So as I wrote in my last post on obscure LPs from the 1930s-1950s, those puppies went to Recycled Reads on Burnet. Fair enough. Tax write-off and money for the Austin Public Library, of which I am a frequent patron. (And can I tell you there was a little mob of people waiting for the store to open at noon? Apparently it's popular.)
Today must be Give-away Thursday because I also had the Movin' and Groovin' team from Covenant Presbyterian come by and take away a super comfortable but not so hip La-Z-Boy recliner. Man, it is soooo comfortable, but I am tired of looking at it and never using it. The great thing was that the men loading it up said it was going to a family today. Movin' and Groovin' collects furniture for the Foundation for the Homeless, so the chair will be used by a family coming out of homelessness. It feels good, I gotta tell you. I know thrift stores are good charities, but this one is pretty cool too. And never fear, I still have another La-Z-Boy left in my living room. And now I can go cute chair shopping.
Saturday Salvation Army is coming by to pick up the green antique bedframe of death. Okay, not quite, but it has some very sharp corners on the footboard. I actually tripped over a cat carrier in that room, fell backwards onto a corner point, and seriously injured my back. I kid you not. Injury by clutter and antiques. It will feel really good to get that thing out of the house. Here's hoping it goes to a careful and non-klutzy family who will not impale themselves on it. Could I sell it? Possibly. But donating is quick, the movers know what they're doing, and the S.A. is a good charity.
Next big project: actually trying to sell things via auction. A larger task!
Thursday, June 28, 2012
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Shakespeare on Vinyl--The Price is Right?
So eBay can really let you know where things stand.
That Orson Welles 78 rpm vinyl set of Shakespeare's entire Twelfth Night? Someone else's set was listed for $18 and it didn't sell at all. Plus it weighs at least 10 lbs. and would be a nightmare to ship. A nice gentleman at a local classical record store said there are a lot of LPs from the 1930s and 1940s out there, and there just aren't many buyers. (All the classical folks switched to CDs, he said. Understandable.) Hello, Recycled Reads Austin Library store.
I've got dramatic highlights from Julius Caesar featuring Marlon Brando. (Wow, is he hot in that photo.) I've got Hamlet with John Gielgud. I've got the Old Vic players doing Romeo and Juliet. I even have Chaucer's Canterbury Tales on 33s. That may sound cool to someone, but seriously, it's not. I like Chaucer, but I don't need him on LP, and unfortunately, I don't think it's worth much. I will still keep googling around to check values, but when some of these actually go for about $8, it's just not worth the hassle of shipping.
I imagine one of my grandparents put together a set of the Bard on LP from a garage sale, but who knows. When my grandfather first passed away, I think we found one if not two 8-track players plus a pretty good collection of tapes. In their time, they had quite the media collection. I think 2012 is an okay year to usher out the 78s and just keep CDs and mp3s around, though I confess I have a few cassettes. Oh well. It's not like they're 70 years old yet!
Twelfth Night eBay listing here:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/390433409362?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649
That Orson Welles 78 rpm vinyl set of Shakespeare's entire Twelfth Night? Someone else's set was listed for $18 and it didn't sell at all. Plus it weighs at least 10 lbs. and would be a nightmare to ship. A nice gentleman at a local classical record store said there are a lot of LPs from the 1930s and 1940s out there, and there just aren't many buyers. (All the classical folks switched to CDs, he said. Understandable.) Hello, Recycled Reads Austin Library store.
I've got dramatic highlights from Julius Caesar featuring Marlon Brando. (Wow, is he hot in that photo.) I've got Hamlet with John Gielgud. I've got the Old Vic players doing Romeo and Juliet. I even have Chaucer's Canterbury Tales on 33s. That may sound cool to someone, but seriously, it's not. I like Chaucer, but I don't need him on LP, and unfortunately, I don't think it's worth much. I will still keep googling around to check values, but when some of these actually go for about $8, it's just not worth the hassle of shipping.
I imagine one of my grandparents put together a set of the Bard on LP from a garage sale, but who knows. When my grandfather first passed away, I think we found one if not two 8-track players plus a pretty good collection of tapes. In their time, they had quite the media collection. I think 2012 is an okay year to usher out the 78s and just keep CDs and mp3s around, though I confess I have a few cassettes. Oh well. It's not like they're 70 years old yet!
