PETERGATE in York has changed a lot over the years - many shops have come and gone, including The Gift Box, a favourite with locals and visitors alike from the 1960s.
Back then, it sold gifts, as well as tobacco and sweets. It was run by Muriel and Vic Wales - and our photos today take us right back to that time.
They were sent to us from Anne Braithwaite, who has been running The Braithwaite Gallery for 20 years in the exact same premises as The Gift Box all those years ago.
She was sent the photos from the granddaughter of Muriel and Vic Wales.
Anne explained: "A lady popped into The Braithwaite Gallery on Monday and explained that her grandparents owned The Gift Box in our building back in the 60s and 70s.
"I showed her around and she shared memories of childhood holidays in her grandparents flat above the shop."
She told Anne her grandparents ran the shop from the 1960s and 1970s and believed before then it had been a needlework and sewing shop.
READ MORE: A look back at Petergate in 1986
She added that her grandmother Muriel had her own souvenirs made to sell in the gift shop.
She sent Anne a detailed description of each photo:
Photo 1: "The first photograph is self explanatory - the front of the shop. Unfortunately there are no dates on the photos, but I guess this would have been taken late 60s-early 70s."
Photos 2-4: "Shows the wall on the left if you have your back to the door. Picture 3 is a continuation round, as is picture 4. Picture 4 also shows the back wall of the shop which I think has been taken down? Behind that was the passage round to the door to the left of the shop window in picture 1. That's where the shelving was for the stock of sweets they sold. The cigarettes and layer films were displayed. If you look carefully there is a price of 1/- on some gliders, so the photo was taken pre-decimalisation. The sweets and ice cream were displayed on the right as you went through the shop door."
Picture five: "This was taken around 1979-1980. The shop front hadn't changed much, just updated signage (Lyons Maid! My grandpa had formerly worked for Joseph Lyons and was very loyal to the brand!) And the lady in this photo is Muriel. She was born to run a gift shop! She had an uncanny knowledge of what would sell and what wouldn't, and she even designed her own souvenirs and had them made to sell."
Anne said it was lovely to learn about the history of the building. She said: "There’s always been a nice sense of community here as the residents and businesses had been the same for a long time until very recently.
"As a long term tenant - 20 years this year - of this building, I feel part of its history now, and even though we are only a little shop, memories are a fabulous way of connecting people across time and distance."
Do you remember The Gift Shop? Share your memories in the comments below or in our nostalgia group on Facebook, Why We Love York - Memories.
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