Tiki postcard collection

I started collecting postcards of polynesian pop establishments many years ago. I thought it was cool to step back in time and see the places that the mugs in my collection were coming from, as most of them no longer exist.

Well, I went to a postcard collectors show last weekend and scored 27 new cards for about $40. They were a great find, but it took a lot of work to dig them up. I had to look through individual states broken down into categories (Restaurants, Hotels/Motels, etc.) to find them. Sometimes I found what what I was looking for, other times it was just dump luck to stumble across a new card.

Some of my new cards from show included:

The Tonga Room (San Francisco, CA)
Trader Vics interior & exterior cards (Scottsdale, AZ)
Samoan Village Hotel (Phoenix, AZ)
several cards from Shelter Island (San Diego)
1962 Seattle World's Fair Hawaiian Pavillion (sponsored by Dole)
1964 New York World's Fair Polynesian Restaurant
Davy Jones Locker (Waikiki, HI)
Tiki Kai (Denver, CO)
Floridaland dolphin show with a stage full of tikis

Poly Pop postcards are a great collectable because they are still inexpensive (except, of course, on eBay). Just thought I would pass along my great find with all of you.

why don't we share the pictures. Swanky and I have lots too! I'll try to scan them all and get them to everyone tonight!

Aloha,
Tiki Kiliki

Yeah, the Trader Vic's in AZ must have put out more postcards than all the others combined.

My favorites are from the Mai Kai in FL. The ones from the late 60's. And, a few special ones from Hawaii.

How does the Samoan Village card look? I only saw one exterior once and it was bad quality and not very glamourous. I am also very interested in the New York World's Fair restaurant, I have a matchbook from it that shows a WITCO mask that also hung outside The Polynesia in Seattle. We have already discussed the Seattle/Spokane Polynesia World's Fair connection (on the old Tiki Central), but I called their proprietor (thanks woofmut) and he said there was none. I still wonder if there actually was Witco stuff in the New York Polynesian. Is it an exterior or interior? Can you make out any Tikis?
Needless to say that the BOT would be a lot poorer without postcards, it has over 60 in it. After collecting and viewing hundreds of them, to my mind the most desirable ones are the ones with people in them. I have interiors of every Trader Vic's there ever was, but looking at them in a row they do get a little repetitious. The Seattle and Portland ones are among my faves because the Americans in period clothing give them the cultural context and contrast.(People AND Tikis are off course the best, for that nothing so far tops the page 24/Pompano Beach Kon-Tiki postcard).
I am still looking for a St.Louis Bel-Air Trader Vic's exterior with the Barney West Tiki(s) guarding the A-frame entrance, contrasting the Mondrianesque modern box highrise. It is painful to know that T.V.'s once kept photo folders for every franchise they ever opend, but tossed them out in the 80s, under the same manager that "cleansed" a lot of the T.V.'s of the Beachcomber lamps...

Sorry Bigbro, my New York World's fair card is an exterior long shot taken from across the garden. The large A-frame building is visible with the name of the place "Polynesian Restaurant" on the front. A couple of buses are parked in front, but you can make out lots of grass thach siding along the exterior walls. Behind the restaurant you can see the skyway attraction and a very large five story pagoda, most likely a chinese pavillion. The back of the card reads "The Court of the President of the United States of America showing the Polynesian Restaurant in the background. Palm trees are planted about and there is a lagoon where beautiful Polynesian girls pilot outrigger canoes and natives dive for oysters."

I don't have a scanner, so I can't post any pics. But I'll bring my cards with me to the Tropics in Palm Springs next month if anyone is interested in looking at them, or trading duplicates.

I'll be looking forward to your postcard show & tell in Palm Springs. Some cards are not so amazing, but once the captions are added (like the one you quoted) they take on a whole new meaning.

[ Edited by: bigbrotiki on 2002-05-11 21:12 ]

BigBro: I thought the Pompano Beach restaurant in the BOT was for the Imperial Luau -- which I have not come across any other info on. I do have some exterior cards for a place called the Luau in South Florida which had a huge tiki with a flamming head out front. Was this the same place? Just curious.

Okay folks, here's my first card. One of our favorites!

It's a page from a car rental postcard book from Florida. I wonder if they would still honor that coupon.

The Swank Pad - Live365.com - If it's Swank...

[ Edited by: Swanky on 2002-05-14 08:58 ]

This is one I got for Kiliki for Christmas. This should make everyone want to get to Hawaii!

Here is one that I love, I found it in an antique store here in Knoxville, TN

Country Fried Hot Rod

[ Edited by: tiki_kiliki on 2002-05-14 07:41 ]

And another. This one Swanky got for me. It's my favorite of all that we have.