1000+ never used balloons

Posted on by garbagefinds

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I went out yesterday evening to check out the Plateau. There wasn’t too much of interest outside of these bags on Chambord, in front of the same place where I found a couple of neat vintage things on Friday. The bags were loaded with heavy old tools.

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I also found an old cigar box (in rough shape, unfortunately) that contained four pairs of old glasses. The lenses are in bad shape but the frames are quite nice. The mark of “AO” (American Optical) is printed on a few of them and two are gold-filled. I can probably sell these as a lot online for around 50$, maybe a bit more – I’ve done it before with some old frames I found. However, there’s a vintage eyeglasses stores not far from where I live so I might take them in there to see if they’ll make an offer.

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This odd religious thing was in the box as well. It looks to be a missing piece of something else. It’s marked as being made in France. Any ideas as to what it might be from?

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Here’s some bric-a-brac I found among the tools. The pin in the back features a dragon curved around some green plastic, which is kind of cool. The keys have some cool designs on them, though the pictures doesn’t really do much for the details. The tins are full of razors blades and with a little cleaning will be quite yard saleable. There’s also a hole punch, but instead of a simple hole it punches an arrow. Maybe that’s not too exciting but I’ve never seen anything like it before!

I brought home some other nondescript tools that looked to still be useful and left them outside for others to rummage through.

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I also saved this old jar. It’s probably worth 50 cents at a yard sale!

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I slept in a little this morning but made it out in time for a run through TMR. My bike tire was flat when I got up but when I filled it up it held air, which is pretty lucky. The tire must have a slow leak.

I like this TMR route a lot. The air is fresh, there’s lots of trees, and the streets are quiet and wide (even if they twist around like a maze). Pretty relaxing, despite the fact that the locals are a bit more reticent about trash pickers like me.

I feel like the neighbourhood has a lot of potential. People have a lot more space in their bigger homes to store stuff they never use, that’s for sure. They also have enough money to buy new things. I think next time I go I’ll bring my bike trailer.

This pile contained the most notable finds.

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I saved some perfectly good knick-knacks and ceramics. The thing on the bottom right is a bell, and on the bottom level is a brass donkey candle holder. I thought the pair of ceramic dogs were pretty cool.

The thumbnail is the makers mark on the dogs – it says 1895 but I imagine that would be the date the company was founded. I’d guess they’re from China as there’s also some (probably, definitely not an expert here) Chinese script on the bottom.

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This find was a bit more fun, though. It’s a bunch of unopened packages of balloons. They seem to have been made to promote a band called “The Peaks” – I also found two boxes full of their CDs (of which I took one). In the foreground, as well, is one massive “cloudbuster” balloon which would probably inflate to about the height of your average human. Pretty cool! They seem to be made of a thick plastic, making me their they are fairly high quality. It’s a shame to throw out good balloons, I think there’s at least a thousand!

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Here’s another piece from Monday’s collection of jewelry. It’s a old silver bracelet engraved with a nice, simple pattern. The silver marks (below) are pictorial which is typical of British silver (maybe other countries too, but Britain for sure). There’s also a light etching in the first picture that I didn’t notice at first too. It’s a pretty beautiful piece that, with a bit of cleaning, will looks great and make me some decent money.

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That’s all for now. It’s a nice warm sunny day, the first in a while. I think I’ll celebrate with a walk. It’s recycle day in Outremont, maybe I’ll find something good while out on a casual stroll.

27 thoughts on “1000+ never used balloons”

  1. The religious relic is Notre Dame de Lourdes. I don’t think it is missing anything (unless it is broken somewhere that we can’t clearly see on the photo). In these typical depictions, there is the little girl Bernadette (bottom left) and the Virgin Mary appearance to the right (based on the Lourdes apparitions in France). Here’s another statue that has a similar theme to your find. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Antique-LA-BASILIQUE-LOURDES-Silver-pl-Musical-Statue-VIRGIN-MARRY-BERNADETE-/251239804165?pt=AU_Decorative_Arts_Homewares&hash=item3a7f0f2d05 But I am not sure it can fetch as much as this one. Hope this helps. Great finds by the way! 🙂

    1. Looks pretty similar, thanks for the info! I think you are right that it’s not missing pieces. The one linked is definitely more valuable, this one I don’t think is silver plate, though I still have some cleaning to do. For all I know under the grime is a nice layer of silver.

  2. Wow. I have nearly that exact same bracelet, given as a gift. It does not have the small chain and its shined up but otherwise its nearly identical. I do not know much about its origin other than it was purchased at jewelers in England, or its value. If you find out either, I would love to know more about it.

    1. Someone else commented as to its value. I think a patient Ebay seller could get around 50$ for it. It depends too on the specific maker. I’d have to decipher the pictures to figure that out.

  3. what a BUNCH of good finds..

    sure hope someone can identify those ceramic dogs for you, they look old…re the “printing” you said might be Chinese, maybe too Japanese? takes a good eye to tell the difference, unless you read it?

    lots good finds this time

    1. It’s the kind of thing a good seller would probably put up in the 50-60$ range and then play the waiting game for a buyer to come around. Some people are putting them up for auction, which I think isn’t a great way to get the most value (though it is a good way to sell it fast). If you did happen to want it I’d charge a local buyer maybe 35$, a discount because I don’t have to go through the process of listing, shipping and all that. Thanks for the research!

