his colour pictures recognised by London's Imperial War Museum as the only examples of such photography from the second World War.
Born in Somerset, he moved to Ireland in 1955. A solicitor, Mr Arthur Cox, encouraged him with his postcard project and he started producing postcards in earnest in 1956. By the time he disposed of his business, he was selling 50,000 a year.
Mr Hinde always saw his customer as "the man in the street" and felt the greatest confirmation of his success was when Kodak asked his company to produce its publicity material.
Mr Hinde retired to the south of France. Yesterday his family announced his "unexpected but peaceful" death on St Stephen's Day, aged 81. He is survived by his wife, Antonia, and five children.
