Crypto-Mugs. Do these legends exist and who has them? - Collecting Tiki

STCB Sabu The Coconut Boy Tiki Socialite Carson, California Joined: Aug 20, 2002 Posts: 2813	STCB Sabu The Coconut Boy Posted posted on Thu, Feb 25, 2010 12:18 AM This post is prompted by TC member pa'akiki's recent find of the until-now-undiscovered Cobra's Fang mug from the Islander in La Cienega: This fantastic find knocks another mug off my "cryptid" list. Just as "Cryptozoology" refers to the search for animals which are considered to be legendary or otherwise nonexistent by mainstream biology like the Yeti, the Loch Ness Monster, or the unlikely Woofmutt, a "Crypto-mug" is my term for Poly-pop mugs and glassware that appear in old pictures on menus or postcards or photos, but which haven't been found yet by collectors. They may be fanciful artist's renderings that never existed, or they may be extinct or super-rare or just overlooked by collectors until now. Remember how back in 2003, hardly anyone had seen an Imperial Glass Voodoo Grog, but then someone finally listed one on eBay as as a "Trader Vic's Tiki Mug" and suddenly they began to appear on the market. Sometimes collectors have had them all along, but because they were rare, the majority of us didn't know if they were out there. A good example is the Trader Vic's Nautilus Mug. All it took was posing the question, "Does this mug exist?" and several collectors posted their pictures. So I propose this this thread as repository of Crypto-Mugs (and other crypto-glassware). If you know of a mug in an old menu or photo and can't find it on Ooga-Mooga, and don't know if it really exists - post it here and let's see if we can find it. I'll start with my list. Please add to it, as I know it's just a fraction of the Crypto-mugs out there. I have a feeling a lot of these are going to be big scorpion and volcano bowls. They were made in very small numbers and were easily breakable, so probably few of them survived. SAM'S SEAFOOD This mug appears in a postcard photo of the Sam's Seafood gift shop. It also appears as a rendering in their old souvenir menu. There is also a volcano bowl in the rendering that we know existed because on the larger four-panel postcard, you could see them resting on the floor of the gift shop. TC member Traderpup remembers seeing one of the mugs appear on eBay back in 2001 or 2002. As far as I know, another has never appeared. :down: You can see the bowls on the floor at the lower left of this image THE LUAU 400 SCORPION BOWL From a mint, unused drink menu. Did this bowl exist or was it a prototype, which like the menu, was never released? (And as a paper collector, I'd like to find this takeout box too): THE POLYNESIAN IN TORRANCE I've never seen either of these two bowls. I think DC might own this menu, so if he could post a larger scan, it would be most appreciated. The Tiki Bowl above also makes an appearance in this menu from an unknown Bali-Hai location: In the same Bali-Hai menu is this great Zombie mug with a Ku Tiki on it: THE TONGA LEI in MALIBU The menu shows a wonderful pig bowl and a unique black volcano bowl. We know the volcano bowl existed because a photo of it appears in one of their brochures: THE HANALEI ISLANDS RESTAURANT, SAN DIEGO Has anyone ever seen the two-moai volcano bowl in this menu picture? Also is the Moai mug a standard one, or unique to this restaurant? THE HILTON HAWAIIAN VILLAGE MUGS So far, I've seen just about every one of these custom mugs from the Hilton Hawaiian Village in Hawaii appear on TC over the years: The exceptions are the "Chimp In Orbit" and the "Suffering Haole" In this old Time LIFE photo of U.S. Senators having a luau at the Hawaiian Village, you can see a Suffering Haole glass in use: Just for kicks, here's another photo showing the Hukilau and Diamond Head mugs. I know these have since been found, but it's cool to see contemporary photos of them in situ: THE MARK THOMAS OUTRIGGER, MONTEREY This last one I'm skeptical of. I'm afraid the artist might have gotten a little free in his rendering of a standard outrigger bowl ala the Stockton Islander version. But it would be cool if an outrigger bowl this shape really existed. And what about that Captain Cook's Grog glass too? Ok. That's enough for now. I'm interested in seeing what the other paper collectors have in the way of Legendary Crypto-mug pictures. And I'd like the mug-collectors to post photos if they have them that prove these drinking vessels really exist. [ Edited by: Sabu The Coconut Boy 2010-03-04 00:58 ]