  5. Scroll down the page a ways, there is a vase “somewhat similar”
    http://www.eliteauction.com/catalogues/031713/catalogue.php

    Enlarge the lamp pic, the dogs are quite similar, but again, not exact
    http://www.cherrygal.com/andreabysadekbluewhiteporcelaindoglampspair-p-12752.html

    again, similar but different
    http://www.bluewhitevases.com/Blue-and-White-Porcelain-Figurine-Dog-Pair-8_p_530.html

    yet again, similar but different
    http://www.etsy.com/ca/listing/155050773/vintage-porcelain-dogs-blue-white-dog?ref=sr_gallery_16&ga_search_query=dog+decor&ga_page=2&ga_search_type=all&ga_facet=vintagedog+decor&ga_view_type=gallery

    1. The closest looking ones are those off that last Etsy one, main thing missing is the maker’s mark.

      I think the vase might be Portuguese or Spanish, I forget what’s written on the bottom but I assumed it to be so.

      1. very welcome

        wish I would have hit on the correct ones…

        hope someone can find it..

        good luck

  6. I have a bracelet very similar to yours, it was my mothers and she brought it over from England in the 40’s.Her name is engraved on it. Love those doggies, they might be worth something! The hallmark isn’t a modern one. Re the tins, I bought an aspirin one a few years ago and paid quite a bit for it, There are collectors of these things. All in all you had an interesting haul today! Good luck on Friday!

    1. I found the hallmark on this site! It’s the WL 1895 one, apparently made by a modern producer in China (1980s-present). However, apparently they are still quite well made. I found a pair of the same ones that sold at a Goodwill auction for 81$, so that’s pretty decent. Thanks for the link!

  8. The religious item looks like Bernadette of Lourdes meeting Mary . Something similar occurred at Fatima,Spain.

  9. Those old-fashioned round John Lennon type glasses are a timeless look.

    Nice little hole punch. Crafters might have an interest in a vintage piece like that, especially as it’s .

    Those old medicine tins are quite collectible. http://www.ebay.com/bhp/antique-medicine-tins

    Those dogs are a great find. Here’s a site to set aside for future reference … Pottery & Porcelain Marks … http://www.kovels.com/Marks/Pottery-Porcelain.html

    Is that cowbell signed? http://www.ebay.com/itm/SIX-VINTAGE-SWISS-COW-BELLS-FIVE-HAND-PAINTED-INTERNATIONAL-SALE-/330858104998

    The bracelet is a beauty. I’m guessing it’s lightweight and hollow. Pure silver. It should net you a nice price. I look forward to seeing how it looks all cleaned up.

  10. Your haul from Town of Mount Royal is wonderful.I remember reading on your blog a few readers urging you to visit Outremont and TMR more often to forage.Finally you are taking them up on the offer.I wonder how may people forage in TMR,except bottle pickers who come in from other neighborhoods.

    1. I didn’t see anyone, not even a bottle picker. Surprising considering how nice a day it was. I guess that’s another advantage to that route!

  11. Exploring ignored areas like TMR might continue to pay a lot of dividends for you in the future.The Plateau and Mile End are rife with scavengers.You might also want to explore the area near Universite de Montreal in Cote Des Neiges and areas near Edouard Monpetit metro station.You might find cool stuff there.Also try the vast ,beautiful borough of Ahuntsic,especially the beautiful streets like Prieur,Gouin and Fleury.Go north,young man.And Go west in Montreal too.

  12. I used to visit a friend in TMR when I was studying at Mcgill.I found TMR people a bit snooty,but that is just my impression.You run a higher risk of being insulted by a homeowner in TMR as you look through trash.Remember the woman months ago who screamed at you and asked you to get a real job as you were scooping out coins from a garbage bag!I hope this does not happen to you in TMR,but even if it does,continue foraging in TMR.It is very worth it.If not for you,some great treasures in TMR today would have gone to a landfill.Thank God for you.

    1. There was a story in the Westmount Independent this week about someone going through garbage at an apartment building, and someone phones the police. IT turns out the “scavenger” had actually lived there, and was trying to find some papers that had been tossed out by accident.

      It wasn’t clear if the cops came because he was looking in garbage, or because he seemed to be specifically interested in paper documents (ie an “Identity thief”).

      Michael

  13. I really admire what you do.Hats off to you.I am Arab and too many Arabs are very ego-based—they look down on those who scavenge—what people in my entourage value is fancy cars,good food with lots of meat,expensive cigars,expensive furniture,good clothes and sex.But what you do is great for the environment.I studied environmental sciences before becoming an engineer.So I hope more people do what you do.I scavenge furniture,pottery and books from trash piles sometimes.I hope more people imitate you and do their own scavenging.

  15. The hole punch is likely to be a M. C. Mieth who made (or perhaps still make?) hole punches for validating public transport tickets. Some of the models catch the confetti so that the trains are not covered in tiny arrows 🙂

    1. Thanks for that, I looked them up on Ebay and they do look similar. They’re kind of collectible too. I’ll have to find it again and take a look at it, it’s around here somewhere…

  16. …I should have looked closer! Stencilworks is now Dayton Stencil and they’re still in business. But gut feeling says it was still made for train tickets.

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