Martin Parr has becomewell known for his collections of photography books and postcards,but he is also a jackdawcollector of photographic and other themed objects.Some collections have already achieved notoriety â for instance his collection of Saddam Husseinwatches (wrist watches featuring photographs of Saddam Hussein, highly popular in Iraq prior to his downfall), and his collection of photographic trays, both exhibited at the 2004 Rencontres dâArles festival in southern France â but until nowthey have not been published in book form.This comprehensive account of eccentric objects collected by Parr over 25 years includes his memorabilia of political leaders and movements (Lenin, Margaret Thatcher and the Minerâs strike, for example), othermythologized characters (Osama bin Laden and the Spice Girls), his collections of photographic trays and kitschwallpaper, objects commemorating the M1 motorway, 9/11, and the Sputnik mission. Ranging between the banal and poignant, they are always hilarious.