This post is prompted by TC member pa'akiki's recent find of the until-now-undiscovered Cobra's Fang mug from the Islander in La Cienega:

This fantastic find knocks another mug off my "cryptid" list. Just as "Cryptozoology" refers to the search for animals which are considered to be legendary or otherwise nonexistent by mainstream biology like the Yeti, the Loch Ness Monster, or the unlikely Woofmutt, a "Crypto-mug" is my term for Poly-pop mugs and glassware that appear in old pictures on menus or postcards or photos, but which haven't been found yet by collectors. They may be fanciful artist's renderings that never existed, or they may be extinct or super-rare or just overlooked by collectors until now.

Remember how back in 2003, hardly anyone had seen an Imperial Glass Voodoo Grog, but then someone finally listed one on eBay as as a "Trader Vic's Tiki Mug" and suddenly they began to appear on the market.

Sometimes collectors have had them all along, but because they were rare, the majority of us didn't know if they were out there. A good example is the Trader Vic's Nautilus Mug. All it took was posing the question, "Does this mug exist?" and several collectors posted their pictures.

So I propose this this thread as repository of Crypto-Mugs (and other crypto-glassware). If you know of a mug in an old menu or photo and can't find it on Ooga-Mooga, and don't know if it really exists - post it here and let's see if we can find it.

I'll start with my list. Please add to it, as I know it's just a fraction of the Crypto-mugs out there.

I have a feeling a lot of these are going to be big scorpion and volcano bowls. They were made in very small numbers and were easily breakable, so probably few of them survived.

SAM'S SEAFOOD

This mug appears in a postcard photo of the Sam's Seafood gift shop. It also appears as a rendering in their old souvenir menu. There is also a volcano bowl in the rendering that we know existed because on the larger four-panel postcard, you could see them resting on the floor of the gift shop. TC member Traderpup remembers seeing one of the mugs appear on eBay back in 2001 or 2002. As far as I know, another has never appeared.

:down: You can see the bowls on the floor at the lower left of this image

THE LUAU 400 SCORPION BOWL

From a mint, unused drink menu. Did this bowl exist or was it a prototype, which like the menu, was never released?

(And as a paper collector, I'd like to find this takeout box too):

THE POLYNESIAN IN TORRANCE
I've never seen either of these two bowls. I think DC might own this menu, so if he could post a larger scan, it would be most appreciated.

The Tiki Bowl above also makes an appearance in this menu from an unknown Bali-Hai location:

In the same Bali-Hai menu is this great Zombie mug with a Ku Tiki on it:

THE TONGA LEI in MALIBU

The menu shows a wonderful pig bowl and a unique black volcano bowl.

We know the volcano bowl existed because a photo of it appears in one of their brochures:

THE HANALEI ISLANDS RESTAURANT, SAN DIEGO

Has anyone ever seen the two-moai volcano bowl in this menu picture? Also is the Moai mug a standard one, or unique to this restaurant?

THE HILTON HAWAIIAN VILLAGE MUGS

So far, I've seen just about every one of these custom mugs from the Hilton Hawaiian Village in Hawaii appear on TC over the years:

The exceptions are the "Chimp In Orbit" and the "Suffering Haole"

In this old Time LIFE photo of U.S. Senators having a luau at the Hawaiian Village, you can see a Suffering Haole glass in use:

Just for kicks, here's another photo showing the Hukilau and Diamond Head mugs. I know these have since been found, but it's cool to see contemporary photos of them in situ:

THE MARK THOMAS OUTRIGGER, MONTEREY

This last one I'm skeptical of. I'm afraid the artist might have gotten a little free in his rendering of a standard outrigger bowl ala the Stockton Islander version. But it would be cool if an outrigger bowl this shape really existed. And what about that Captain Cook's Grog glass too?

Ok. That's enough for now. I'm interested in seeing what the other paper collectors have in the way of Legendary Crypto-mug pictures. And I'd like the mug-collectors to post photos if they have them that prove these drinking vessels really exist.

[ Edited by: Sabu The Coconut Boy 2010-03-04 00:58 ]

Post #513305 by Sabu The Coconut Boy on Thu, Feb 25, 2010 12:18 AM