The Dollarware Project

Site N: Village des Valeurs

Site N is an expansive second-hand store (one of a large chain), located in the northern part of the city along Rue Jean-Talon, a major commercial artery. It serves as our comparative collection; the material is not generally new, and thus comes from a wider range of original prices, countries of origin, and other characteristics than dollarware. It is not quite a control group - both because some of the purchased artifacts may originally have been dollarware, and because the assemblage reflects only what people have discarded - but it is meant to serve as a proxy for some of the characteristics to be found more widely among ceramic drinking vessels in general.

The site is a large, warehouse-style brick building. The vessels are located in several distinct features: on hooks at the end of shelving units, on lower and upper shelves, and amidst other artifacts. There appears to be no specific arrangement of vessels in the site. A large number of mugs were available for $0.49 apiece (some others, not purchased, cost up to $1.99), and we were able to buy a calendar for $2.00 containing a rebate coupon for $10.00 off a purchase of $35.00 or more, which enabled us to purchase 61 mugs at a total net cost of $0.38 per item.

Site N Artifact Gallery


Site facade


Site location





















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