How much do the pedigree stories matter to you? 1 1

[Robot Man]

I have always wondered why there have never been any large stashes of WWII American comics found in Europe.

There were probably tons of them shipped over there and according to my uncle who was a pilot, everyone read them. They probably left them there when they came home. What happened to them?

I bought a bunch of GA books from a guy in Hawaii once. He had multiples of many. Found with other magazines in a building near Pearl Harbor. Probably unsold copies that were stored and forgotten about. 

[Pickie]

Not sure but I think the AAFES or PX shops were open to the public. 

"The post exchange at Wiesbaden, Germany, 1949. Exchanges opened throughout Germany and Japan to serve thousands of troops and their families who were relocating to the countries to help repair the war damage."

https://publicaffairs-sme.com/Community/history 

Edited February 12, 2022 by Pickie

[Pickie]

A few years ago an auction house in Braunschweig, Germany, sold an impressive batch of US books, found in southern Germany. I missed to watch that, but it was said that they went for reasonable prices.

[jpepx78]

On 2/12/2022 at 8:58 AM, Obrie2tm said:

Great question and I honestly am not sure. I'm trying to track down more information on this myself. I only just learned about this through another thread on here from a few years ago after spotting the copy I picked up and trying to learn more about the stamp. My guess would be military PX bases, but would love to hear from anyone else that would know more of the history behind this. Don't seem to be very common at all.

Black Lantern says these books were sold to soldiers in US occupied Germany & Austria and have an approved CGC label designation. 

 

 

[PDGray]

Just wanna add that this is a fantastic thread - I have learned quite a bit here - thank you all!

 

 

PDG

[path4play]

On 2/9/2022 at 12:17 PM, Tri-ColorBrian said:

Back stories behind pedigrees are important if there is enough information to confirm they are true.  If the story is just vague, then I'm not interested.  I think for many of us the joy of owning a pedigree book is knowing we have a little piece of someone's history, and we know the name of the person and their story.  High grade books can be found elsewhere, so I think the story is the real lure. 

Backstories all have some things in common, the collector (like us today) amassed, protected, loved and saved thousands of comics.  Unlike us today, they did so when holding them was meaningless in regard to value - perhaps even frowned upon - it was solely for the love.   There are some different twists and flavors to the backstories, but in general they are all ranked by us today in regard to the quantity, keys and just how perfectly they were loved in regard to protecting condition.  Its really that simple - we love them because they were like us, but before us.  The more they were "like us" in regard to keys, quantity and preserving, well, the more we like them.

 

Edited February 13, 2022 by path4play

[path4play]

On 2/9/2022 at 4:43 PM, Robot Man said:

I bought a few Jerry Garcia collection ECs. Was very happy to get some. Can’t imagine what Elvis’s books would go for. 

Rubén Blades collects(ed) comics, but for some reason he didn't stamp them or put his signature on everyone in his collection.

[path4play]

On 2/12/2022 at 1:16 PM, jpepx78 said:

Black Lantern says these books were sold to soldiers in US occupied Germany & Austria and have an approved CGC label designation. 

 

 

Now I gotta have one.

[Tri-Color Brian]

On 2/12/2022 at 10:10 AM, Robot Man said:

I have always wondered why there have never been any large stashes of WWII American comics found in Europe.

There were probably tons of them shipped over there and according to my uncle who was a pilot, everyone read them. They probably left them there when they came home. What happened to them?

I bought a bunch of GA books from a guy in Hawaii once. He had multiples of many. Found with other magazines in a building near Pearl Harbor. Probably unsold copies that were stored and forgotten about. 

This makes me wonder about these comics that were sold or offered for sale in Sweden in the early 1950s.  Could these have been sold at a PX or BX on a U.S. base?  I have seen quite a few from that era with the "S. M. 50 Ore" stamp on them.  Anyone know the history of these?

Edited February 14, 2022 by Tri-ColorBrian