Post #31895 by Lake Surfer on Mon, Apr 28, 2003 11:09 PM

Ok... it wasn't huge but I'm really excited... my first "old" tiki mug find today at the antique store I spoke of last week! I finally got up to the third floor which was closed last time, and the guy last Friday at the counter said there were tikis up there. I entered and as I turned the corner there was a very large glass case with all kinds of knick knacks. Almost in the middle of the case and it's shelves was this 3 1/2 inch wide by 7 1/2 inch gun metal finish moai. I restrained myself and took a good look at it from outside the glass. It looked in good shape... I wondered what the price might be... Rolling the dice, I left it undisturbed and continued to search through the rest of the floor, in hopes of finding more. Nothing. Searched the basement floor... nothing. So I returned and found the moai still there... he was mine. The old lady said I could open the case and take him out. It was a nice mug... large, and was in good shape. I turned it around to find the price... $8. Then my eyes drifted to the bottom of the back... it was marked "The Fireside, FT. Atkinson, Wisc." Sweet! There was talk here before whether or not "The Fireside" was tiki or had any Polynesian to it... now I know. I showed it to my mom... she figures it to be at least from the mid to late 60's based on her memories of The Fireside. I'm happy with my score... the old lady at the counter said that a woman with a booth in the back of the store often had tikis and mugs for sale... none today, but you can bet I'll keep my eye on this store. Finding tiki mugs, especially old ones is a real crap shoot here in Wisconsin...

Here's some pictures of the mug...

[ Edited by: Lake Surfer on 2003-04-28 23:12 ]