Post #426769 by TabooDan on Fri, Jan 2, 2009 2:07 PM

I figured I would add this picture here as this was a great post until the eBay offers and mug talk came into it so let's get it back on track.

I came across this item and thought I would put a picture of it here.
It is something I have never seen before but it supposedly came out of the Detroit Mauna Loa. I say supposedly as it is not marked Mauna Loa but was reported as coming from the estate of a cook who worked at The Mauna Loa in Detroit, Michigan.

Back of plate. Maker Marked:

You might be thinking the same as me, just because it came from the estate of someone who worked there, how do we know it was actually something used there or sold??
Good question and I don't have the answer.
Everything I have seen from this establishment has the Mauna Loa name right on it. It was around for such a short time that I was thinking if they would even have something like this and again, without their name on it?
Even their utensils and that other documented plate had their name on it so why do this??

It looks like it could be possible as the frog is a symbol that was used by a few different Pacific cultures. At first I thought it looked quite Native American but I am not an expert.
Just kind of putting it here to see what some of you thought.
Will update if I get any more info.

Mahalo, TabooDan