Legends of Vancouver

As part of my effort to do more self-care, I’ve been trying to walk every day. I set a goal of 7500 steps a day. The default on the app is 10000, because it’s a round number I guess, but apparently there’s no scientific basis for that number. Also, I can walk for an hour and get like 6000 steps, so it doesn’t feel like an achievable goal. Anyways, I’ve gotten those steps in 41 of the past 42 days, and the one missed day was because I went to a board game night.

Sometimes I coordinate these walks with the various trash days, but other times I just walk aimlessly. Even in those times, though, I sometimes find trash. I spotted this little pile of junk wood in an alley, not super exciting other than the…

… big ol’ chunk of copper lying on top! This thing is hefty and probably worth like 15$ at the scrap yard. Not the find of the year, I know, but sometimes it’s the little things right? And maybe it feels a little more special when you find these things when you’re not even really trying.

I only started thinking about scrap metals (besides silver and gold) maybe 3-4 years ago. I definitely left a lot of money on the table by not knowing about it sooner… just another lesson I had to learn the hard way. Copper and brass in particular are easy money.

Otherwise, one of my better finds this year came from this recycling bin. I’ve been keeping an eye on this spot since late 2021, but there was a good multi-month stretch in the middle where these folks didn’t throw out anything at all. The recycling bin has often been loaded with books. Clearly they belonged to a collector, because many were quite old and the names sketched on the insides of the covers were always different.

One night in late September or early October I picked this book out of the bin. It was definitely old, and the cover had an unusual embossed look to it. It had the look of something not mass produced (the name of the book is also written on the spine, in pen), and I set it aside for further research.

I had never heard of E. Pauline Johnson before, but she sounds like a pretty interesting figure. I don’t really think I could do justice to her life story here, but the short version was that she was a writer and performer who was fairly well known in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Her father was a hereditary Mohawk chief, and her mother an English immigrant. She never married, despite apparently having a dozen proposals, and is generally viewed as a “New Woman.” She moved to Vancouver late in life, and upon her death her ashes were spread in Stanley Park near Siwash Rock, which is mentioned in this book (you can see the passage here). For a quick modern take, here’s an article by someone who argues that Johnson should be on our 100$ bill.

So, the book is interesting enough on its own. It was published in 1911, and is the 4th edition (though these embossed cover editions seem to be pretty uncommon in any edition). But what makes it really special is the inscription on the 2nd page.

So, apparently this was former Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier’s copy of this book? Seems a little crazy, but it’s certainly plausible – apparently the two were friendly, and I found a letter where Laurier “[begs] the honour of introducing” Johnson to Lord Brassey. As for the handwriting, it looks like a match to me (see the signature on the second page of that letter).

Also noteworthy is that Johnson died just a little over a month after signing this book, on March 7, 1913. Laurier died six years later, in 1919. My guess is that this book was purchased at a few different estates sales, before finding its way into that recycling bin over 100 years after both Johnson and Laurier passed on. Perhaps someone, or a few different someones didn’t notice the signature along the way – the pages do open in a way where you can easily skip over that first page.

Anyways, it’s mine (for) now. For pricing, it’s hard to find a comparison. This is the only signed copy I found online… it’s going for around 700 USD, but is that a realistic price, or an ask? On the other hand, my copy is in better (though not perfect) condition, and also belonged to the guy on our 5$ bill. I’m thinking that this is the kind of sale that’s best left to a high-end auction house, like Waddington’s in Toronto.

Any other ideas, comments, etc? Please share them below!

Links

1. My eBay listings, Sign up for eBay (Canada, US), Search for something you want / research something you have (Canada, US) – FYI these are Ebay Partner Network links, so I make a few bucks if you sign up for an account or buy something after getting to eBay using these links
2. Facebook page
3. Follow @garbagefinds and @garbagefindssells (selling account, operated by someone else) on Instagram
4. Email: thingsifindinthegarbage@gmail.com – note that I can’t fulfill most requests for items, many are already gone by the time they are posted here.

1935

This spot in Ahunstic was a one-hit wonder that gave me lots of fun stuff to sort through. I think I spent around two and a half hours digging through all these bags.

