Post #524481 by uncle trav on Sat, Apr 17, 2010 6:21 AM

I have been lucky enough to add a couple of Jard Tiki mugs to my collection lately. As far as I know Jard was only used by the Hawaii Kai restaurant in New York. These mugs seem to be rare and the reason may be because of the mug itself. Jard mugs seem to be very fragile in construction and made with a bisque finish with cold glaze paint details that don't hold up to constant restaurant use and washing. It seems that these mugs were made on the cheap as they were given away as a souvenir with the purchase of a cocktail. It's amazing that many of these mugs have survived over the years. Jard also appears to have had some signature designs that were unique and were not copied or ripped off as many mugs designs were back in the days of the Polynesian restaurant craze. Another interesting thing about Jard is the use of it's JPI gold foil label. It is identical in design as the OMC gold foil label. It has been suggested that JPI and OMC were one in the same. I don't think this is the case but may be wrong. It would be interesting to see other Jard mugs to see the different designs and get a feel for just how rare these mugs are. Also if anyone has any ideas or info on JPI as there is not alot of background history on this company to go on. Thanks.

Here are a couple from my collection. Front.

Back.

Markings on the bottom of the mugs.

Closeup of the JPI label.

Unmarked Ku on the left with a white interior and a darker wash and a Jard on the right for comparison.

Back.

Bottom.

Thats for looking.

"Anyone who has ever seen them is thereafter haunted as if by a feverish dream" Karl Woermann

[ Edited by: uncle trav 2010-04-17 06:24 ]