Okajima pedigree 25 25

[skypinkblu]

I think @szav

   had  a Rangers with one

[skypinkblu]

On 6/8/2022 at 12:19 PM, miraclemet said:

I always try to check any gender/comic assumptions at the door. We dont know Bette or her reading interests, so I dont assume that because it's a particular type of book that it might be more or less likely to end up in her collection. Heck some voracious readers, will read ANYTHING, just so they can keep reading. 

Exactly...My list  when I was a kid used to be Superman Including Action ane Adventure,  Batman/ tecs, GL, Flash, Hawkman, the Atom, JIM, Ironman. Then I'd go to Jimmy Olsen, Lois, Showcase, some Brave and Bolds and if I was desperate Wonder Woman  Challengers, Blackhawk ...and the rest of the Marvels. Spidey was last.  I drew the line at Romance , Archie and war comics... but  I was not leaving the store until I spent my allowance..if I was at a friends house ..I would even read War and Archie...never Romance..those were weird and boring.

[path4play]

On 6/8/2022 at 12:25 PM, miraclemet said:

Here's a question I haven't seen yet...

How did all the comics end up back at the mom's house at some point? Assuming we believe the discovery story as fact (the collection being discovered/divvied up when the Mom passed away in 1995 and house/estate sale that followed), how and why did the comics end up back at the mothers house? They were bricked up (stacked, wrapped tightly in newspaper), so did Bette send them back to the mom at some point, and if so why?

At what point between 1955 (last book in the collection) and 1995 (when the collection was "discovered") did the books end up back in Fresno California where the mother lived? And why did they go there?  

There were two homes on the property (I believe).  Bette took care of mom, and I think lived there sister or brother (I am really going by memory or speculation now).  The homes don't exist anymore (via google and an address from the mom's oral history I think it was).  I think the 40 acres were likely sold off and houses destroyed and converted to farmland.  With a little digging I'll bet that property sold around 1995.

Edited June 8, 2022 by path4play

[path4play]

On 6/8/2022 at 12:37 PM, GreatCaesarsGhost said:

I missed this part. The back of my okajima book has a heavy shadow. Do a lot of these books have it? 

 

Yes, and many with bug chews.  They are not the highest graded or most pristine of Pedigrees by any stretch, although paper quality is usually good.

Edited June 8, 2022 by path4play

[Robot Man]

On 6/8/2022 at 9:54 AM, skypinkblu said:

Exactly...My list  when I was a kid used to be Superman Including Action ane Adventure,  Batman/ tecs, GL, Flash, Hawkman, the Atom, JIM, Ironman. Then I'd go to Jimmy Olsen, Lois, Showcase, some Brave and Bolds and if I was desperate Wonder Woman  Challengers, Blackhawk ...and the rest of the Marvels. Spidey was last.  I drew the line at Romance , Archie and war comics... but  I was not leaving the store until I spent my allowance..if I was at a friends house ..I would even read War and Archie...never Romance..those were weird and boring.

I started out on DC at the very end of the 10 cent era. Mostly read Batman, Detective, the "horror" mystery ones and all the war titles. Flash, Green Lantern were OK but I generally hated the Superman titles. My interest quickly changed when I discovered my first Marvel Amazing Spiderman #3. Became a "Marvel Zombie" from that point on on my meager allowance.

I like ALL genres of comics and even though I have a number of them, I have a hard time reading Dell Westerns, Non Dell funny animals and Romance books to this day.

As a real collector as opposed to a reader, my life changed with a small pile of ECs my uncle gave me. Turned me on to the pre-code horror, crime and more off beat titles that are still my favorite today.

My little sister read some of my books but her favorites were Archie, Harveys and Lois Lane.

 

[zosocane]

On 6/6/2022 at 2:01 AM, jpepx78 said:

I would designate them as signed camp Okajimas, signed Chicago Okajimas and Sacramento Okajimas.