There was a whole lot of jewelry, though these people did a pretty good job picking out the precious metals.

The nicest piece was probably the sterling silver rosary. I also saved a pair of silver earrings, and few tiny pieces of gold.

This spot was also notable for its fun vintage ephemera and old photos.

My favourites were a couple of framed shots, this one with a gang of people in front of a train …

… and this one of an old house with “1935” marked on the roof. I’ll probably add this one to my personal collection of found junk.

Here’s some more miscellaneous stuff, including two Expo 67 passports, a couple cute handkerchiefs and a pair of gloves, a miniature sewing machine (not sure if it’s supposed to be functional, or if it’s more of a toy), a bit of perfume, and some scrap metal.

I only started picking up metal for scrap a couple years back, and I wish I’d started sooner. It looks like a pile of junk, but there’s probably about 10-15$ here. All these little bits and pieces add up in the end.

The thermometers don’t really have any value, but I show them because they contain mercury, which isn’t supposed to go to landfill. Over the course of my trash picking career I’d guess that I’ve saved at least 10 pounds of mercury from going to the dump. Sometimes it’s these small household thermometers (most of which, I’m guessing were made before 1980), sometimes it’s a big ol’ sphygmomanometer (blood pressure reader) that used to belong to a doctor (there’s so much mercury in those things that you can hear it sloshing around insider), sometimes it’s antique jars full of the stuff. There’s also some amount in some old batteries, electronics and lightbulbs. So make sure to bring that old mercury to the Eco-Center or other hazardous waste disposal site if you have any.

It finally feels like spring outside, and that definitely helps motivate me to go out and get picking. My luck has been slightly better recently, though I’m still not finding anything mind-blowing. I could really use a nice gold haul right about now.

Links

1. My eBay listings, Sign up for eBay (Canada, US), Search for something you want / research something you have (Canada, US) – FYI these are Ebay Partner Network links, so I make a few bucks if you sign up for an account or buy something after getting to eBay using these links
2. Facebook page
3. Follow me on Instagram
4. Email: thingsifindinthegarbage@gmail.com – note that I really suck at email right now, and can’t fulfill most requests for items

2022

After a lousy 2021, it was heartening to start this year off with a couple decent scores. I haven’t been going out as much recently due to the cold, the curfew, and some indifference (it’s harder to get excited to go picking when you’re having bad luck), but sometimes you just have to be in the right place at the right time.

This was last Friday. I stopped here largely due to that Turkish leather bag on the left, which looked interesting enough from the car. There was some quality junk inside, so I took the whole thing, though I eventually left the bag for someone else as it needed some TLC.

Some of my best finds came from the trash can, and were revealed after I removed the top white kitchen waste bag (and dug around a bit).

Here’s most of my take, in one picture. You can have a closer look in the gallery below. I wish I had a better photo of that Indian wooden box at the back left, but the one I took didn’t turn out. I’m wondering if it’s vintage or a relatively recent tourist piece… but either way it’s pretty nice. A friend quickly claimed the Gato Negro (black cat) wall plaque, and the two WWF decorative plates.

This wooden box, made by an artist named Clarence Wills, stored some “junk drawer” type stuff. That’s my favourite type of junk to find, because it’s fun to look through, is small / doesn’t take up much space, and is often partly composed of overlooked treasures. That little wooden lidded trinket box at the bottom right held a few nice pieces of jewelry, which more or less made my day.

The two pieces on the right are gold. The ring is old, 18k white gold and inscribed with the date “1943,” and some other words or names that are hard to make out. It has four small diamonds, but the center stone is missing. Together they have a scrap value of around 300$. The rest of the pieces are silver. That cocktail ring is quite something! It’s about an inch and a half tall.

There were a few other nice pieces in there, like three beaded bracelets, a couple of silver chains (one broken), a Haida brooch, and a necklace featuring a donut-shaped stone & (I think) solid silver beads.

I expect this spot will be a one-hit wonder. I passed by again this week and saw nothing of interest. But I had luck again on Monday in the downtown area, and I’m hopeful that I’ll get a few weeks (or more?) of quality trash from there.