Things I find in the garbage

Fake out

February 18, 2015 garbagefinds19 Comments

My plan for last week was give myself a bit of a break by checking out only recently productive (or known) spots. This pile was in from of the same house in Hampstead that provided some jewellery a little while back. The house had a “sold” sign out front, and judging by the unusually big pile of trash out front it looked like the family had recently moved on. I’d like to note that disposing of trash like this is totally counter the regulations of the town of Hampstead, not that I care too much.

I mentioned becoming somewhat paranoid of security officers, particularly in Hampstead. There seems to be more security officers per capita there than in other neighbourhoods, and none of them have any real work to do outside of harassing the evil trash pickers that dare to enter their domain.

I almost had another encounter while looking through this stuff. I was loading some items into the car when I noticed one of their white SUVs drive by. It stopped not far away before turning around and parking – just sitting their and watching – 25 meters behind me.

Knowing I was being watched, I did my best to look as cool and confident as possible. I ignored the SUV and acted as if I was just packing the car. I had the trunk open, so I started moving my stuff around randomly in a way that looked meaningful. I closed the hatch and opened the passenger door, lowering the seat (it’s a hatchback) and doing the same thing. After about two minutes of randomly moving things around the SUV pulled away from the curb and drove down the road, leaving me to my business.

I managed to save a fair bit of decent stuff, including: a Swiss army knife (or at least a nice imitation); a working electric razor and hair thing (I’m not sure what it does, exactly); a new (with tags) Matt and Nat vegan change purse; a collection of lightbulbs; and a bunch of other stuff, such as unused tea bags and saran wrap.

There was a decent looking Dell laptop in a box near the back, but unfortunately I didn’t see a power cord. Cosmetically at least it’s in nice condition. This laptop is worth around 150$ in good working order.

The most fun find was a working fog machine with a bit of extra fog juice. These cost about 50$ new, and I’m sure it’ll get some use around here.

Figuring I’d take a break from Hampstead, I went to nearby Cote St-Luc to check out a couple of locations there. I came across this recycling bin by accident, thinking that I was on a different road than I was. I figured I’d check it out, just for the hell of it (and because the house was for sale).

I pulled this blue bag out from inside the bin.

Inside were two different laptops. This one came with the power cable, and works totally fine. It looks to be barely used (a former business computer, if my estimations are correct). It’s a HP 530 running Windows Vista – nothing too fancy but still good enough to do your basic tasks. It seems to be worth around 100$. I’ll likely try to sell it locally, on Kijiji or Craigslist.

This laptop (a Dell Vostro 1000) was also inside the bag, but the power cable did not come along with it. If it works (and it might, seeing as the other one did) it’d be worth around 80$.

After my brief journey to Cote St-Luc I went back to Hampstead to check another place I’ve been keeping an eye on.

I found this plated silver menorah inside an old box of candles. One of the candle holders is broken off, but should be easy enough to solder back on. The centerpiece is also missing a nut, but that should be easy to replace.

I also found a small collection of buttons and other things. The clasp at the bottom right is marked 18k, and is worth almost 20$ for its weight in gold (.68 grams). The pieces at the middle bottom look like amber. Both the ring (silver plate, bottom right) and the silver plate spoon cleaned up quite nicely. As for the buttons, they look somehow special or unusual. I wonder if the one near the middle is tortoiseshell.

Wednesday evening brought me to Verdun. There was more trash out front of this spot (which has provided all the cool fortune telling stuff) than usual, which makes me wonder if the apartment has to be cleared out for the end of the month. It was a pretty damn cold night, but I managed to sort through all the junk.

That word describes a lot of the stuff quite well. There were a couple bags mostly full of aged toiletries, as well as around fifty sample sized tubes of toothpaste. Still, I found some neat stuff, such as: a 1950s set of tree spotting playing cards; a tobacco pipe with a metal filter taped inside; a book on handwriting analysis; a Polaroid camera (“the Swinger”); a Devilbiss throat atomizer; an old Charlie Chaplin film reel; and a large collection of old keys (including one skeleton, a two old locks). Let us know in the comment if you know what the little glass dish below is for. It’s around 3″ tall.

