Post #395685 by bigbrotiki on Mon, Jul 21, 2008 10:39 PM

On 2008-07-18 12:33, Swanky wrote:

On 2008-07-18 09:37, bigbrotiki wrote:
Swanky, two reminders:

Don The Beachcomber = Pre-Tiki

Tiki Culture = Tiki Mugs = Mainland, not Hawaii

Well, Don started here and went there later. When did the Tiki mug start? I always also assumed the Don bust mug was a Hawaii mug. The lamps on the table are the sort that are in later Tiki establishments.

I decided to make use of this opportunity to remind those folks who have the Book of Tiki of the "Evolution of Polynesian Pop" chart, and show to those who do not own it that there is a method to this madness (by the way, there is a hardcover on Amazon for 52.- bucks right now!)

Don, as important as he was to Polynesian pop, was never an exponent of Tiki style. His "Beachcomber decor" concept was born in the Pre-Tiki era (see chart) and even after the war, Don's franchises never used a Tiki as a logo and very little in their decor. Unlike Trader Vic, who, beginning in the mid-50s, allowed his Pre-Tiki "Trader decor" concept (more nautical than Beachcomber) to expand to the growing Tiki trend and started to use Tikis on his menus and in his restaurants. But even Vic never served cocktails in Tiki mugs, nor did Don. Tiki mugs (cocktail mugs depicting Tikis) did not come into use until the late 50s/early 60s. The Don The Beachcomber mug is just that, a Beachcomber mug, NOT a Tiki mug, (and was not used until the Getty-owned period in the 70s).

I think Don's move to Hawaii after the war befitted his "classic" Polynesian pop sensibilities, I actually would not be surprised if he looked down on Stephen Crane's Kon Tikis and other, newer Tiki joints as too overdone in the Tiki department.

[ Edited by: bigbrotiki 2008-07-21 22:41 ]