The photograph in the old shop
Read how an old shop photograph finds a new place with help from its former owner.
While helping to clear an old shoe shop, Ben found a photograph behind a cupboard. It showed three people standing outside the same shop many years earlier. On the back, someone had written “Our first day, June 1984”. Ben recognised the doorway, although the sign above it was different.
The shop’s present owner, Ruth, did not recognise the people. Rather than throwing the photograph away, she suggested asking Mr Patel, who had owned the shop before her. Ben took the picture to his house that afternoon.
Mr Patel smiled as soon as he saw it. The people were his parents and his younger sister. His father had taken the photograph home once, then brought it back to display in the shop. Nobody knew how it had fallen behind the cupboard.
Ben offered to return it to Mr Patel, but he asked for a copy instead. He liked the idea of the original staying where the family had worked. With his permission, Ruth put it in a frame near the entrance. A short note below it explained who the people were.
Words to take with you
- cupboard
- A piece of furniture with doors for storing things.The cups are inside the cupboard.
- recognise
- To know something because you have seen it before.I recognised the street in the picture.
- display
- To put something where people can see it.The shop displays old photographs.
- original
- The first thing, rather than a copy.Please keep the original letter safe.
- frame
- A border that holds a picture.We put the photo in a wooden frame.
Check your understanding
Choose an answer, then check each question.
Use your English
Describe an old object or photograph that could tell visitors something about a place.
Say your answer aloud or write two or three sentences.