I also saved some old photos and postcards. There were several large format photos featuring 1950s-1960s schoolrooms.

A couple of the postcards were quite old. This one is dated 1919 on the back.

When I was done in Verdun I moved on to my productive spots in Cote St-Luc. This spot is the one that gave me that nice Dunhill lighter, as well as some decent vintage perfumes.

There was less stuff on the curb this time around, but the finds were also more interesting. There were two different copies of this Montreal based Hebrew newspaper from January 7, 1958.

There was also a bit of jewellery. The most noteworthy piece was this mid-century sterling silver brooch by N E From of Denmark. It’s worth around 30$.

Otherwise, I found this cool old leather wallet. The top was decorated with a nice embroidery piece. It looks sort of dirty, but it’s just because there’s some old, broken plastic in the way.

The pockets held only three very old photographs, likely from the 1930s or 1940s. I thought it was oddly touching that these were the only things left inside.

I’ve keep keeping an eye on that enigmatic dumpster. This week nothing was put in there before Sunday (it’s replaced each Monday), when it was again filled to the brim. I dug around there a bit, but didn’t find anything super exciting.

I did bring home a carved wooden rooster, some tools, and a couple of vintage hand-painted bottles. The one on the left is cobalt blue underneath, so I might clean off the yellowed old paint and bring it back to its original colour.

I’ve been doing the same minimal trash picking schedule this week. There haven’t been many finds so far, but hopefully one of these places will pull through and give me some stuff to talk about!

Last week’s garbage sales (February 9 – February 15)

1. Vintage Paragon tea cup and saucer: On eBay for 60$. This was one of my favourite cups of that big collection (yellow is my favourite colour). Found early October in Ville St Laurent.

2. Murano glass vase: On eBay for 50$. Found mid June in Mount Royal. (It’s the one on the left).

3. Apple iPhone 4 for parts, repair: On eBay for 30$. I forget where I found this, and may not have mentioned it on the blog.

4. “Roller Speedway News,” August 1939: On eBay for 28$. Found in May in NDG.

5. “Smoking and Cancer” comic book by Canadian Cancer Society (1971): On eBay for 12$. Found mid June in Mount Royal.

6. Vintage Guerlain bee perfume bottle: On eBay for 37$. Found mid September in downtown Montreal.

7. Vintage Anchor Hocking mugs: On eBay for 50$. I love these mugs, but can’t turn down the money. Found in the Plateau in September.

Total: 267$, 11668$ since May 18 2014 and 1985$ since the new year began. A pretty decent week. However, I’ve had some issues with a couple buyers not paying for the items they bought (the Expo 67 passport and vintage taxi meter). Those accounted for 180$ of profit, which I’ve subtracted from the total. I’ll avoid mentioning “incomplete” sales going forward. The items are now relisted.

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If you have a question, see anything that you’re interesting in buying, or to just want to say hello feel free to email me at thingsifindinthegarbage@gmail.com. I also enjoy reading your comments! Keep in mind that I frequently get behind on emails, so I apologize in advance if I take a few days or weeks to get back to you.

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The enigmatic dumpster

February 11, 2015 garbagefinds23 Comments

The weather has been quite cold for some time now, which had made trash picking more difficult. It’s harder to sort through bags, for example, and to be thorough to the extent that I like to. Driving is definitely more annoying; the streets are narrow and dangerous, while parking is also a challenge. The cold, in general just makes the practice feel less carefree, even when considering the privilege of driving a car.

I also haven’t been in the best mental groove. I’ve been doing this picking thing for a while now, but encounters with neighbourhood security services still sometimes put me on edge, especially when I’m going to those places often. I can get self-conscious, paranoid, and edgy. Last week wasn’t particularly good in this regard, though I still got the job done and found some neat stuff.

For this week, I’ve decided to take the week mostly off from hunting. I still have some productive spots that I’ll still check out (and I’ve actually made some pretty nice finds this week doing these minimal runs), but I won’t be doing much exploring beyond that. I figure that mid-February isn’t the best time for throwing out trash either, so it’s the perfect time to take a little break. I’m going to focus instead on organizing my room and listing on eBay, as I haven’t been particularly active in this way of late.

