Month: January 2018

Mercury pt.2

garbagefinds21 Comments

The “mercury house” (as I came to know it) kept producing unusual junk long after I found the jar of mercury there back in September. These folks were pretty crafty, and often the bags would be filled largely with old projects – homemade masks, dolls, ceramics, woodworking, glass, and more. These slides featured images of those projects, some of which you might see below. However, I didn’t have time to photograph many of the things I found here.

The house provided plenty of neat vintage junk as well. In this photo you can see some expired film (there’s a good market for that at yard sales), a Seagull pewter keychain, a container of pull-tabs, some copper doohickeys, a hat of some kind, and plenty more.

That orange medicine bottle is full of seeds. I find seeds semi-regularly, and always wonder if they’re worth trying to sell at yard sales. I know people like heirloom plants, and if the seeds are, say 30 years old the plants might be different from the ones grown today. I doubt the ones in paper envelopes keep very well over time, but ones stores in airtight containers like that pill bottle might still be good. So…

That guy with the violin was a fun woodworking project; when you pull the string, the head bobs up and down and the bow goes back and forth. It’s a little busted though – a cut penny, which I think is an essential piece, has come unglued.

This brass ashtray was a cool find. It’s not super valuable but should do well at a yard sale.

I took my first garage photos against the background of the floor. They’re ok, but the ones with the fabric background are better. There’s a few Red Rose tea figurines in this batch of junk, as well as a bunch of projects.

There’s some nice vintage ceramics here including the pot on the left, the Limoges dish near the centre, and the Beswick bird near the top right.

This little burner / needle sterilizer was a neat find. It might have been part of a WWII field kit, and should sell for around 30$.

I like that typewriter ashtray, as well as the vintage Cookie Monster doll.

Somebody at a yard sale will probably want these creepy masks. I forget what was written on the back, except that they were made in the 80s.

That box on the right is probably a homemade radio. That alarm clock radio didn’t work, unfortunately.

I enjoyed that handmade book near the top left. It seems to contain the lyrics to a bunch of scout songs (see below for a closer look). I’m curious about the rocks in the tin and the beaded necklace, if you know anything about them please comment!

I saved a bunch of scarves and miscellaneous fabrics, as well as a pair of wooden shoes.

One time I opened a bag was greeted by a vintage 1$ bill. It’s in excellent condition but still not worth much. I also found a Bérudollar, a “Bank of Quebec” note valued at 80c. It was made in the 80s by a trade union to protest something, what exactly I’m not sure.

Let’s finish off with another old political item. This record was made for the Rhinoceros Party, a satirical political party that promised to repeal the laws of gravity, among other things. The first Rhinoceros Party (it has since been resurrected) existed from 1963-1993, though 1979 (the year this record was made) was the first time they fielded a significant number of candidates. This recording looks to be pretty uncommon but I have no idea what it might be worth. If you do, let me know.

I think this spot has dried up for good now. I saw a moving truck there one day, and since then there’s been no trash on the curb. So it goes!

I happened upon a great pile of vintage stuff on Saturday. It’s going to take a while to process / photograph but I’m excited to share it here when that’s all done.

Otherwise, I finally sold this beautiful old art deco (c.1930s) Asprey catalogue I found a few years back. The book was in excellent condition and offered a great look at the luxury goods of the era. It will be featured in my next sales summary post, but for now I figured I’d let you guess how much it went for. Good luck!

Oh, and I started a couple more auctions last night, and four more are ending tonight. The beer label auction is doing quite well already with a bid and eight watchers in the first 12 hours or so. Not bad! A couple of my battery lots will sell as well, for how much it remains to be seen.

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.

Mars Technico

garbagefinds35 Comments

I’ve been keeping an eye on this spot in Saint-Michel for a month now. I found some clothes and vintage junk there, and while none of it was super exceptional it was evidence that someone might be cleaning out a house. I didn’t see anything there the next few weeks (perhaps due to Christmas, and the bad weather) but there was a big pile out on the curb this time around!

There were four bags of clothes, all of which I threw into the car. It was too cold to bother sorting through them on the spot. I looked through the bags yesterday at the garage, and from what I could tell (my knowledge of fashion is pretty limited!) it seems like a good batch, featuring lots of 80s fashions in nice condition. I don’t have any pictures, but if there are any particularly noteworthy pieces I’ll mention them in a future blog post.

Otherwise, I found some quality vintage junk, which you see below!

I took these pictures using my new garage setup. My goal was to show a lot of different stuff at once, including things that probably wouldn’t have made the blog otherwise. You’ll be able to see a lot more detail if you click on the picture and zoom in. I’m reasonably happy with how the photos turned out but I think there’s room for improvement, whether by tinkering with my camera or upgrading to something fancier. If you have any relevant photography tips let me know!

I found a small collection of dolls here. I don’t think any are particularly desirable, but maybe I’ll start a doll box and see what happens when yard sale season comes. There were plenty of Staedtler Mars Technico lead holders here (perhaps the most I’ve ever seen in one spot) as well as drawing leads. I think those are used for drafting, and they seem to sell for around 5-10$ a piece on eBay. I think I have eight, and I’ll probably try to sell them as a lot.

