I’ve come up with a couple ideas that should help make my workload more manageable. First, I’m going to try taking some photos outside so that I don’t have to bring everything upstairs (and can also quickly put things into my new storage area – more on that later).
I also plan on scheduling blog writing more along the lines of a normal job. I decided last November to only write one blog post a week (on Mondays), which helped make life a little less chaotic. However, it ended up being hard to actually complete a post on Monday, and it typically ended up being finished on a Tuesday or Wednesday or even a Thursday. As well, I’d end up taking photos on Saturday and Sunday in hopes to get things done in a adequate time-frame, especially when I had a lot to post about! In that case, I’d often end up working at least a little bit seven days a week.
I like the idea of working Monday to Friday and having weekends off, so instead of rushing to crank out a blog post for release on Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday, I’m going to take my time and try to finish for Friday. It might be done earlier, but my main aim is just to be able to relax and take my time. I don’t mind working hard (especially in this business), but too often I forget how to relax.
In short, watch for my posts to arrive late in the week!
I was walking in the lower Plateau last Monday and came across this small pile. I looked through the bags, found a few neat objects, and then noticed another little pile (clearly from the same place) not far away. Across the street was another pile, and yet another pile near that! Whoever put out the trash must have figured they could face a fine for throwing out too much at once, and put their junk in a few different places to game the system. I’m not sure it really mattered regardless.
I found lots of cool stuff here, including a trash bag full of old music books …
a French-Arabic dictionary from 1885 …
a booklet about learning to draw …
a large print (maybe one meter long) featuring a work by an artist named Gary Old …
a Lion’s Club tin …
a couple old packs of sewing needles …
and some doodads. Inside the wooden container at bottom right is a small vial of perfume, the name of which is written in cyrillic.
There were several sketches inside this old “autographs” book.
All the sketches seem to be of famous actors and actresses of yore. This one is of Esther Williams, an actress most popular for her work in the 40s and 50s.
This one features Jacques Sernas, a Lithunian-born French actor of the 40s, 50s, and 60s. Many others are unmarked though (or have very faint markings) – let us know if you recognize anyone!
Inside a leather folder were the type-written lyrics of the Expo 67 theme song. I imagine that someone went out of their way to do this, and that it wasn’t an official handout. Also in the folder were a couple newspaper clippings, and another similarly typed song (Ave Maria).
These two envelopes were stuffed full of postcards.
One envelope was entirely devoted to postcards (mostly unused) from Alexandria (Egypt), some of which are pretty cool!
The other envelope included a couple from Montreal, and nine unused postcards from Expo 67. They’re not worth much, but they make for great yard sale material.
I had to sift through some dirt at the bottom of one bag. It came from a dried up potted plant.
This brooch is one thing that emerged from the earth. It’s fairly large, measuring around 3″ wide.
It had an unusual 916 (91.6%) silver mark, something I hadn’t seen previously. 916 is (or was) the silver standard in Finland, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Romania, Spain, and Latvia, so that narrows its origins down a bit. Click on the photo for a closer look at the mark!
I uncovered this little chain (maybe a bracelet, but there’s no clasp) with a tiny pendant attached. The chain is pretty cheap, but the little pendant, – which is not even a centimeter tall – looks to be gold. I tested it using acid, and if my understanding of the test is correct (I’m still not 100% of my gold testing abilities yet) the pendant is around 12-14k. Does anyone know the possible significance of such a small piece?
I also saw a few beads in the dirt and spent some time trying to find them all. I thought they looked like bakelite, which the smell test later confirmed. The beads were probably part of a prayer rosary similar to this one on eBay.
That evening I went to NDG to check on a productive spot there.
This reel-to-reel player was at the front of the pile. It has some cosmetic issues, but I figure I can clean it up fairly easily. It’s a Grundig TK-46, a quality (and heavy!) model that actually sells for a decent price on eBay.
I opened one bag and saw some old magazines beneath a few relatively recent newspapers.
I saved one Look and two Life (from 1965-1970) …
five copies of Rolling Stone from the early 70s …
a 1960s House Beautiful …
and one called inner space: the magazine of the psychic and occult.
Otherwise, I saved a vintage Sony “tape-corder” …
and a seemingly new neti pot.
Tuesday night brought me to Mount Royal. The person who tossed out the photos from last post this time threw out …
two super heavy Dance Dance Revolution pads by Cobalt Flux. Apparently, these were the best home DDR pads you could buy back in the day, and would have cost 500-1000$ new. Cobalt Flux has since gone out of business, and the pads now sell for around 300$ new. These are used, but still look to be in good condition. If anyone in Montreal is interested in trying them out, let me know and I’ll give you a good deal (and an offer of a refund if it doesn’t work, as I have no way to test them).
The person who tossed the baseball cards and plants last week took good advantage of the heavy garbage night. The driveway was just filled with stuff!
I looked in the bin (at back right, where the mop is sticking up) …
and picked out a boat lamp. It doesn’t look that old, but its cord and lightbulb indicate that it’s actually fairly vintage. There’s some metal broken off the back, but it’s not visible from the front.