Is it fair to say taht the "Sacramento Okajimas" are those from the late 1940s that bear a relatively small date-stamp on the back covers?

And thank you!

[miraclemet]

On 6/8/2022 at 2:04 PM, path4play said:

There were two homes on the property (I believe).  Bette took care of mom, and I think lived there sister or brother (I am really going by memory or speculation now).  The homes don't exist anymore (via google and an address from the mom's oral history I think it was).  I think the 40 acres were likely sold off and houses destroyed and converted to farmland.  With a little digging I'll bet that property sold around 1995.

That makes sense (the ide of Bette moving back "home" to care for the mom).

[skypinkblu]

On 6/8/2022 at 2:27 PM, Robot Man said:

I started out on DC at the very end of the 10 cent era. Mostly read Batman, Detective, the "horror" mystery ones and all the war titles. Flash, Green Lantern were OK but I generally hated the Superman titles. My interest quickly changed when I discovered my first Marvel Amazing Spiderman #3. Became a "Marvel Zombie" from that point on on my meager allowance.

I like ALL genres of comics and even though I have a number of them, I have a hard time reading Dell Westerns, Non Dell funny animals and Romance books to this day.

As a real collector as opposed to a reader, my life changed with a small pile of ECs my uncle gave me. Turned me on to the pre-code horror, crime and more off beat titles that are still my favorite today.

My little sister read some of my books but her favorites were Archie, Harveys and Lois Lane.

 

I didn't read horror, but I did read anything with a space ship, Adam Strange stuff, etc. 

I remember some Dell Westerns...if they had horse covers, I'd buy them...the other books I mentioned I bought to read...then I would trade with friends...Some of those friends were... girls, lol...who did not read Archies.  They got into that stuff later on with those teen mags, I think I read one....once, lol. I was reading Sci Fi by then.

[Tri-Color Brian]

On 6/8/2022 at 7:43 AM, skypinkblu said:

Or different clerks or family members, we need a way back machine

 

[SOLAR BOY]

On 6/8/2022 at 9:54 AM, skypinkblu said:

Exactly...My list  when I was a kid used to be Superman Including Action ane Adventure,  Batman/ tecs, GL, Flash, Hawkman, the Atom, JIM, Ironman. Then I'd go to Jimmy Olsen, Lois, Showcase, some Brave and Bolds and if I was desperate Wonder Woman  Challengers, Blackhawk ...and the rest of the Marvels. Spidey was last.  I drew the line at Romance , Archie and war comics... but  I was not leaving the store until I spent my allowance..if I was at a friends house ..I would even read War and Archie...never Romance..those were weird and boring.

Sha in my opinion you have one of the best eyes I’ve met on these boards. Anything I’ve ever bought from you I’ve loved and it’s exactly what I love. I can picture you as a little kid in the store trying to buy all the cool comics….man wish I could back to that time period. 
 

You are a rarity and I appreciate you being on these boards. ❤️

[adamstrange]

On 6/8/2022 at 4:44 PM, skypinkblu said:

Adam Strange stuff

Clearly, someone of culture and taste. 

[adamstrange]

On 6/8/2022 at 12:37 PM, GreatCaesarsGhost said:

I missed this part. The back of my okajima book has a heavy shadow. Do a lot of these books have it? 

Some do, but the collection overall is very fresh.  That's why the books were initially so highly sought after.

[skypinkblu]

On 6/8/2022 at 7:35 PM, SOLAR BOY said:

man wish I could back to that time period. 
 

Me too, I would have asked for a bigger allowance;) lol...and thanks.

[Terry JSA]

On 6/3/2022 at 6:06 PM, jpepx78 said:

The Okajima article has been published!

https://50objects.org/

It took much longer than expected and there are still unanswered questions but we have a little more information about Bette Okajima.

Thank you to all of you who shared information and those who gave permission to share their scans of their Okajima books.

Jeff

Pedigree books are one of the things I love about this hobby. There’s books spanning from the Gold all the way to the Bronze Age of Comics that have a very special backstory to them in some capacity.

