With only mild success on the picking front, I’ve continued to focus more on the decluttering arena. I sold the 14 boxes of books for my asking price (plus an extra 20$, the buyer was very happy), I held a very successful Labour Day yard sale which helped clear out some yard sale stock (although I still have too much), and I’ve been pulling more garbage deadstock off the shelves and documenting it.
This box is relatively fresh compared to some of the other ones up there. It contained all the copper and brass items from that “all-nighter” spot, which I happened upon a little over a year ago.
I see this kind of stuff often enough. These are the kinds of things that tourists buy when they’re in Middle East. But the quality of these items was a little nicer, and these folks also had roots in Iraq, so I figured I’d post them here first before throwing them in the yard sale (or scrap metal) pile.
Sometimes I also wonder if I might overlook a real antique, especially when it comes to these copper things. Would I be able to tell if one of these was made in the 1850s, versus the 1950s? I think the giveaways are probably in the details, like the little loop on the back of a decorative plate and whatnot. This samovar was easy to recognize, given that it was made using a piece of a tin can that probably dates to the 1950s, plus or minus 20 years. It’s missing pieces as well, so it’s destiny is the scrap bin. Who knows, maybe it’ll be recycled into another samovar.
Here’s a few more things from the box. I really doubt I have anything mind-blowing here, but if you know anything about selling this kind of stuff let me know in the comments!
Oh, and I also fished a bunch of Red Rose figurines from the bottom of a recycling bin there. These are always good for a buck or two a piece (sometimes more, for rarer ones like the Gingerbread Man).
Here’s some things from some Gen Xer’s childhood junk purge. I took these pictures inside, before I set up my photo lights, so they aren’t that good. But I still made the effort to take the pictures, so I figured I might as well share them in the gallery format. Most of these items aren’t all that valuable, but they’re fun and good for yard sales or Instagram. The Seiko watch might be the most valuable piece (100-200$ if I recall correctly), if it works.
And finally, here’s the remains of a fun Villeray score from a few years back. There was more, but over the years I whittled the collection down to just these small things (most pens and pencils) to save space. I haven’t done much research yet, but I’m confident that some of the writing instruments (in particular, the gold-filled pendant fountain pen and the wood grain Waterman mechanical pencil) have value. Other items of note include the cow bone rosary ft. Stanhope viewer, and a silver pendant doohickey (which I’m guessing held a little sewing kit).
I took these photos using my lights, and you can really see the difference in quality. The next step might be to get my old camera up and running again. As good as the iPhone is for photography, a nice camera is better with contrast, colour saturation, and so on, even if it’s a little more work getting the “perfect shot.”
Anyways that’s all for now. I am planning another sale for the 4100 Coloniale spot tomorrow, even though the temperature is going to be a relatively chilly 14 degrees. Foot traffic was really good last week, and the McGill kids are back in the neighbourhood (and are hungry for junk). If you came to the last one, there might be a bit of fresh stuff, although maybe not enough to make a special trip for. I plan on being out from about 1-7pm.
Links
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2. “Things I find in the garbage” on Facebook
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