My first notable finds of the week came on Wednesday night. I wasn’t planning on going to Verdun, but I had to go to Ville Emard to buy a laptop (more about this later) and figured I might as well check an old spot while in the area. I hadn’t found anything there the previous couple of weeks, making me think that the source had run out, and I was somewhat surprised to see more cool old stuff. This is the place that provided the dentist tools, vintage Montreal tram tickets, fortune telling cards, and old restaurant menus from posts past.

There was more fortune telling stuff this time around. This “Black cat fortune-telling game” was made in the 1940s, appears to be unused or lightly used, and seems to have some collectors value. One just like it but in worse condition sold for 37$ + shipping. Not too shabby!

This deck, by EE Fairchild (and likely made in the 50s) is also in nice condition. I should be able to sell it for around 25$.

I couldn’t find anything on the internet similar to this “K. K.” deck. It was made in Vancouver BC for a Knicknacks and Novelties Co.

This little booklet full of colorized photos of Mount Washington (New Hampshire) sat near the bottom of the recycling bin. I went to Mount Washington as a kid, and vaguely remember a few of the scenes from my trip. This was made in the 1940s as well, judging by the cars in the background.

I also saved some old postcards, many of which were souvenirs from cruises.

From Verdun I took Highway 15 north towards Cote St-Luc. I went to check out the place that provided the nice Dunhill lighter the other week. Along the way, I came across this pile of stuff sitting out front a house for sale. Most notable was a collection of framed art and prints, visible somewhat in the box closest to the front.

I thought this framed image of a Cote St-Luc community swimming pool was kind of cool. It looks to be from the 1960s. There were other nice framed items though, including a (about 2′ tall) Vanity Fair lithograph of Sir George Truscott (with a certificate of authenticity on the back stating that it’s an original from 1908), a large embroidered image of a castle (which unfortunately has a busted frame), a work of art by Canadian artist Tilya Helfield, and a small sterling silver plaque portraying the wailing wall in Jerusalem.

The Dunhill lighter spot offered a few beauty-related finds, including some vintage Yves St Laurent perfume, a working (and seemingly unused) Lady Sunbeam razor, and a set of nail tools. They’ve been tossing out a ton of this kind of stuff over the past few weeks, but most hasn’t been worth taking.

Otherwise, I’ve been keeping my eye on the dumpster that provided all the sterling from last week’s post. The bin was taken away and replaced last Monday, after which it was filled up again and replaced this Monday.

The dumpster last week contained a bit of furniture, lots of bags of clothes, and many more artist canvases. The cold and the sheer quantity of junk made it difficult to sort through it all. This nice framed piece (which appears to be painted fabric, and about two feet long) was close to the front of the pile, making it easy to find. The frame looks like one of those new plastic frames that try to look vintage, but it actually is made from old wood. It has an Art Nouveau (late 1800s – early 1900s) look to it, and might be worth a bit of money.

At the bottom of one bag was a collection of old photos, many dating back to the 1930s.

There was also one really old photo. The back is dated 1889.

In that same bag (and inside another smaller bag) was this old German book.

My roommate speaks some German, and was able to tell me that it’s basically a journal of someone’s explorations. I forget the guys name at the moment, but it might be Johanni Georgio. Publication dates of 1610 and 1611 can be seem on some of the pages, but it could also be a reprint.

Someone wrote their name and the year (1881) on the back cover, so it’s at least that old. The outside is in rough shape but the pages are in decent condition, outside of a few that are likely missing. If anyone knows anything about this book (or any of the following items, for that matter) let us know in the comments!

This spot has a certain unpredictability about it. I’m curious about the history of the house, as it’s provided some very cool old stuff. This tiny (under 3″ tall) pottery piece looks sort of ancient, and was resting near the bottom of a bag of clothes. It’s in good condition, outside of a little break off the edge. It’s made from a very red earth, which could help identify its origins.

These beads (which were in the same part of the bag as the little pottery piece above) are also pretty interesting. They look to be very old and made from clay. Several have images of birds etched into them, while others are adorned with different patterns. They come in different sizes, with the larger beads measuring around 2cm long while the smaller come it at about a centimeter. Here’s a look at the ones that stuck out the most.