I spotted a few pieces of art hiding behind an unspectacular piece of furniture.
One piece was in a sweet old frame. There’s a ding on the bottom left, but it’s otherwise in very good shape. The painting is nice too, of course. The artist’s name looks to be “C.A. Waite”. It’s quite large, measuring around a meter wide.
This similarly large abstract piece is titled “Canadian Landscape” and signed by a guy named Raphael. Pardon the reflection.
The true masterpieces though were this painting of a cat …
and this small print of a duck taking a shower!
The rest of the week was pretty quiet, as has been the trend of late. We’ll see next time around if Thursday and Friday can start contributing its fair share!
In other news
A reader has graciously offered me the use of her porte-cochère for storage and yard sale purposes. Having this space helps me operate much more efficiently. It’s on the ground floor, so it’s a lot easier to unload my junk. It also fairly large (maybe half the size of a garage), meaning I can take more (and bigger) stuff, and also stress less about cramming everything into a small space. It’s great news all around!
It’s supposed to be beautiful out on Sunday so I plan on doing a yard sale. I’ll make a Facebook event once everything’s official. You can also email me if you want the time and address. I apologize to those who have sent me messages that I haven’t responded to. I’ve been pretty busy, and my email response rate (which was already slow) has suffered even further as a result.
Last week’s garbage sales (April 20 – April 26)
1. Antique Birks mother of pearl opera glass: On eBay for 140$. A nice sale, and I’ve already received positive feedback. These were found in the Mile End around the end of December.
2. Collection of 8 busted laptops: To a guy on Kijiji for 30$. I was just happy to unload these, as they took up a lot of space. They’re good only for parts or repair. They were found in various places across the city.
Total: 170$, 15479.75$ since May 18 2014 and 5797.75$ since the new year began. Another relative slow week. This one’s going better so far, though!
Email and links
If you have a question, see anything that you’re interesting in buying, or to just want to say hello feel free to email me at thingsifindinthegarbage@gmail.com. I also enjoy reading your comments! I frequently get behind on emails, so I apologize in advance if I take a few days or weeks to get back to you.
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Hello; good finds. That is not Esther Williams………I think Jeanne Crain. Wondering if you have sold the amber beads; if not, do you have a price? Thanks Fran
I have someone else interested in the beads, I’ll let you know if the deal falls through though!
I think one of the drawings looks like Cary Grant. And the bell-shaped doodad with the holes is used by knitters to measure their knitting needles; the cutout with the inch gauge shows you how many stitches you have to the inch – so the sweater you’re knitting will actually fit!
I love your blog and forage myself too.I read the article posted by a reader on your last blog post about why you should not donate to The Salvation Army.Here is another article I found about the Salvation army that I am posting.
You Shouldn’t Donate To The Salvation Army (VIDEO)
Author: T. Steelman December 19, 2012 6:38 pm
salvation-army-kettle-bell
It’s that time of year again — big red buckets everywhere and the ubiquitous bell-ringers. It’s pretty easy to throw a handful of change or maybe even a dollar or two in the bucket – it makes you feel good and helps the needy. Well, it you may not feel so good when you know that the Salvation Army might not be in it to help everyone.
The Salvation Army is not simply a charity: it is a religious sect. Their website gives this mission statement:
“The Salvation Army, an international movement, is an evangelical part of the universal Christian Church. Its message is based on the Bible. Its ministry is motivated by the love of God. Its mission is to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and to meet human needs in His name without discrimination. (emphasis added).”
Without discrimination? Salvation Army Captain Mike Parker, of Mankato, MN, told a reporter that the organization doesn’t discriminate, either in hiring or helping. But some evidence shows otherwise. Stories about their stance on and treatment of LGBT individuals have driven donations down from last year. The kettle campaign has attracted some notes rather than donations, explaining that the group’s stance on homosexuality is to blame. One bell-ringer in Victoria, British Columbia even held up a sign reading, “If you support gay rights, please do not donate.”
One man tells of how he and his partner were turned away from a shelter unless they would agree to break up and “leave the ‘sinful homosexual lifestyle’ behind.” They refused and ended up sleeping on the streets. This video gives other examples:
Earlier this year, a Salvation Army media relations director said that gays should be put to death. On an Australian radio show, Major Andrew Craibe told the two gay hosts of the show that it was “… a part of our belief system.” The Salvation Army officially distanced itself from Caibe’s statements but one of the group’s books, Salvation Story: Salvationist Handbook of Doctrine, borrows heavily from Romans 1:18-32 and states:
“For this reason God gave them up to degrading passions. Their women exchanged natural intercourse for unnatural, and in the same way also the men, giving up natural intercourse with women, were consumed with passion for one another. Men committed shameless acts with men and received in their own persons the due penalty for their error … They know God’s decree, that those who practice such things deserve to die — yet they not only do them but even applaud others who practise them.”
