Anyone know anything about these Bali Hai Mugs?

I just picked up these mugs. Anyone know anything about them? I havn't recieved them yet and the seller doesn't know squat. Any help would be appreciated.
Ebay URL

[Edited to shorten the URL -- Hanford]

[ Edited by: hanford_lemoore on 2002-08-07 13:52 ]

Good score! I don't know anything about them except that I have never seen them before.

Excellent score, especially on Ebay.

Theer was another "Bali Hai" restaurant unrelated to the Shelter Island landmark. I believe this Bal Hai was in New York State. Bigbro would know for sure, or maybe there is info on James' site.

Nice mugs..how did I miss them? Oh, I know, my stupid $2k keeps blowing up. I HATE computers! And I don't care if Hal hears this.

midnite

I don't know all, but it's always a good trick to check the font. This one looks like the same type used for the Bali Hai at the Beach, Lake Pontchartrain, New Orleans (BoT, p.126) that also had that big version of the Tiki Bob mug.

I still think you're going to know before most of us, Bigbro. I mean you almost wrote the book on this stuff! Bah aha ha, sometimes I crack myself up.

Still thinking this "Bali Hai" was either in NY or MA. I recall seeing the same mug for sale before and the seller stated they were from ... all I can see is "northeast".

That's where the memory fails me, drat! If I had to bet, I think it was in MA. There was definitely a "Bali Hai" somewhere in MA. I think it had "field" in it?

Then again...there's a Bali Hai in Chile! I am sticking with MA.

Now I want one of the mugs!
midnite

Why dont we start like a silent auction on the site and we can share between members. Maybe it will get rid of some of the crazy ebaying maniacs like myself. I thought this was an excellent score. I will sell one of these....maybe. I may take bids from you guys. Of course I havent recieved them yet. Later

On 2002-08-06 17:49, midnite_tiki wrote:
I still think you're going to know before most of us, Bigbro. I mean you almost wrote the book on this stuff! Bah aha ha, sometimes I crack myself up.

Still thinking this "Bali Hai" was either in NY or MA. I recall seeing the same mug for sale before and the seller stated they were from ... all I can see is "northeast".

That's where the memory fails me, drat! If I had to bet, I think it was in MA. There was definitely a "Bali Hai" somewhere in MA. I think it had "field" in it?

Then again...there's a Bali Hai in Chile! I am sticking with MA.

Now I want one of the mugs!
midnite

I picked up a "Bali Hai" mug a few months ago that came from MA, and I'm certain it had "field" in it too. (Littlefield?, Middlefield?) It's a white glazed ceramic with palm trees & an island scene in color. The font is very similar to the ones Kokomo picked up, but not exactly. Looks a little like an OMC Harvey's, but without the girl. (BTW: Kokomo - you must be the 'some guy from Mississippi' that was ordering two of the Pisco-Moai decanters from Hi Time Wines while I was picking up mine at the 'will call' desk!)

Doctor Z
Mix-maestro of the Castaway Lounge,
Redondo Beach, CA

[ Edited by: Doctor Z on 2002-08-07 01:24 ]

I am the "some guy from Mississippi"

I'm at work and don't have my mugs to hand right now, but I'm sure I've got one which is very similar, which I was told was from the Bali Hai in New York. Mine differs slightly in the fact that it doesn't have the name on the back (nor the smooth square patch where the name was printed). It also came with a companion mug from the same place.

Both of my 'New York' Bali Hai's look relatively new (80's?), so it would be interesting to find out when it actually closed.

Trader Woody

I just want to caution you guys as to the claims made by e-bay and antique shop sellers about the heritage of their Tiki items.
Many a time have I had to contain myself when dealers tell me of a piece's origin to not come across as a smart ass, because sometimes they believe their own bull.
In LA it is often "This .... came from the Luau restaurant in Beverly Hills!" because the dealers caught wind that a famous Tiki place of origin ups the price.

