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

The shell bowl was utilized by many establishments based upon menu research. There are at least two versions that I'm aware of with one them produced by Spurlin.

Aku Aku's Pua-Pule bowl

Spurlin version of shell bowl

Kohalacharms,

Thanks for the look at that Clam shell bowl. I seem to have seen other types in drink menus.

Here is a photo from a Hawaiian restaurant brochure featuring the Spencecliff restaurants. This one is from the Old Plantation.

The interesting thing is that they used the mugs that were designed for Trader Vics, which at that time was also a Spencecliff restaurant.

Looks like some really cool ones including the bowl I posted previously

And maybe that one the 1961 Surf just posted.

Does anybody have that Skull Mug?

DC

DC, that skull is very cool and I have not seen it before. Thanks!

Back to the Wacky Hawaiian Trader Vic's Menu - was the Pino Frio served in an actual pineapple or was it served in a pineapple mug?

There is some discussion of a Trader Vic's pineapple mug in this Dead Sea Scroll but the pictures are either gone or scrambled.

On 2010-03-12 16:03, Bora Boris wrote:
Back to the Wacky Hawaiian Trader Vic's Menu - was the Pino Frio served in an actual pineapple or was it served in a pineapple mug?

There is some discussion of a Trader Vic's pineapple mug in this Dead Sea Scroll but the pictures are either gone or scrambled.

I have that mug. I can post it shortly.

On 2010-03-12 16:03, Bora Boris wrote:
Back to the Wacky Hawaiian Trader Vic's Menu - was the Pino Frio served in an actual pineapple or was it served in a pineapple mug?

BB,

I think that is the ceramic pineapple mug shown on the table in the photo I posted.

DC

So here is the Pineapple Tiki Mug. This one is the one from the smaller photo and obviously different than the one in the larger image.

It's a Louie B so you all know...If you want an image of the bottom, let me know and I will post it.

[ Edited by: Cool Manchu 2010-03-12 17:15 ]

Great! Thank you Cool Manchu and DC!

On 2010-03-03 20:51, hiltiki wrote:

Here are the ones I have, two next to each other, one with 6 rings and one with 7 rings.

O.K. mine are the six ring variety but notice the colors. Fakes? Or were there a lot of colors in the "real" glasses?

Anyone?

Tikisgrl,

That is quite a collection of colors.

This Clam Shell Scorpion bowl is featured on the menus from the Islands at the Hanalei Hotel in San Diego on Mimi Payne's website. A bit different than the one posted by Kohalacharms and is not the Frankoma Clam Shell.

Anybody seen one of these??

DC

On 2010-03-11 20:46, LOL Tiki wrote:

On 2010-03-11 15:58, 1961surf wrote:
Could this possibly be the Trader Vics Honolulu Tapa Punch mug ?
I was outbid on this today .

[ Edited by: 1961surf 2010-03-11 16:07 ]

Me too. :( Very cool mug!

I am still hoping that someone knows a little bit more about this petroglyph mug.
Very cool relief design and nice glaze as well.

Here's another example of a mug seen on a menu that does in fact exist.

Apparently, the Islands at the Hanalei used to serve their Fog Cutter in this guy...(mug from our collection, menu image from Arkiva Tropika)

And here's an interesting example of a wood grain vessel that we have in our collection...

To further wet the appetites of Brit-tiki crypto-mug hunters,behold these rare glimpses of the lost mugs of the "Mayfair Beachcomber"...

First a lovely shot of the cruet set in action (note the logo plates)..

..a larger image of the flaming grog mugs and the tops of other mugs (note the distinctive tops on the partially obscured mugs) ...

..and the branded glasses, also possibly to the left a ceramic shell bowl?

Finally the most intriguing of all the images, on the bar between the couple is another mug, which lacks the distinctive top of the mugs on the trolley, but also notice that hidden behind the letters T and O is a blurry image of yet another mug.

Oh Mayfair Beachcomber you are the Atlantis of Brit-tiki!

Here's a back page from the menu for Delmonico's in Mexico, which I posted elsewhere. But I've always been curious about that drinking vessel for the Kon-Tiki drink. I can't tell what it's supposed to be (a hat?), and of course wonder if any such thing exists.

