history – Things I find in the garbage

Legends of Vancouver

December 11, 2022December 12, 2022 garbagefinds19 Comments

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.

Changes pt.1

November 6, 2022 garbagefinds20 Comments

Sorry about the lack of updates. I just haven’t been able to get into the writing mindset. I think I just reached peak burnout, and eventually I realized I had to switch things up if I wanted to really enjoy life. It’s been a busy few months figuring that out, but things are falling into place (I think) and I feel some creative energy returning.

Got lots of things to tell you about, but I’ll break them into a few different posts, because these short posts are much easier to write.

I guess we can start with the most recent, which is that I bought a “new” (to me) car. It’s a 2012 Kia Rondo, which I think is a nice size for my purposes. Big enough to fit a lot more stuff (and not have to do so much sorting on the spot), but not a boat like some of the bigger vans out there (like the Dodge Grand Caravan). For trash picking in this city, it’s nice to have space, but it’s also nice to have a maneuverable vehicle that’s easy to stop and park. It’s also big enough for camping if that’s something I want to do.

I’d been looking for a new vehicle for a while, but the used car market is a bit crazy right now. Personally I think prices have come down, but a lot of people are still trying (unsuccessfully) to sell their 10 year old beaters for 2x what they’re worth. I played the waiting game, and eventually found one that was reasonably priced. I paid 4450$, which I think was very fair. So far, I’m pretty happy – it’s very clean, feels well maintained, and is also a lot more comfortable and powerful than my old subcompact beater, which was a bit of a lemon as well.

Here’s some finds from a spot in St Michel earlier this summer. I miss this spot.

These guys were travel agents I think, and apparently never threw away an old paper. I found lots of boxes packed like this, with travel ephemera dating mostly from the 50s to 70s.

Here’s the contents of a big envelope marked “Ontario.” There were several envelopes filled with similar content from different provinces. I listed some on eBay, but the listings don’t seem too popular. Maybe it’s better sold at yard sales, or on Instagram.

I love a good map, and there were a lot of good ones here. This is PEI in the early 60s (iirc). I heart the colour scheme.

Some of the ephemera was a little older, like this Quebec booklet that was published in 1934. No need for me to take more photos of this, when the Quebec Archive has already scanned it!

I also like a good vintage box. This Kraft processed cheese box is pretty neat, I didn’t know they once had a factory in Outremont. From this document, it looks like they were operating from 20 Bates in the early 50s, and likely a bit before and after.

Not as vintage, but still fun is this Steinberg’s skim milk powder box. I doubt there’s too many of these kicking around! I’m guessing it’s from the late 70s or early 80s based on that font. People around here love Steinberg’s memorabilia, so it definitely has some value to a collector.

This is one of those spots that produced so much cool stuff that it was kind of overwhelming. Going forward, I’m going to have to be a bit more picky about what I take pictures of… but I’ll get into that more in my next post.

Pass-pour pt.3

February 12, 2021 garbagefinds11 Comments

My brain hasn’t been in writing mode recently, perhaps in part because I’ve been focused on the search for a new car. I finally bought one yesterday, another Hyundai Accent, a little newer (2011 instead of 2007). It has a sunroof, a working CD player, and an auxiliary cable so I could use an iPod if I wanted. We’ll see how it goes, but I feel like I got a good deal. I’m mostly glad the car buying process is over, it’s a real pain in the arse.

After driving a bigger car (a rental, 2021 Hyundai Kona) I’m thankful to be getting into the spacious subcompact class again. When driving around this city, it’s nice to be small and maneuverable, especially when you’re looking for trash. I plan on getting a roof rack, so that I can maybe stash a bit of extra junk up there if necessary. But more often than not, I focus on smaller things and rarely wish I had more space.

This spot provided gold cufflinks and that 1000$ Lusitania nutcracker late last year. I didn’t see much after that, however. One day I picked up a nice 1950s CCM bike which was an easy sell, and then there was this little haul.

It was someone’s old collection of flag, pennants and patches, some of which seem to date back to WWII. Those CFB Trenton pennants are pretty cool and generally do well on eBay. The little flags are the bottom left look Scottish; this guy seems to have been a proud Scot. According to this obituary from 1969 (there’s not a heck of a lot of information out there otherwise), Camp Laclouwhi operated near Joliette, QC until 1952 after which it was bought by Scouts Canada and became Camp Jackson Dodds.

I suspect some of these patches date back to the war. If anyone knows a bit of their history, please share your wisdom in the comments! Some cool designs regardless.

And finally, my most striking find was this small Nazi pennant, which I’d guess was made to go on a car. I’d guess that this fella, who seemed to have had an interest in history, got it from someone who served overseas. I can understand why someone might want to throw this out, but I’m a “those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it” kinda guy.

Regardless, a week or two after this haul I saw an ad for an estate sale at this location. I wish I could have gone, as there was probably a lot of interesting stuff, but I think it was my last chance for garage sales that same weekend (this was in October I believe). All in all, a lot of stuff got tossed that could have easily made some extra money at the sale, but sometimes families do some sorting themselves before calling on the experts. After all, there’s always some “old junk” kicking around that surely no one will buy! Or, they try to deal with the things themselves, then get overwhelmed and call a liquidator.