There were a couple of really old photos. One is captioned “1931” and was probably taken at a school.

I thought that vintage flyswatter was a fun find; it’s not something I find very often. It was made for “Les Produits Myst-Air Inc.” The metal doohickey near the top-right is a vintage fry press. I almost threw out the parts (they were thrown in a different bag) but I figured out what they were just in time. The Expo 67 souvenir map is quality yard sale material. The box at the bottom left held a bunch of keychains and office supplies.

I like these vintage plastic boxes. The logo on the top says “Hole in Head” and “Don’t Bite,” which is a little odd. This old cigar box was the only thing I found when I searched those phrases on Google, so maybe this colourful box held cigars at one point.

My favourites things here are the two vintage Calgary / Stampede Beer labels. I’d guess they’re from the 40s or 50s and they’re lucky to have survived their trip to the trash bag unscathed. Some beer labels go for pretty good money, but I’m not sure what makes a particular label more collectible than another – perhaps an auction is the best way to get them out the door. That typewriter paper is mostly there and mostly empty, as are those vintage bank notebooks on the bottom right.

I’m excited to go back here next week. This place provided some interesting old junk, some of which was new to me. Of course, I’ll let you know how things progress!

What’s it worth?

Sometimes I’ll save something but wonder if there’s actually a market for the thing. I don’t like holding onto to junk that’ll never sell and takes up space until I figure that out (ie: after a few yard sales). I thought it’d be fun and maybe helpful to post these questionable items here and ask you readers what you think.

Today’s item is a Le Creuset dutch oven I found in Westmount. It has a bit of chipping to the enamel (mostly around the edges) and the inside shows some discoloration and wear. Otherwise it seems like a solid piece. However, I’m not sure if people buy cast iron with worn out interior enamel. What do you think? Let me know in the following poll, and in the comments below!

In other news I started a few more auctions this week. Those bakelite beads (minus the red ones – I’ll explain later) are for sale again, as are those fortune cookie boxes I mentioned in a recent post. I’m also auctioning off a whole bunch of vintage batteries, for which there’s a surprisingly strong market. Anyways, check them out if you’re interested!

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.

Servire Populo Pt.4

garbagefinds11 Comments

I got my new photography light in the mail the other day and set it up not long after. I went yesterday to test it out and I’m pretty happy with the results! I look forward to sharing those shots here on the blog. I took them with the garage floor as the background. I might take future photos on a white sheet, but for now I’m happy just to process the accumulation of former trash that was building up.

Otherwise, I thought you might get a kick out of this box I sent to a customer in BC. I covered it in found stamps, thus saving myself about 15$ in postage. I’ve mailed a few other smaller packages this way and have probably saved about 30$ in total. That find is paying off nicely!

Today I’ll share the remainder of the finds from that place in St Michel. I haven’t seen anything there in quite some time, so the chances are good that this is the last you’ll see of it.

This vintage female reproductive organ chart was interesting. It was published by Tampax and probably dates back to the 40s. It was nicely preserved thanks to it being laminated, but suffered an unfortunate accident when I squished it in a drawer. A small piece from one corner broke off, thus damaging an otherwise nearly pristine piece. I had listed it on eBay, but with the damage it went into the yard sale pile. Still, it’s pretty cool and I’m sure someone will buy it. The page is double sided – see the other image below.

Here’s an interesting paper that seems to advertise some kind of reflexology course. It’ll go into my yard sale box of miscellaneous papers.

I appreciated finding this 1983 Sears catalogue. I could sell it fairly easily, but I think I’ll keep it as a reference guide. I like being able to date objects to a certain time. For example, the lawn chairs I love so much were featured in this catalogue. I’m sure there’s lots of other stuff in there that I’d recognize as well!

Vintage scissors are always a hit at yard sales. My grandma gave me a milk of magnesia tin exactly like the one at top right many years ago.

Here’s a little Canada Post flag, a porcelain feeding cup, and a never opened Minnie Mouse table cover.

I found a few Expo 67 trinkets here. None were particularly noteworthy, but they do sell at yard sales.

Those Ray-Bans are real, but the fact that they’re prescription hurts their value. The little bottle on the top was a made in the USSR trinket. Serge Joyal was a Liberal MP in Hochelaga-Maisonneuve for many years and still serves in the Senate.

That empty bottle of Extrait Chanel #5 went to a local buyer. The other stuff has either already sold, or is waiting in a box for yard sale season.

On the right is a cute micro-mosaic brooch. Some of those sell for pretty good money, but I decided that mine was best suited for the yard sale bin. The watches are nice, and should sell for a dollar or two at a yard sale.

This spot may be done producing but I’ve been having luck elsewhere in St Michel. Last night I picked up bags full of clothes, a cool plant stand, a chair and plenty of other miscellaneous junk. I’m sure I’ll share a bit of that on the blog sometime soon.

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.