With the whimsical nature of the illos on this menu, there's less of a case for the existence of real-world counterparts. Anyway, kind of a "crypto" mug for me nonetheless.

-Randy

"With the whimsical nature of the illos on this menu, there's less of a case for the existence of real-world counterparts."

I've encountered (but never bought) the Jamaica Bamboo mug several times:

It's made from a piece of bamboo with woodburned designs. I assumed they were from Jamaica and would guess the hotel used mugs made for use in Jamaica.

This vessel:

Looks like one of those 1950s fiberglass planters/cache pots in a metal stand filled with ice and a container for the booze nested in the ice. (The drink is meant for four people and the image implies the metal stand is sitting on the floor.)

As someone pointed out above the artist renderings on these various menus usually stuck close to the actual mug designs. Based on that and known existence of other vessels on the Delmonico's menu I'd say the Kon-Tiki mug probably existed.

Interesting, yeah it seems reasonable that these could exist. I wonder how big the planter-style "Last Will and Testament" was - that would be amazing if they cart out a floorstanding vessel.

In that case, I wonder if some of these other neato looking vessels from the same menu may have existed too. The "Popocatepetl" volcano bowl rendering looks really cool. Not to mention the Depth Charge and the Smuggler, which appear to be adaptations of the same mug. Or the Jibaro (shrunken head?).

Sorry if I'm doing too much cross-posting with these images.

-Randy

Randy,

Those are some great graphics on the menu, would be nice to see some of the real mugs.

Need to add this Kava Bowl from the Beachcomber at the May Fair Hotel in London to the Crypto mug list. This picture came from a video shot at the Beachcomber.

DC

Great additions, Everyone.

KC - thanks for showing the two variations of that Shell Bowl.

Cool Manchu - thanks for the example of the Pino Frio

Jonpaul - really like your version of the Fogcutter. I've always thought that the "woodgrain" design on these mugs might have actually been meant to represent swirling fog, but hard to tell on the simplistic Spurlin version. Your highly detailed mug looks even more like fog to me than wood.

atomictonytiki & DC - thanks for taking the time to do all those Beachcomber screen captures for us from the old Pathe films.

Aquarj - Those mug illustrations from Delmonicos are great! I'd love to find some of the garnishes too - like that dangling voodoo doll pick on the Chi-Capicha. That fiberglass bullet-planter is a great way to serve a drink! I hear they used to use them as ice buckets sometimes, so it would be the next logical step to nestle a drinking vessel in the ice. I think it would have stood on the floor as the style pictured were approx 30" tall - perfect for sipping from a chair.

You can order modern reproductions of these classic planters from several sources, including this site:

http://www.hiphaven.com/Pages/A_Retro_Bullet_Planter.html

Starting at the top:

Octopus

Fogcutter

Peeping Tom


Pina???

Tonga

Tiki Liki?

Chi Chi


Hot Buttered Rum?

Back when I started buying Tiki mugs I skipped buying several of those Hawaii Vic's mugs (cheap) due to limited space and because I thought they were so damned ugly.

Regrets aside, back to Delmonico's...

Notice the bottom of the Kon-Tiki "mug" and the bottom of the vessel the Banana Calyspo is served in:

I wonder if this is some sort of plate or saucer. In the case of the Kon-Tiki it looks like the drink could be served in a pineapple that has been peeled and trimmed in a conical shape and then set in the saucer.

WOW! Swanky, are those all yours?

On 2010-03-20 11:32, woofmutt wrote:

I wonder if this is some sort of plate or saucer. In the case of the Kon-Tiki it looks like the drink could be served in a pineapple that has been peeled and trimmed in a conical shape and then set in the saucer.

Actually I think this line of thinking about the saucer makes the most sense. Another person made the suggestion independently that the cone-ish thing may well be an ice cone. Apparently there's at least one TVics that still serves drinks that way. Seems like it has the potential to be a big mess for especially deliberative drinkers, so the tray would need to have at least a little volume like that. But woof - your shaped pineapple idea also has a peel, I mean appeal.

So maybe it's not a hat! Maybe it's not a crypto-mug, but a cryo-mug. Or a pino-mug.

