Scrooge pt.1

Posted on by garbagefinds

Back in the early to mid summer I was stopping at this house regularly on garbage day to see what was on the curb. It seemed that every week I’d find either old Christmas decorations or weird vintage junk, often stored in old boxes that dated back at least a few decades (like that Dumaurier one above).

Unfortunately, one day I met one of the people doing the tossing and he was a real d-bag. As things stand today he’d make the top three in my “least pleasant people I’ve met trash picking” list. He had a big truck, an angry dog, and was yelling. Not really wanting to interact with that guy ever again, I abandoned the spot despite the fact that it was producing some unusual vintage trash (my favourite).

This box of old toys was one of the last things I rescued here. Some were ruined, but others were worth salvaging. I stuck it in the basement until recently, when I dug it up to see what was worth selling on eBay. I ended up taking pictures of everything, save for the stuff I had already thrown out or free boxed.

This old tin helicopter was made in Japan by Marusan toys, probably in the 1950s. It’s missing the top rotors and the winding key, but is in pretty good cosmetic condition otherwise. I think it’d be worth around 200$ if it were in mint condition with a box. As is, it’s probably worth closer to 50$.

This old Schuco Fex tin car was also pretty neat. Again, it’s in solid cosmetic condition but has no key and the top detaches from the base. It’s also worth around 200$ in great condition with a box. I hope to get 50$ for it.

The rest of the stuff was cool but not worth the hassle of selling on eBay. Here’s a collection of toy guns…

… a rubber lizard (or some other reptile) marked “Made in Japan”;

… a celluloid Santa on a tin sleigh (the reindeer is a bit busted, otherwise it might be worth listing);

… a wind-up baby goat with a missing tail;

… a vintage xylophone;

… an old lantern;

… a walkie talkie;

… an operator / battery pack for a missing toy;

… a wooden flute from Niagara Falls;

… some miscellaneous bric-a-brac, including a couple of lead soldiers;

… some toy cars;

… a weird rabbit that looks to be made out of paper mache;

4

… and a “Tuck-ins” blanket holder, made by a Henry Davis Co. Pretty cute eh? I’ll share some of the stranger stuff from this spot soon enough!

In the meantime, I figured I’d share these old tobacco tins I found last week.

They were stuffed with old matchbooks.

Most were from the same two places (the “Red Lion” Motor Inn and the “Blue Seas,” both in Miami Beach) but there were some others I thought were worth sharing. I always enjoy finding old matchbooks, especially when they’re cool from a graphic design perspective. My favourite of the bunch is probably the Expo 67 Cuban Pavilion matchbook near the top right. I’ve never seen one before, and couldn’t find anything similar online.

This week was relatively slow, but there’s still lots of great stuff, including potential “find of the year” type items that I have yet to share. You’ll have to keep coming back if you want to see what they are!

Relevant links

1. Facebook page
2. My eBay listings
3. Etsy store
4. Kijiji listings
5. Contribute to garbagefinds.com
6. Follow me on Instagram

Email: thingsifindinthegarbage@gmail.com. I often fall behind on emails, so I apologize in advance if it takes me a while to get back to you.

29 thoughts on “Scrooge pt.1”

  2. These are excellent finds.I wonder why this man who tossed these treasures was such a pain in the butt.What if you go to his place late at night?

      1. He’s throwing out some great stuff! I would do a “Grab and Go”… Just jump out, grab the boxes/bags and sort through them at home. A passenger/accomplice would make it even quicker 😛

        1. He’s still throwing stuff out (I actually stopped there last week) so I might consider that. It’s also worth noting that I didn’t see the guy for the two months or so of garbage days preceding that one, so perhaps it was just bad luck to have met him in the first place.

  4. Hello Martin…I would like to buy those toy cars from you and the ruler from Mex 86 world cup that you showed us 3 postings ago (I think) let me know if you still have them…thanks! No matter what, I always find your pictures and texts very nice to see and read!!

    1. I do have the cars, not sure about the ruler though. I might organize my storage a bit soon, so maybe I’ll find it. Anyways, send me an email if you want them.

  6. Hello Martin, i like the weird rabbit How much do you ask for it?

    merci rachel

    Le 2017-11-24 à 19:57, Things I find in the garbage a écrit :

    > >

  7. I live in rural Quebec in a small house.I love the toy cars and bric-brac you found here.I still have about 20 antique toy cars from my childhood and plan to leave them to family members one day.I am 59 years old.Please do not be deterred by angry dogs and snarling men.Besides the angry dog,what about this man made him so vicious?Interested in finding out.

    1. This was a while back now so I don’t remember much, but I remember him approaching me aggressively – most people are content to yell from their front porch – and yelling stuff. I remember him saying “you have no business here!”. He just seemed like he was willing to fight me, and I prefer to avoid that.

  9. I love the tin helicopter made in Japan.So quaint.Also I love the wooden flute from Niagara.How much are you going to sell the wooden flute for?

  10. Was this unpleasant tosser Anglophone or francophone?As an allophone,I was just wondering.

  11. Cool stuff! So glad you saved it all from the landfill and sorry about the d-bag. Do the matchbooks sell for much $. They are cool.

      1. I wish I could make it to one of your yard sales! The eBay sold matchbooks are pretty interesting. Thx, Martin

    1. I hadn’t heard of that before, but it does seem to be a thing. I’ll have to figure out if that’s what it is, but it seems possible. Thanks for the info!

  14. I fail to understand why he was yelling at you.
    He tossed the stuff….let it go old angry guy!

  15. Unrelated to this post, but… google 4 poster beds made into benchs. Would be a great project for you and your handy friend and would sell easily. Also keeps big furniture out of dumps and repurposes them. I find many of them very attractive.

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