I made plenty of nice finds over the last couple of weeks, including these four sealed bottles of booze. They were wrapped in paper and placed in a black trash bag. This is actually the first time I’ve ever found a closed bottle of modern booze – the Smirnoff could just as well have come right from the shelf of the SAQ. There was also a port wine that seems new enough, a low alcohol chardonnay which I left on the curb (where it was found by someone else), and a bottle of a Gilbey’s Golden Velvet whisky. The bottle of whisky is marked as being from 1967, and I should probably do a bit more research to see if it has any value.
The same people tossed out a bunch of other decent stuff, including a seemingly brand new Bionaire heater, several flower pots, a coffee grinder, and a pair of skates. There was a “sold” sign out front of their very nice house, meaning the purge was likely due to their impending move. Maybe the tossed heater means they’re moving somewhere warmer!
While taking a walk in Verdun a friend and I came across around 7-8 bags full of books. Most were paperbacks from the 60s-70s, which I like for their often eccentric covers. There were several classics, including a few by George Orwell, but I also saved a selection of kitschy, weird, and comically dated novels. For whatever reason I get a kick out of having those at my yard sales. My favourites might be the four novels about cats (at the bottom), one of which is Thomasina, “the beloved story of an enchanted cat and the lives she changed forever.”
There were a few older books, including this very nice 1895 copy of Through the Looking Glass.
I also saved several vintage burlap sacks. A couple sold for 1$ each at my most recent yard sale.
I found a nice little bottle collection not far from my home in the Plateau. I sold all but one at my most recent yard sale for 1$ each (a good deal!). I kept the JL Corriveau champagne bottle (second from left), which looks to be a bit older than the others. I’ll do a bit more research before letting it go.
That spot also gave me an old scale, some glass insulators, two vintage cigarette packs …
… and this old cast iron doohickey. Any ideas what it might be? It measures about 8″ long and wide, with a part that points upwards at an angle.
I otherwise saved a big vintage lard tin, which now acts as my kitchen trash bin (Rosemont); …
… a bag full of cables,
… some of which were MIT audiophile cables that I might be able to sell for decent price (Mount Royal);
… a token commemorating the 100th anniversary of a Hungarian opera house;
… a box of junk, inside of which was some silver jewelry, a vase, and a crappy cell phone (Montreal West);
… two man-cavey fake road signs (24 Manny Ramirez Drive and something A-Rod Way if I remember right) that I sold for 2$ each (Montreal West);
… boxes and boxes of 90s porn mags (Montreal West);
… a nice stand, which I’ve since put in my room (Westmount adjacent);
… a bag with real leopard fur inside (Mount Royal);
… some great silver plate pieces (Mount Royal);
… an antique sewing machine attached to a busted table (I was able to remove the machine from the table, and sold it at my sale for 5$ – Mount Royal);
… and an old Bell & Howell 8mm projector (Mount Royal). I listed on Kijiji for 50$.
I made a very nice sale last week. I’ll let you know what it was in my upcoming sales summary post, which should be out later this week. In the meantime, let’s hope that the good finds continue! I haven’t found gold in a while, so some of that would be nice…
Well done, love all of your finds, still surprises me at what people throw away! Here in Australia we aren’t an old enough country to have real antique wears unless of course they came across by boat from England, very rare to find good vintage/antique pieces.
Hi Suzana,I use to live in Australia around Sydney and was finding Masonic uniforms,coins,old keys,and great assortment antique items which I exported out of the country.If you live near the North shore,Burwood,Strathfield,Eastwood and Ryde,these have council clean up days and you would find anything which you could imagine.Well…. I have,but you have to be early before sunrise.
Is your metal piece a plow point?
yes, looks like a shovel for a cultivator actually.
no I think it is a anchor for small 2-3 man boat.
BTW: the silver frog..could that be baltic amber
do you still have the cross with the frog..i would be interested to buy that.
& I love the little marble table.
Hi, I do have those still. Send me an email and maybe we can work something out!
It might be amber actually
My guess for the doohickey was part of a plow, also. Love the marble table as well. I think they were a ‘smoking stand’ from 60’s? To hold ashtrays, matches, smokes and/or tobacco. Looks like you’ve done very well lately. You are amazing.
Maybe. I’m using as a plant stand, but I doubt it was intended for that. I hope the good finds continue!
I was thinking a plow point, as well. Here’s one that’s been painted. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-plow-point-Folk-Art-CAST-IRON-hand-painted-/161866097131?hash=item25aff8a1eb:g:tOUAAOSw3xJVdbk6
Could you set aside the “Leaves of Grass” poetry collection by Walt Whitman aside for me?
That scale looks very much like your grandma’s, only rustier.
Love the stand you kept for your room. It looks nice and solid.
Good finds, with a few money makers.
Interesting finds. My husband literally ran across a bottle of champagne a while back. He ran all the way home with it, but we still have not had the courage to open it up and taste it.
Hello Martin,
I would be interested in the glass insulators and the booze from this post.
Thanks
Andrea
I already sold the insulators, and plan on drinking the booze in time. Sorry!
Fun I nickname my cat (Thomas) Tomassino sometimes. Paul Gallico is actually renowned for his cat stories. Read one (curb found) and enjoyed it. The idea of having a real leopard skin in my house would totally freak me out!
Would list the red heart earrings on Etsy. I get between $ 5-10 for stuff like that. Not a lot but more than any flea market would do for me. And those old burlap sacks may do more on line as well. Crafters love them!
Haha. Maybe I’ll list the earrings on Etsy. I’m sure I could have sold the burlap sacks for more, but I was in a “everything must go” kind of mood given that it was potentially the last yard sale of the year. I still have so much to list too that I was just happy to see them go.
Thank you so much for sharing your finds with us. Love to read about them. Where I live, because we are limited to just one can of trash every other week (not including recycling and yard debris which are picked up every week) if people have a lot of items to discard they usually make a free pile. Yesterday we came across one with dozens of grow lights and hydroponics equipment amongst the usual household items. A neighbor told us that the people who made the pile had gotten kicked out of their rental house. I think I have a pretty good idea why…
Haha. I think I know too. I bet that hydroponic stuff is worth a bunch of money! Glad you like the blog
Hello Martin, I would be interested in buying two of your books that you found if you still have them. “Glamour Queens of the Movies” I believe is a mini-mag. How much for this? I’m a big fan of classic movie stars. I also collect antique books and would love to have “Through the Looking Glass” in my collection! Please let me know! Many thanks!
I have these packed away so I can’t tell if I still have that one. I promised the Through the Looking Glass to a friend though. Send me an email if you’re still interested, and next time I open my boxes I can see if the movie star book is still around.
Hi, no, it’s o.k. Thanks anyway! 🙂
[…] the car and drive off really quick, and accepted my fate. The cat (who’s definitely not like Thomasina the enchanted cat from my last post!) had pounced and caught their […]
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