-Randy

(sorry if "woof" is getting too familiar with the name, it's kinda fun how that sounds in a sentence)

[ Edited by: aquarj 2010-03-21 00:05 ]

Guys, maybe this might help: http://www.quizland.com/hiero.htm :D

On 2010-03-20 16:59, Big Kahuna wrote:
WOW! Swanky, are those all yours?

No. They are from the Tiki Daze project. Shot other people's collections.

Here's one for the scrapbook.

It's an interesting item, a supposed prototype from Hoffman Ceramics. I have to think it is "crypto" in theory even if the Idol's Cast is reasonbly well documented and collected. I have never seen it before, and I never knew anything like it existed. I'm really not quite sure what to make of it. From this little acorn grew the Kahiki Idol's Cast mug:

It's on the auction block right now, do check it out via the link below. I suspect it will go for some rather serious money. I'd bid but I am saving my extra cash for a ride on the Space Shuttle. Have at it, you mug weirdos.

The question to everyone's answer is usually asked from within

Some people call me the space cowboy,
midnite

My contribution to this thread:

I'm sure this isn't the right bowl, but I think it captures the spirit:

Swanky wrote:

Swanky's photo (above) is the "Tonga" mug I have always thought of when I see the Honolulu Vic's menu. Now, I see this mug (below) listed on that evil auction site and I suppose it is the Tonga. It just looks a bit different to my untrained dilettante eye. I recall a different maker for "Swanky's Tonga mug", was it PP or Louie B? I have got to start paying better attention.

If one is so inclined, one may bid on the above mentioned mug via this link:

It's been six months she hasn't shut up once

That glaze on the latter mug is familiar. I recall some mugs from Hawaii that I once owned which had a simlar glaze, but they were most cetainly not Vic's pieces. Just free associating here folks, no charge.

I am not a mug weirdo,
midnite

might be a long shot but this thing has always stumped me and it looks alot like the picture. It has a weird marking on the bottom I can't quite make out too.

On 2010-03-24 14:11, Tiki-Troll wrote:
...

might be a long shot but this thing has always stumped me and it looks alot like the picture. It has a weird marking on the bottom I can't quite make out too.

I think they're close enough to call it a match. Let's look at them side by side:

Woohoo! It was one of those things I wasn't quite sure why I was getting (I like seashells enough but I don't really have a shortage of planters in the house) but it called to me. I must have some sort of internal libations vessel radar.

On 2010-03-24 14:32, Hakalugi wrote:
I think they're close enough to call it a match. Let's look at them side by side:

I looked at the same thing and came up with the exact opposite conclusion: Not even close!

Buzzy Out!

I have to admit I am still a little mixed. The opening is a little more center than the photo, but at the same time, its the right size and the curve is right. It never felt like a planter to me, but it had not occured to me that it might be a mug either. if it helps it is marked 1967 Zenith Hanak TM A?? Japan in what looks like a mark that would come from a factory and not a home shop. Don't put that mark in the gospel though because its so hard to read that I could be off on a couple letters.

it does make me think that if it wasn't THAT mug, that it might have been used as a drinking vessel .

Switching gears a little, this one is a Reverse Crypto mug puzzle. The Blue Hawaii mug is not too rare, I have one and it can still be found out there.

The question is, what restaurant made it? The possibilities so far are the Blue Hawaii in Nashville, TN, the Blue Hawaii in Wildwood, NJ, and a new contender the Blue Hawaii in Louisville, KY. Need to find the menu instead of the mug to solve this one.

DC

Aaahhh! To think I was about 20 min. too late in findings those 4 TV mugs at the swapmeet :roll:

http://cgi.ebay.com/vintage-trader-vic-tiki-mug-honolulu-vics-hawaiian_W0QQitemZ350324616014QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item5190f96b4e

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=350320877185&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

http://cgi.ebay.com/vintage-trader-vic-tiki-mug-honolulu-vics-hawaiian_W0QQitemZ350332283978QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item51916e6c4a

http://cgi.ebay.com/vintage-trader-vic-tiki-mug-honolulu-vics-hawaiian_W0QQitemZ360246457062QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item53e05cb2e6

Got a couple of Pinos, a Catamaran, Tonga and TikiLiki...wish I could locate the Hot buttered Rum mugs that are hiding somewhere here...:)

The Pinos are marked as follows...

