Itaya Bird Pin Wooden Hand-Carved Hand-Painted 1942-1945 Vintage Pin Seller #17

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Itaya Bird Pin Wooden Hand-Carved Hand-Painted 1942-1945 Vintage Pin Seller #17:
$32.99

Wooden Japanese Itaya bird pins from 1942-1945, after the historical attack of Pearl Harbor in December 1941. Pins were made of scrap wood inside one of the multiple American internment camps that held people of Japanese descent from 1942-1945. The signature is the name “Itaya” on the backside of the bird. They were art created in free time by the people, using photos from Audubon Bird Books or National Geographic Magazines. Most of the colorful tiny wooden birds carved were created labeled by the name of the family or the location in which they were in the detention camp.

Japanese families were not permitted to shop locally so their purchases were from select mail-order catalogs. So the clothing all looked alike, and creativity took over to differentiate owner s of identical clothing was by identifying with (signed) bird pins.

The symbolism of the birds is the Japanese word, “Gaman”, pronounced Ga-mon. It translates to “making the best of a bad situation”.

Bird is labeled as accurately as I can tell looking at Audubon pictures. May not be exact but I recommend that you can look them up to compare labeling should you want to purchase a particular bird to confirm it being correct. Seller is not schooled in bird identification. Size is approx. 1-2 inches depending on which item, many have been listed.

The description is to the best of my knowledge researching this item. Please review the photos carefully prior to purchase. Is a vintage item kept boxed up for the past 35+ years from a family estate.

I will combine shipping for multiple bird pin purchases.

Sold as is, vintage, no returns.