The best bet is to get the piece from the first hand owner who really knows.

I have never heard of a Bali Hai in New York (which does not mean that there wasn't one), but the Bamboo type face on the mugs above really matches the New Orleans site.

Hey waitaminnit, there is also still another possibility: ALL Polynesian Paradise proprietors had the secret dream of pulling even with the "Big Three" (Don, Vic & Steve) and franchising their operaton to other states or towns. If ever, they opened ONE place somewhere else that usually did not last long (Tiki Bob's in Sacramento, Christian's Hut in Waikiki), so maybe the Lake Pontchartrain people tried their luck in another location at some point, using their logo type. The short lifespan of these satellite attempts makes any menu, postcard or matchbook evidence even harder to come by though.

[ Edited by: bigbrotiki on 2002-08-07 11:08 ]

Big Bro, I am with you on this one. After looking at the font on the back of the mug and every picture I have seen of the Bali Hai at Pontchartrain Beach in New Orleans, I have determined it to be the same font. Then again, when I get the mugs, The Bali Hai on the back might wipe right off. Right now I am going to pray that it dont! Thanks for signing my book Big Bro, and I will be working on those two Wicker mugs for you this week!

I picked up a "Bali Hai" mug a few months ago that came from MA, and I'm certain it had "field" in it too. (Littlefield?, Middlefield?)

My wide-reaching web of Tiki sources has come through again! Let's go with Lynfield, MA. There was a Bali-Hai there, I believe it is long since closed. A closed Tiki Rest/Bar? That's not too much of a deductive stretch, eh?

I have seen that mug, I have a similar one from Mai-Kai. And as Woody wrote I am inclined to believe there was also a "Bali-Hai" in NY. Where these particular mugs came from, not certain.

My own collection has a skull mug from Kelbo's, at least that is what the seller told me. He had it since a college fraternity event held there, a purloined item. I believe him, but the mug has "Made For Trader Vic" on the bottom. Either way it's a great mug.

My HRH Elizabeth II Tiki mug from her trip to San Francisco TV is a whole bunch cooler, though. You can tell she used it becasue of....(fill in own punchline here)!

:)~,
midnite

Now I'm at home, I've got the 'Bali Hai NY' mug in front of me. There's no logo on it at all, though it mentions that it's an 'import by Otagari Co'. The person who sold it to me WAS from New York, and had little reason to make up a Tiki bar just to flog the mugs. I actually just bought them because I liked the look of them!

The 'Bali Hai' as a brand name is somewhat hazy anyway. Wasn't there a Bali Hai golf course mentioned a while back? There was certainly a Bali Hai restaurant at an amusement park in Wales, UK, and I'm sure that had nothing to do with the one in Shelter Island. Add to that 94 houses in the UK actually named 'Bali Hai' and you've got more of a generic Tiki name than a brand.

I'd still place money on there having been a Bali Hai in New York state at some point, and probably not that long ago. It would be interesting to get confirmation either way.

Trader Woody

Anyway, is anyone intrested in one of these. I am going to keep the best looking one and either auction off one on ebay or have some kind of silent auction on tiki central. Let me know if you have any ideas.

I have an old menu from the Bali Hai in Northport, Long Island, ( with the address of 647 Main St., Northport, L.I. ) I wonder if any evidence of it remains... and also, how many different Bali Hai 's were there ?

[ Edited by: puamana on 2002-08-08 17:17 ]

Is the font the same on the Bali Hai Menu?

There was also a Bali Hai in Madrid, which had their own mugs. They did a particularly scary-looking Fu Manchu mug.

Trader Woody

the font is different on the Bali Hai NY menu, here's a few pics :

Awesome Menu! Thanks for the pictures! I still think the mugs are from New Orleans Pontchartrain Beach when looking at the font. Who knows, but I still know that they must be rare.

One of these is up for sale: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2133785805&rd=1