The one at the bottom right looks a bit like a cat. It was impossible to capture the entire design in one shot (maybe if I had some kind of panorama mode) but you can kind of see the tail curving back in on the right hand side.

This is a good time to remind you that you can see larger versions of all these photos. With the larger size photos, you can just click on them and zoom in. On the smaller, gallery-style photos you have to click, scroll to the bottom right of the screen and click where it says “view full size.”

Intriguing stuff, and I look forward to learning more about it! I hope this enigmatic dumpster provides again this week.

In other news

I decided to invest some money in buying a new laptop. My old Macbook (which I saved from the trash) still works nicely but wasn’t fast enough to do much in terms of photo editing. Considering how much time I spend doing that these days, I figure the increased efficiency will pay for itself over enough time. It replaces both my laptop and my bulky desktop computer, which also opens up a bit of space in my room.

Last week’s garbage sales (February 2 – February 8)

1. Aynsley tea cup and saucer: On eBay for 35$. One of many found early October in Ville St Laurent.

2. Nina Ricci “L’air du temps” perfume: On eBay for 24$. I believe this was found in Snowdon sometime this summer.

3. Lot of 8 1960s Topps Hockey Cards: On eBay for 35$. It’s too bad these were glued to a scrapbook, as the value could have been a fair bit higher. Each card had red paper stuck to the back. Found in Ville St Laurent in early September, though they never made it to the blog.

4. Vintage photograph of Kelso Roberts, former Toronto MPP: On eBay for 4$. I’m glad someone appreciates this photo. Found a couple summers ago in the Plateau.

5. Vintage Jean Chretien campaign pamphlet, poster: On eBay for 20$. This was a great piece from back when he was one of Pierre Trudeau’s cabinet ministers. Found early March in Mount Royal.

Total: 118$, 11581$ since May 18 2014 and 1898$ since the new year began. Not the best week, but I do like how I’m getting rid of stuff I’ve had for a while. I’m down to 106 items in my eBay store, which is a testament to how much I’ve sold, and also the fact that I need to get to listing more items. I plan on focusing more on that in the coming days.

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Long time, no see

February 3, 2015 garbagefinds33 Comments

I drove Sarah to the airport early Monday morning and figured I might as well explore some new neighborhoods while I was at it. I didn’t have a plan going in, but remembered that Monday morning was garbage day in Pierrefonds east of St Jean Boulevard. It was a nice area, one that I might return to if I’m feeling adventurous or if circumstances encourage it. It’s too far away to cover regularly.

This spot provided a few neat finds. It was pretty cold out, but having the car makes all but the worst weather pretty tolerable. Nothing compares to some of the bike trips I went on last year.

Inside the recycling bin was a collection of nice ceramic pots, many of which were vintage. Most had price tags on them, making me wonder if they were left behind from a yard or estate sale. They were all in excellent condition, as if someone had gently placed them at the bottom of the bin.

One was Beauceware (made by a company in Beauce, Quebec). Pottery with this mark can be collectible, but only the more unusual designs are worth good money.

Also inside the bin was a collection of wicker baskets.

Outside the bin was mostly junk. There was a box full of old music books, but none were in good enough condition to be worth saving. I saved a hat, a small silver plate tray, and an Alfred Hitchcock book of horror stories.

The neatest finds were hidden away in this old cheque box.

Written on the back was a difficult to read message. I can make out “For Howard [last name airbrushed out],” “Civil War,” and maybe “found in trail.”

Inside the box, lying amongst some rust and dirt sediment were a couple buttons, a rusty old belt buckle, a few rusty nails and other unidentifiable objects, a piece of glass, and six different bullets. The message on the box made it obvious, but I actually have a bullet just like the ones on the left from my childhood – I was a big American civil war buff for a while.

Some bullets are worth money, though I doubt these particular ones are worth a lot. They’re still pretty cool regardless, especially given that they’re around 150 years old! They’re made of lead and are quite heavy.

After a little more touring around in Pierrefonds, I decided to see check out Île Bizard to see if it was trash day there. It was, and I managed to find this nice little sewing chair. I had never been to Île Bizard before, so it was cool to see what it was like.