It just adds an extra layer of collectibility.

[sfcityduck]

On 6/8/2022 at 9:25 AM, miraclemet said:

Here's a question I haven't seen yet...

How did all the comics end up back at the mom's house at some point? Assuming we believe the discovery story as fact (the collection being discovered/divvied up when the Mom passed away in 1995 and house/estate sale that followed), how and why did the comics end up back at the mothers house? They were bricked up (stacked, wrapped tightly in newspaper), so did Bette send them back to the mom at some point, and if so why?

At what point between 1955 (last book in the collection) and 1995 (when the collection was "discovered") did the books end up back in Fresno California where the mother lived? And why did they go there?  

It would make more sense if Bette and George left them in the Camp with the mom.  And maybe mom bought comics every once in a while.

[zosocane]

On 6/8/2022 at 12:37 PM, GreatCaesarsGhost said:

I missed this part. The back of my okajima book has a heavy shadow. Do a lot of these books have it? 

My only Okajima made it to the same newsstand (compare the size and font on our date stamps -- same) about a month before yours.  No dust shadow, but a little bit of tanning on the bc.  Interior PQ is still OW/W, as is yours.

 

Edited June 9, 2022 by zosocane

[miraclemet]

On 6/9/2022 at 1:42 AM, sfcityduck said:

It would make more sense if Bette and George left them in the Camp with the mom.  And maybe mom bought comics every once in a while.

Do we have the date when the mom left the camp? 

[path4play]

On 6/8/2022 at 7:54 PM, adamstrange said:

Some do, but the collection overall is very fresh.  That's why the books were initially so highly sought after.

They are all page fresh I guess due to Fresno weather.  The post signed books that came after return to California, possibly collected by the children from the drug store across the street yes.  I'm focusing on the signed book era, I don't find them particularly fresh.  Or maybe as the original dealers at the estate sale described, some packed near edges of shed had bug chews etc., 

Edited June 9, 2022 by path4play

[path4play]

On 6/9/2022 at 3:00 PM, miraclemet said:

Do we have the date when the mom left the camp? 

I posted this earlier.  Mother returns home 9/4/45

 

[miraclemet]

On 6/9/2022 at 3:13 PM, path4play said:

I posted this earlier.  Mother returns home 9/4/45

 

thanks, I thought it had been posted but couldnt find it... 
9/4/45...

Here's the thing. That date makes sense in some ways. 
August/September comics start to show less consistency in markings. There's coding, but no "Okajima" -script consistancy. 

And that time period is when the two camp notes appear:
Mystery Comics 2 "Camp 3" note with the book dated 8/9/44

and

Whiz Comics #58 "Camp I" note with the "4T" code and the 8-22-44 date (no "Okajima")

As the internment camps started to shrink in late the later part of '44 and into 45, maybe the mom got shifted around as the camps consolidated, so she made noted about which camp section she was assigned? 

What if, Bette left, and left her books behind when she went to Chicago? Maybe she left them for George? Maybe She left them for the other kids in the camp to read (but return, since she was putting her name on them). Maybe the mom kept buying books? Or here's a left field idea...what if the mom was the one buying and building the collection for her daughter? Maybe as a way to rebuild the collection that Bette had left behind when they entered the camp? Maybe she saw that the kids at the camp enjoyed them and so she would lend them out (with the family name on them so they would make their way back") 

After her mom is released from the camp in September of '45 is when we start to see the use of the date stamp. Earliest date stamp "Oct 10 1945". Maybe her mom kept picking up comics? Maybe the comics started out as Bette's (maybe even as a collector before she had to leave them behind when they went into the internment camp) and her mom wanted to keep collecting comics for Bette?  So maybe the collection was always with the mom, never went to chicago, never made its way back to the family home in CA, but was always with the mom? 

I've seen parents do stranger thing to retain, or even mend, a bridge to their child's childhood (even after they've grown up), especially if it tied back to happier days before internment.