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Tiki Central / Tiki Marketplace / Tikis from Trader Vic's Chicago to be auctioned

Post #649808 by Ragbag Comics on Mon, Aug 27, 2012 9:46 PM

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Wow...

Those are some big honkin' shells!

Hey...waitaminnit...I wonder where all these big turtle shells are coming from....


AAAGH!

Ahem.

Anyway...

The Vic's Chicago shell was likely from the Palmer House; I know they had a few there before closing, and this one definitely looked old and gnarly, but I would say it was half the size or even smaller than those beauties you have from the Kahiki (it was maybe 12" to 14" in diameter?)

There was some kind of lacquer coating on it that was peeling up a bit... it was definitely not "fresh from the turtle."

I'm kind of a goon for interesting old taxidermy, and I'd love one of those old turtle shells, but, indeed, the big authentic ones go for substantial bucks.

I grew up on the Mississippi, and the shell in this recent auction looked more like a big snapper shell than a tortoise to my eyes. Big snapper shells aren't too tough to come by

But whatever... to each his own with this kind of thing. One man's $1800 turtle shell is another man's mortgage payment or however you wanna slice it. Taken on the whole, I've definitely spent/over spent on some things over the years. It's all part of the process.

We're all just lucky to have the spare bucks occasionally to pick up some fun stuff, regardless of how many of those spare bucks there are to spread around.

As some have said, at least some of these items are staying "in the family," so to speak- whether in a private collection, or in a new public bar, the circle continues, and at the end of the day its good to see people coughing up the cash for these things instead of the ol' lonesome days when they were drug out to the curb or consigned to the dumpster.

--Pete