Aloha

On 2010-03-24 14:48, Bay Park Buzzy wrote:

On 2010-03-24 14:32, Hakalugi wrote:
I think they're close enough to call it a match. Let's look at them side by side:

I looked at the same thing and came up with the exact opposite conclusion: Not even close!

Buzzy Out!

I'm thinkimg no, too, but it's possible.

As previously alluded to, there are many pieces out there that have yet to be located within a drink menu. I suspect that they may have been used either for a very short duration secondary to manufacturing cost or perhaps they were prototypes that were never put into production. I understand there were approximately 30 different pieces produced by Daga (PP) for Trader Vic's over the years. I've only come across or seen about half that number thus far.

A scorpion bowl used by the Honolulu Trader Vic's; manufacturer Polynesian Pottery

Jeez, they really had that "primitive", naive look down there in Honululu!

I thought I saw something peeking out on the bottom :) Thats what she said :lol:

I've only seen 2 others and am pretty sure that more TV Honolulu mugs will be included in Phil's Waikiki Tiki book. I'm not sure of the lineage of this ,but it looks to be from the same family...

On 2010-03-24 23:07, kohalacharms wrote:

A scorpion bowl used by the Honolulu Trader Vic's; manufacturer Polynesian Pottery

GAD! I wonder how many times I've passed up something like this thinking it was just a child's first attempt at pottery.

Live and learn.

On 2010-03-24 13:41, midnite wrote:
Swanky wrote:

Swanky's photo (above) is the "Tonga" mug I have always thought of when I see the Honolulu Vic's menu. Now, I see this mug (below) listed on that evil auction site and I suppose it is the Tonga. It just looks a bit different to my untrained dilettante eye. I recall a different maker for "Swanky's Tonga mug", was it PP or Louie B? I have got to start paying better attention.

If one is so inclined, one may bid on the above mentioned mug via this link:

It's been six months she hasn't shut up once

That glaze on the latter mug is familiar. I recall some mugs from Hawaii that I once owned which had a simlar glaze, but they were most cetainly not Vic's pieces. Just free associating here folks, no charge.

I am not a mug weirdo,
midnite

did some of the more known mugs get glazed like this as years past?? I Picked up a pair of parrot mugs that look just like the OMC mugs but in a similar type glaze but in yellow and brown. The bottoms are left rough like these, and the logo is unreadable.
http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=35751&forum=5&3
got me stumped

[ Edited by: ka'lenatiki 2010-03-25 08:08 ]

Do you happen to have a pict of the unreadable bottom?

got it

not real clear. I can just make out "ceramic" on one, and "mfg. co, ave & 5502" on the other

This week's contribution:
Polynesian Pottery's precursor or prototype to the more commonly found Trader Vic's (Honolulu) Octopus mug:

Original Octopus mug (green)depicted in menu

Less common Octopus mug (brown version)

Nice!! :o

Did you see what that Tonga went for??

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=360246457062&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

$332.77 :o :o

Of coarse he did KC bought it!

THis is an AMAZING thread!!! Keep up the great work guys

I have a photo of THE Luau 400 bowl! It actually exists. I've never seen one in person, but several years ago (7 or 8), someone sold one on ebay and it was purchased for around $400 (how appropriate). It looks nothing like the drawing in the menu except that it is a rounded traingle shape with the Luau 400 logo mask at each "point". It doesn't look like a cocktail bowl though, it looks more like a condiment bowl. I'll dig out the photo I snacked from the auction and post it.

THanks so much to kohalacharms for posting photos of some of his outstanding collection!!!

There is another cryptid that I would like to inquire about: The Kim's Kon Tiki bowl. In all my travels and talk to Tucson people, there has never been a mention of the bowl from when Mr. Kim owned the Kon Tiki in Tucson, AZ. Yet I remember seeing it somewhere and can't recall. Does anyone know if that exists or not?

Also, some of these crypto mugs would be a fun project for current mug makers to recreate, or in most cases, create these mugs/bowls based on the menu drawings. It would be fun to own a mug that may never have existed but should have at some point in history.