I might not have noticed these unassuming trash bags if I hadn’t stopped for a slightly bigger pile maybe a month prior.
Inside was a great collection of old junk, some of which dated back about 100 years. Unfortunately, I was soon to meet the previous owner who was none to happy to see me looking through her trash. She’s the person who I mentioned briefly in a previous post as having potentially set an all time decibel record for an unhappy supplier, screaming about taking what I found (I had set aside of of my main finds, including some old alarm clocks) & leaving right NOW! It was unpleasant, but fortunately I was just about done with my sorting and didn’t feel as if I missed out on anything good.
I didn’t see any garbage there for about a month after this incident, but eventually the bags started appearing on the curb once more. Now I just take them and leave – no on the spot sorting, even if some of it is probably food waste. I don’t feel like chatting with her again.
Anyways, here are the alarm clocks I found. I haven’t done much with them yet (ie: with research / testing) but they’re definitely very beautiful. I’d guess the Westclox is from the 40s, and the Tapageur a bit older than that. The British United Clock Company one is probably the oldest of the bunch, given that the company folded way back in 1909.
I found this nice mid-century Westclox in the weeks leading up to “the incident.” It might be the most valuable of the bunch given how much people are into mid-century anything these days.
I also found a bunch of books in the lead-up. Books are unfortunately a tough sell at my yard sales, and a lot of these probably ended up back on the curb (I always make sure to leave them out where people can find them, however). The classics are the only ones that sell consistently.
I found a couple old things in their original packaging, like this c. 1950s basically mint condition Elizabeth Arden Blue Grass sachet powder.
This Waterman’s ink was pretty much empty, but the packaging is very nice!
I found a lot of nice boxes that day. The Goodyear Fountain Syringe one is probably around 100 years old.
The “Bracer” box held some buttons and other bits of junk.
Here’s some standouts. I think the knitting needle and manicure tool (?) are made from bone or ivory. The enameled pin is neat, as is the odd thing with pop-out eyes to the right of it. I did some googling and discovered that it’s a Kobe charm that was probably made in 1920s-1930s Japan. If you follow that link you’ll see a close up of one just like mine! Based on what I see on eBay the average Kobe charm sells for around 25$.
Another box held more buttons, including some from WWII, as well as a pin commemorating the silver jubilee of King George and Queen Mary in 1935.
Here’s some more old boxes (including a couple of repeats). There’s two old medical doohickeys here, including a breast pump from the early 1900s.
I don’t think they’re worth a lot, but old medical stuff is always cool.
I also found whatever this getup is. Please share in the comments if you know what it’s for!
That’s all for now, but this spot has since provided lots more awesome junk. It’s not always good, but for a couple of weeks I was finding lots of great old paper ephemera, some of which dated to the 1800s. This past week was also good – apparently it was time to sort through some old jewelry boxes (but not particularly carefully). I’ll share some of those finds here sooner or later.
Otherwise, I plan on doing a sale tomorrow. It’s nearing the end of the season and there’ll probably be only one or two more after this one, so come out if you can! It will be at 4096 Coloniale near Duluth starting around 11:30.
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