Featured House clearance

Discussion in 'Antique Discussion' started by afantiques, Jul 9, 2015.

  1. afantiques

    afantiques Well-Known Member

    Some of you with long memories will remember that late last year I posted a bit about a house clearance I hoped to do, where an old recluse had died and left a houseful of total rubbish and a fair number of decent antiques.

    1-37 Gardiner Rd 220914 078.jpg

    1-37 Gardiner Rd 220914 014.jpg

    1-37 Gardiner Rd 220914 037.jpg

    After potting in a bid for the salable contents, I heard nothing for 9 months and more or less forgot about it.
    A month ago I heard the surviving relative had no interest in the stuff, and I could have the deal if instead of just taking the salable stuff (and there will be some interesting bits to show off soon) I would undertake to clear out everything down to and including the carpets. Not something I have ever done before but nothing ventured, eh?

    I put in a new and notably lower bid based on the costs of getting rid of all the rubbish, and heard today that it had been given the OK by the solicitor dealing with the estate. The place is 2 hours drive from home, so it means the cat is off to the cat hotel again, and we are in a hotel near the clearance for a few days while I deal with the job. I am pretty sure there will be more good stuff hidden among the rubbish that I have not even seen yet, so it is quite exciting.

    Any good finds I will post here, in about a week.
     
  2. daveydempsey

    daveydempsey Moderator Moderator

    I was only thinking of this the other day and was going to ask you how you had got on.
    These are the type of clearances I love.
    Don`t forget to check the attic.

    It is sometimes cheaper to hire a skip rather than transport the junk to the tip.
     
  3. KingofThings

    KingofThings 'Illiteracy is a terrible thing to waist' - MHH

    WOW! Indiana AF! :woot:
    Good luck there!!!! :)
    The Nazi book makes me wonder what might be hidden about... :wideyed:
     
    Kasperscuriosities likes this.
  4. KingofThings

    KingofThings 'Illiteracy is a terrible thing to waist' - MHH

    Yes! And look up always especially in garages and basements!!!
     
    Kasperscuriosities likes this.
  5. silverthwait

    silverthwait Well-Known Member

    Af - I do not envy you that job (unless of course, you turn up a sack of diamonds!)

    However, I am dying to know -- what is the Swastika book??
     
  6. wenna

    wenna Well-Known Member

    Boy oh boy, I wish I could help with that. Cleanups like this are in my bones; I don't know why. I think it's something about the transformation; the before and after. I always loved the ugly duckling stories. But in this case, you will also have the bonus of finding GOOD STUFF underneath it all!!!
     
  7. KingofThings

    KingofThings 'Illiteracy is a terrible thing to waist' - MHH

    I would love it too! :)
     
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  8. afantiques

    afantiques Well-Known Member

    PS I am thinking of the old typewriters more as boat anchors than 'valuable antiques' :)
     
  9. gregsglass

    gregsglass Well-Known Member

    Hi,
    I used to love it to. I had a bad experence once though. I was going through a house that was to be torn down that morning. I was in the attic going through several trunks. I had several half dolls from the 20s and a gorgeous frame that was bronze over wood ala Boulle. I started to feel strange like something was crawling on my head. I reached up and realized that there were 100s of wasps crawling all over my head. To normal people that would have caused a panic. To me who is seriously allergic to wasp stings the scene was right out of a horror movie. I looked for the staircase as the wasps were crawling down my face, I could hardly see the staircase. I managed to stumble to the stairs and fell down the staircase. I was on the third floor by then. I managed to get to the ground floor and fled down the street. As I was doing the 3 minute mile, the wasps slowly dropped off and I could see again. When I did stop I was shaking so hard and unable to breathe, realizing I had dropped every thing in my pockets, keys, wallet and change and my Epipen. I still had the dolls and the picture frame clutched in my hands. Once the world once again came into focus, I realized that I had NOT been stung. What kind of strange wasps were they?
    greg
     
  10. daveydempsey

    daveydempsey Moderator Moderator

    I`ve just resumed the business of House Clearance on July 1st, had a couple but nothing of note.
    The best one I ever had was a filthy one back in the 90`s.

    There is a saying in Yorkshire "Where there`s muck there`s brass" (Money)

    A friend of mine in the 80`s cleared a house for which he paid £25 for the contents as most of it had to be tipped.
    There were one or two small silver items that covered his costs and made a small profit.,

    He then found £32,000 in cash in a sideboard drawer.

    Tax free earner :rolleyes:
     
    bercrystal, cxgirl, Pat P and 3 others like this.
  11. johnnycb09

    johnnycb09 Well-Known Member

    I once managed an old hotel that was turned into low income housing,and several times I had to clean out long term residents that had passed away or moved on. It astonished me how much crap they had in those rooms,but until these pics I thought they were the worst Id seen ! Id love to dig in a place like that,but Id be terrified of vermin ! I was cleaning out a poor old lady's room at the hotel once, she had lived there since the early 70s and the debris was literally waist deep. Albeit fairly organized. I picked up a box,and mice flew out ! I totally freaked out,as a few had jumped on my head ! She had a few nice things,but the nicest was a cedar trunk loaded with gorgeous 50s-60s cocktail dresses in perfect condition.I sold them to a vintage clothing store for a nice little sum,but I felt kinda bad about it,like I was robbing her corpse,LOL ! It was very sad really as she had no family.
     
  12. evelyb30

    evelyb30 Well-Known Member

    If those are old Remingtons they may well be worth something. There may well be something good buried under all that filth, and we'd better get to see it if there is. Greg's wasps sound like carpenter bees instead, or maybe what we used to call "sweat bees". They aren't aggressive, but I'd have freaked out a bit too.(LOL)
     
  13. lauragarnet

    lauragarnet Well-Known Member

    It looks like it's probably a copy of The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich. I have a copy somewhere around here. It's an in depth history.
     
    KingofThings likes this.
  14. silverthwait

    silverthwait Well-Known Member

    Ah! I have the Speer book, Inside the Third Reich, and I knew it was not that one.
     
    KingofThings likes this.
  15. afantiques

    afantiques Well-Known Member

    Here are some bits I probably posted long ago.

    1-37 Gardiner Rd 220914 034.jpg

    Victorian sterling teapot, one of two. The box is interesting, I actually found a picture of Mr Gatz's shop about 1900, online. No value, just interesting.

    1-P1030815.JPG

    Pre Columbian Chimu whistling vessel.

    1-P1030818.JPG

    A toleware tray of bits and pieces.

    1-P1030835.JPG

    A mildly erotic meerschaum pipe, groping satyr.

    1-P1030847.JPG

    A nicely carved coconut flask.

    1-P1030848.JPG

    An 18th C lock.

    1-P1030849.JPG

    and lastly a pre WWII Czech artilleryman's theodolite with backpack case.

    1-P1030832.JPG
     
  16. KingofThings

    KingofThings 'Illiteracy is a terrible thing to waist' - MHH

    People strip the keys for jewelry....
     
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  17. KingofThings

    KingofThings 'Illiteracy is a terrible thing to waist' - MHH

    Asleep still.....
     
  18. KingofThings

    KingofThings 'Illiteracy is a terrible thing to waist' - MHH

    WOW!!!!!
     
  19. KingofThings

    KingofThings 'Illiteracy is a terrible thing to waist' - MHH

    Bring the cat next time.
     
  20. verybrad

    verybrad Well-Known Member

    Old typewriters are finally beginning to show some value. Check the ebay listings.
     
    KingofThings likes this.
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