Before we start, allow me to invite you to tomorrow’s yard sale! My new garage, which I share with a friend whose main interest is furniture, is already full of stuff and we need make room for new trash. This would be a good sale to attend because a lot of the former garbage hasn’t been in a yard sale yet, and much of it hasn’t even made it to the blog (though some of it will eventually, I plan on doing a bunch of photography today).
If there’s anything you’d like to see at the sale, please let me know via email, Facebook, or blog comment and I can tell you if I still have it, if it’ll be there, or if I can bring it. The sale will be at the northwest corner of Laurier Park, on Mentana near the corner of St Gregoire. We’ll probably be ready for customers between 12-5pm, maybe a bit earlier or later depending.
I’ve been going for more walks lately, in an effort to simultaneously relax and get more exercise. Of course, I also can’t help but notice what’s on the curb while I’m out there, and sometimes I’ll make some finds I wouldn’t have made otherwise.
This little pile in Outremont provided a few interesting and unusual items. I haven’t seen anything there in the two subsequent garbage days however, so maybe the trash was the result of a one-off basement clean. Or, maybe I missed out on some good garbage in previous weeks. Who knows.
As usual most of the best stuff was in the bags. The first thing I pulled out was a box full of coloured glass pieces (there’s more wrapped in the newspaper below). I don’t think they’re particularly valuable, but my friend thinks she can use them in art.
I also found a fez. I’d never seen one in the trash before, so that’s a first.
This clay mask was a bit unusual. I expect it was someone’s art project, but if you know anything about the style let me know.
I also spotted a collection of much smaller faces. They look older and rougher than the larger one. If I were to guess I’d say that they were bought in a Colombian tourist shop back in the 50s, but really I have no idea of their origin. I’ve never seen anything quite like them.
I found a bunch of tools, most of which look to be crochet or needlework related. Other than the crochet hooks I have no idea what most of these do, so please enlighten me in the comments!
There was a little box with what I’m guessing are stone chess pieces inside. A couple of them have little chips, but I’m sure someone will be interested in them regardless.
These were my favourite finds though, the little bits of jewelry I saved from the bottom of one of the bags. There’s a classic spoon ring, an Avon ring, and a broken Mexican silver ring. But the more intriguing pieces are the bracelet and the necklace on the right, both of which I’m pretty confident are elephant ivory.
If so, I think this is the first time I find such a thing. Here’s a closeup of a section on the necklace, which appears to show the Schreger lines (the crosshatch pattern) typical of ivory. The necklace is unmarked, but I think the metal bits are sterling silver. One of the connecting rings is broken off, but I bet that’s an easy fix for a silversmith.
I think both are pretty old. The necklace has an S-hook clasp, which I don’t think has been the style for quite some time now, and the ivory (if that’s indeed what is it) is very yellowed. Still, I don’t really know much about old ivory, so I’m hoping one of you can fill in the blanks! Ideally I’d like to know for sure whether or not they’re ivory, roughly how old they are, and where they might have came from.
Regardless, this spot provided a lot of things I don’t often see. It should end up being a good learning experience.
That’s all for now, but I hope to see some of you at my yard sale tomorrow!
Relevant links
1. Facebook page
2. My eBay listings
3. Etsy store
4. Kijiji listings
5. Contribute to garbagefinds.com
6. Follow me on Instagram
Email: thingsifindinthegarbage@gmail.com. I often fall behind on emails, so I apologize in advance if it takes me a while to get back to you.
