Finding old photographs at thrift shops is both sweet and bitter. Sweet because when you hold a 50 year old photograph in your hands you hold a piece of history. Bitter because this history belongs to someone else. When estates are sold, often the objects that have little monetary value are either thrown away or are sent to thrift shops. But I wonder if there is someone to whom these items are priceless.
I found the photos below in a disintegrating photo album amongst the vinyl records at a Renaissance Thrift Shop in Montreal. The album was not priced. At checkout, the cashier shrugged and charged me 99 cents.
After a little investigative work, I learned that these photos were taken at the Centre Hospitalier Angrignon, Verdun Pavilion, which at one time operated as a teaching hospital for nurses.
A part of me wishes I could keep these photos. Sending them to the Verdun Historical Society or other such place feels so much heavier than giving up piece of history that wasn't mine but became mine - for 99 cents.