Twelfth Night eBay listing here:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/390433409362?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Keep It Clean and Healthy
Today I have an eye infection. Can't say how I got it, but I realized why women in the past wore scarves over their hair while cleaning. I constantly touch my hair to get it out of my face, and yesterday I dug into a dusty, moldy box with yearbooks and photos from 1939 on. Yuck! The box even smelled bad. No memorabilia is worth health problems. I threw out a lot of stuff and need to throw away more, but wow, what a reminder to be careful while cleaning.
We constantly touch our faces and hair, and my shorter hair hits my eye area. I really need to wear a head-scarf and perhaps rubber gloves. And while a garage is okay for storing some items, the heat of the summer can't be good for paper and photos. (Some photos melted with a leather wallet!) Not a good way to preserve items and keep them dust and mold free. Will try to return any kept items to climate-controlled indoors. I can hear Peter Walsh's voice saying we must properly store items if they're truly valuable to us.
We constantly touch our faces and hair, and my shorter hair hits my eye area. I really need to wear a head-scarf and perhaps rubber gloves. And while a garage is okay for storing some items, the heat of the summer can't be good for paper and photos. (Some photos melted with a leather wallet!) Not a good way to preserve items and keep them dust and mold free. Will try to return any kept items to climate-controlled indoors. I can hear Peter Walsh's voice saying we must properly store items if they're truly valuable to us.
Thursday, June 21, 2012
Running around Town
Dropped off old photos at art school. Apparently a collage artist is very excited to get them. Yay! (I hope she likes cows.)
Dropped off old yearbooks and random stuff at Recycled Reads. They keep all donations out of the landfill.
Dropped off kitchen goods and tools at Foundation for the Homeless. They can use items when people move into their own apartments.
Dropped off clothing at Goodwill.
That's a more complicated run than I'd like to do normally. I listened to The Essential Johnny Cash to keep myself happy and sane--Johnny knows how to lament while keeping you happy at the same time. Will make next donation run simpler and just one stop.
I was thinking there's really no excuse for not giving away a surplus of items--in Austin we have so, so many good options for donations and recycling. Very grateful for that.
Will use the rest of the day for my own home maintenance and chores. Phew!
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
WWII and Math Clutter
After sorting a LOT of photos and finally hitting some with my parents and my own generation, I hit a WWII box. Lots of Army paperwork. Will keep some, will shred some.
But I nearly had a mini-anxiety attack when I found TWO slide-rules. Slide-rules, people. Today's college students don't even know what those are when I mention them. I had to take some slow, deep breaths. I dream that they are worth something on e-Bay. Or perhaps a school-teacher will wow students with them. I just know that occasionally, some obscure item freaks me out. My only memory of a slide-rule is seeing one during a class museum visit. And now I have two. Plus a weird Bausch and Lomb magnifying stick.
Deep yoga breaths. Must take another few days off from photo boxes and 1940s stuff and focus on newer, larger items.
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I just checked online. e-Bay has them starting around $15, and people are bidding on them! I guess if I call it a "Vintage Slide Rule" someone will want it. I will have to judge if it's worth the time to upload pics, buy shipping material, and mail them, but I'll consider it.
But I nearly had a mini-anxiety attack when I found TWO slide-rules. Slide-rules, people. Today's college students don't even know what those are when I mention them. I had to take some slow, deep breaths. I dream that they are worth something on e-Bay. Or perhaps a school-teacher will wow students with them. I just know that occasionally, some obscure item freaks me out. My only memory of a slide-rule is seeing one during a class museum visit. And now I have two. Plus a weird Bausch and Lomb magnifying stick.
Deep yoga breaths. Must take another few days off from photo boxes and 1940s stuff and focus on newer, larger items.
----------
I just checked online. e-Bay has them starting around $15, and people are bidding on them! I guess if I call it a "Vintage Slide Rule" someone will want it. I will have to judge if it's worth the time to upload pics, buy shipping material, and mail them, but I'll consider it.
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