On the way home, I found a Stanley Cup full of change (mostly pennies) in Ahuntsic, and some new re-writeable CDs in the Petite Patrie.

Later that day, while walking to the post office I came across this bag in the alley next to Parc.

Inside was a decent CD collection …

… and a DVD produced by Church of Scientology.

Monday was a busy day. Later that night I went to Hampstead, hoping to avoid security while checking out the place I was evicted from the week prior. I came across this spot first. The pile sat in front of a large house for sale.

Inside a couple of the bags was a large collection of gluten-free flours. Altogether there was over 25 pounds. Some of the flours were expired, but all the rice flour (18 pounds worth) was still within the best before date. Gluten free flours are expensive, and the rice flour alone probably cost 60$ or more.

Next stop was the pile I wasn’t able to explore the week prior.

Again, there were a bunch of fabrics and old perfumes. Another bag contained a bunch of boring old papers, and several different watches. The chain on the right is sterling silver.

I was excited to find these, but most turned out to be junky, worn-out knockoffs. These two, a vintage soviet and Glashutte watch, were the nicest of the bunch. Both are plated gold, and surprisingly don’t look too worn. Unfortunately the mechanical movements don’t work, but they might be worth a bit for parts or repair, especially the Glashutte.

My sister tipped me off to a pile of trash in front of her place in Verdun Tuesday evening, so I decided to drop by for a visit and a look-see. Most of the stuff was junky and smelled heavily of cigarette smoke, but I did find a cool sterling silver horse ring and a trinket box in the form of a bird.

After the visit I explored Verdun’s Wednesday trash day. I hadn’t covered it previously, and while I didn’t find anything it was good to get a feel of the lay of the land. Feeling energetic (and motivated to sleep in the next morning) I headed off to Mount Royal, another Wednesday morning pickup.

I was surprised to see some garbage in front of this house. I haven’t seen anything here since July, when I helped the homeowners and a vintage store owner move some furniture into a van. The house recently sold (which I know because of the sign out front), so perhaps that was the impetus to finish clearing out the house.

In the past, this spot consistently produced a small amount of neat stuff each week. This time was no different. I thought these hand-made candles were pretty cool, to the point where you wouldn’t want to actually use them. My personal favourite is the seal. The dog (and likely the others) were made by a H.B. Candles in Lachute, Quebec.

I also found this tape reel, labeled “bgame.”

I’ve been reading a book about the Montreal Expos baseball team, and because of this have been hoping to find some cool Expos-related stuff, especially old audio recordings or video footage. You never know, right? I was hoping “bgame” meant “baseball game” or “ballgame,” but that’s probably a bit far fetched. I thought it was an audio reel at first, but it might actually be an old-school data storage reel for the computer.

Out of this recycling bin …

… came some old books, most notably editions of Tintin published in the late 40s / early 50s. There seems to be a bit of a market for these, and I should be able to make some money of them despite their well-used condition.

Thursday morning was looking like a bust before coming to this dumpster in Outremont. These large containers are most often filled with renovation debris, but this one looked different, even from a distance.

I opened the door and saw bags and bags of stuff. It seemed that someone was clearing out a house.

In the back were lots of old paintings on canvas and boards. They actually took up a good chunk of the dumpster.

Many of the bags were full of old glass and ceramic. Nearly everything was broken or even pulverized. Most times people take care not to break things even when they’re putting them out to the curb to be destroyed (mainly to ensure the safety of the garbage collectors), but I guess having a dumpster makes that less of an issue.

Metals were mostly safe from damage, though – you can see one of my finds at the middle of this shot. Still, all the kitchenware was pretty grimy, as if they had been sitting in the counters unused for many years (with some added cigarette smoke for seasoning).

I was able to save a bunch of good stuff. Here’s a framed print featuring the organizers of the Montreal Free Loan Association, as it existed in 1941. This organization still exists today, and their focus is offering interest-free loans to those in need.

I took a vintage pencil sharpener, a copper teapot (made in Israel, likely in the 50s) …

… and a Wagner Ware cast iron pot.

