Post #342748 by tikipedia on Thu, Nov 8, 2007 10:29 AM

I recently picked up a few mugs that got me thinking about what constitutes 'vintage' tiki.

There are existing definitions by professional antique dealers for 'antique' (100 years and older), and 'vintage' (less than 100 years?), as discussed in this thread. But since tiki/Poly Pop has its own unique history, it seems that a different definition of vintage tiki is in order.

One mug I picked up was a Trader Vics fogcutter mug, dated 1984. An antique dealer would consider this new, but this is about square in the middle of Tiki's dark period. Would this be considered vintage? Also, I picked up two Trader Dicks surfer girl mugs. The mugs are the older style mug. However, these mugs have a gold, oval sticker marked 'China', and are seemingly much newer than mugs you find from the 1960s. However, Ooga Mooga labels this style 'Vintage', and a later design 'Modern'.

So is there a defined period that differentiates vintage and modern mugs? Is it the nadir of Tiki in the 1980s? What criteria do you use, and should there be a standard definition amongst collectors?