While the Salvation Army says that it is not their policy to discriminate in such a way, they do acknowledge that some “isolated incidents” may have occurred. The SA is a huge operation, they say, and it’s difficult to police all 60,000 employees and 3.5 million volunteers. But up until last year the SA website had a position statement on homosexuality reading, in part, that gay Christians should “embrace celibacy as a way of life.” Salvation Army Maj. George Hood, the organization’s national community relations secretary, said it was “… a theological statement not meant for an external audience and it was creating a lot of confusion.” He continues, “A relationship between same-sex individuals is a personal choice that people have the right to make but from a church viewpoint, we see that going against the will of God.”
This stance has caused the tension between the Salvation Army and the LGBT community. The Salvation Army has claimed that discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identification will not be allowed in determining who can benefit from their services, non-clergy employment and volunteerism. It has required any incidents that break this edict be reported immediately. The reaction from the LGBT community is a wait-and-see attitude, as they continue their campaign against donations to the Salvation Army.
About the Salvation Army: it is the same in the U.S. Rather than contribute to the Salvation Army, maybe find something less religious/divided, like animal shelters, something to do with keeping children safe or domestic violence shelters. Not many people will argue with you when supporting those kinds of causes. Just a thought. I enjoy seeing what you find, and I can imagine what goes to the dump based on your findings. There are lots of things out there to be saved. Keep up the good work!
Do you ever get depressed by our over consumptive, disposal society ? I love that you rescue all the stuff you do but I am baffled that folk don’t donate and recycle stuff and put it in the garbage.
It doesn’t bother me too much these days, but it used to make me angry sometimes. My attitude now is “forgive them; for they do not know what they do”. Selfishness and laziness leads to a lot of good stuff being wasted, but a lot of times it’s just ignorance or bad organization (ie: when someone moves last minute, and didn’t realize how long it takes to pack) which are easier to forgive. Even the former traits are forgivable, if you try hard enough.
The priorities of society are out of whack and the cause of much waste, but I think that’s something we have the power to change. Raising awareness, and thinking of creative solutions can effect positive change in the short and long term. There’s many facets of the problem to tackle at once, which is the main challenge! Food waste, for example is a whole other problem (some related issues are mentioned in this excellent article I’ll be sharing on my facebook page soon: http://www.onearth.org/magazine/food-waste ).
I’m glad you enjoy creating your posts because I LOVE reading your blog. I found your blog about a year ago through monkeybox blog and have become fascinated by the waste in our society. I’m now following a few dumpster diving facebook pages and to see what retail stores throw away is heartbreaking.
Your blog is awesome and I think the streamlined approach of taking photos outside works great for the pictures and will hopefully save you some time as well.
Keep up the great work!
Glad you like the blog and the new style of pictures! It makes it a lot easier to be able to take photos outside.This is easier in the summer than the winter, as you can imagine.
Yes, slow down. Scavengers need some down time too. As long as I get my fix of your blog every week, it doesn’t matter which day it is.
One thing about music books, the notes are universally understood, no matter what language you speak.
The chap on that drawing book looks like he’s got something else on his mind. Hahaha
Darlene told me that the Lions Club had the best mints.
Here’s a blog post that goes on about the Flora MacDonald needles http://thedreamstress.com/2010/12/speaking-sharply/ They seem to be Victorian. Not worth a lot but here’s a listing for £17.50 http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/19th-Century-Victorian-The-Flora-MacDonald-Needle-Packet-for-a-sewing-kit-/120852214560
As for the film star drawings … Jimmy Stewart and Cary Grant maybe?
The Egypt postcards aren’t worth a lot, but they’re way cool. http://www.ebay.co.uk/bhp/postcards-egypt
Nice brooch! I hope one of your readers can tell you what kind of stone it is.
Great lamp, even with the missing bit!
I couldn’t find any of your artists this time around. 🙁
I totally understand about all the work, I find that I’m always so busy sorting, picture taking and editing, that by the time I’m ready to write my next entry (which takes me just about all day!) it’s already another garbage day, and I’m doing it all over again. I’m glad you got some storage, it gets a bit frustrating having to move boxes and stuff all the time. Today I went out and bought a storage shelter for outside, so I can manage the clutter a bit better as well 🙂
Good idea with the storage shelter. There’s so much stuff out now that the weather’s nice. I’ve found so much stuff that a lot of otherwise worthy things aren’t making the blog, like a small collection of vintage lighters I found in time for this post. I could have added them, but I just didn’t have the time! Oh well, I figure as long as I get the best stuff up there blog will be cool.
I want to give thanks and praise to your local reader who gave you storage and yard sale space – what a wonderfully kind, generous, and thoughtful act! As a long-time reader, I know that your storage space has been limited, and finding accessible and legal yard sale area has been challenging. Continued blessings to you and this gracious person!
Your issue of House Beautiful may be very collectible. It’s mentioned repeatedly in the editor’s obituary:
http://www.nytimes.com/2000/09/17/nyregion/elizabeth-gordon-94-dies-was-house-beautiful-editor.html
Thanks, I’ll do a bit more research here…
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