It was a bit rusty when I found it, but elbow grease took the most of it off. I love fixing up old cast iron. Vintage pieces sell for decent money, particularly when they’re seasoned and ready to go.

I also found a bunch of silverware. These cups, all marked Birks Sterling, are quite beautiful and ornate. The tops are made of glass, and unfortunately only one remains in usable condition. One cup is monogrammed: “Presented to [name] for outstanding work, T.T.L. Rabbinical College, 1945.”

It’s a shame these took such a beating. They’re just scrap silver in their current condition. Each cup weighs about 30.5 grams, which adds up to about 75$ of scrap value. What I might do is keep the one monogrammed cup, and put the one nice glass piece on it. The glass is super grimy in the picture, but cleaned up nicely. Maybe I’ll post some before and afters at some point.

(At center: the “Birks Sterling” mark)

These little salt shakers (one of which you may have seen in the picture above) are sterling silver as well. They’re in decent shape, they just need a good cleaning. Still, I may end up just selling them for scrap. Altogether, they’re worth maybe 10$ in scrap value.

This silver (quadruple!) plate footed teapot (made by F.B. Rogers) is actually in very good condition, outside of it being in desperate need to be cleaned.

This little mug, monogrammed “BABY” was made by the same company. It’s a cute piece that should clean up nice.

Near the front door of the bin were two necklaces with pendants. There’s a little ball inside the pendant. The pendant and chain are both sterling silver, but the little charm hanging from the bottom isn’t. That piece has a Hebrew (?) monogram.

Here’s the other pendant, which (though unmarked) tests positive for silver.

There’s also something inside this one. It sounds a bit more like a bell than the other. Does anyone know what these styles of pendant are called? It might help me sell them. They’re definitely quite old, and may have some value.

Some interesting finds to be sure! I’ll be keeping an eye on that dumpster going forward.

Last week’s garbage sales (January 26 – February 1)

Lots of sales last week! As opposed to a few weeks ago when everything I sold was relatively expensive, most of my sales this week were for a smaller amounts.

1. Vintage Montreal tram tickets, theatre program: To a reader for 30$. These are pretty cool, and I would have kept them myself if I were rich. I love old ephemera of this type. Found a few weeks back in Verdun.

2. Wilcox silver plate tray: On eBay for 6$. Sometimes things take a long time to sell, and I get really sick of seeing them sitting around. This is one of those items. I recently lowered the price by a substantial margin in hopes that would help it get out the door. I made 6$ profit on the transaction, but after eBay fees (it’s been listed for nearly a year and a half) I doubt I made anything at all. Just to be clear, the price I list here is my total profit – shipping costs have already been removed. Found late June 2013 in the Plateau.

3. Aynsley bone china teacup and saucer: On eBay for 45$. Another one gone! Found early October in Ville St Laurent.

4. Vintage Westclox “Big Ben” alarm clock: On eBay for 30$. Found early October in the Golden Square Mile.

5. Lot of four 1970s Quebec license plates: On eBay for 15$. Found in the Snowdon area at some point early in the summer – I may have forgot to mention them.

6. 1958 Santa Barbara road races program: On eBay for 55$. I’m glad to see this go as well. Found September 2013 in Mount Royal.

7. 1978 Corvette owners manual: On eBay for 23$. I didn’t mention this on the blog, but I found it this fall in Mount Royal.

8. Expo 67 Passport: On Ebay for 40$. Found late October in Cote St Luc. (It was one of the ones photographed above). It was loaded with stamps.

9. “Le Nez du Cafe” coffee scents: On eBay for 25$. I actually found this in a box of free stuff left out after a yard sale, and never got around to mentioning it on the blog. Found this summer in the Plateau.

10. Lot of three vintage Pyrex refrigerator lids: On eBay for 32$. Found in the Plateau this summer, though also not recorded.

11. Esso 1964-1965 season NHL schedule: On eBay for 35$. Found early June in Snowdon.

Total: 336$, 11463$ since May 18 2014 and 1780$ since the new year began. It was a good week, one that cleared out around 8% of my eBay stock. This week has started off pretty well too – I’m thinking that this cold January weather is keeping people inside (and on the computer).

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