This post mostly serves to announce my first yard sale of the year! The weather on Sunday is supposed to be phenomenal – 19 degrees, not too windy and sunny all day – so I figure I might as well take advantage.
I have a whole winter’s worth of random stuff to unload, meaning this sale is going to be larger than most. It might be a bit disorganized, but I’ll definitely have lots of boxes for you to rummage through. Also, I should note again that at my yard sales the items are priced to sell. I love stuff, but I get no pleasure from lugging the same things back and forth over and over again. What I enjoy most is seeing my stuff find a new home, and knowing I won’t have to bring it inside ever again.
You’ll find me at 5051 Brebeuf near Laurier Park in the Plateau. I expect I’ll be out from around 12-6pm. I also have two bikes with flat tires, and am willing to trade garbage to anyone who can repair them on the spot.
It’s been a bit of a slow week for finds. I expect next week will be better because of the great weekend weather. Regardless, I have a few things to show you. One is this collection of meticulously organized newspaper clippings.
There’s about two trash bags worth. Most look to be from the late 60s and early 70s, and cover various local, national, and world issues. I imagine the person who collected them was pretty well educated. For instance, “Americanization” is actually divided into two categories: culture and ownership. Most people wouldn’t have bothered with one Americanization category, let alone two!
I think there’s actually the potential for a cool project here. If scanned and catalogued they might provide an interesting window into the issues of the times, as well as the perspective of the person who collected them. Unfortunately I have no time to do anything like that, but if something like that interests you let me know! I wouldn’t ask anything for the clippings, provided they go to a good home.
I pulled a few items of particular interest from the folders. One is this 1969 issue of The Georgian, a student newspaper of the Sir George Williams (now Concordia) University. It was published around the time of the Computer Riots, when 200 students occupied the university’s computer center to protest the administration’s dismissive attitude towards the racism of one of their teachers. A local archivist who focuses on Montreal’s underground culture called this particular issue a “classic,” and will likely want it because it’s in very good condition for its age. Click the link above to read more about the riots, and to see some quality scans of this magazine.
On that note, if anyone in Montreal has any old underground stuff they’re looking to get rid of, including show posters, magazines, newspapers, videos, cassettes (including radio recordings that aren’t of classical music), and etc, let me know. I can put you in contact with someone who may be interested in acquiring them.
I also found this 1970 “Mass Line” magazine in one of the folders. Mass line refers to a strategy of public consultation employed by Mao Zedong around the time of the Chinese Revolution. The magazine promotes the ideas of Lenin and Mao while attacking both “U.S. Imperialism” and “Soviet Revisionism.” It’s certainly an interesting item, one I wasn’t able to find any reference to on Google.
Otherwise, here are a few things that you might see at the yard sale! I found a couple vintage game boards in TMR; …
… some vintage tools in Westmount;
… and a mound of jewelry just a block away from my house. Most of it isn’t particularly special, but I did save a silver necklace, a possibly pearl necklace with a 14k gold clasp, and a pair of 14k gold earrings that are worth about 40$ in scrap.