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

here's another trader vics mug i haven't seen before . it's made by terra -ceramics hawaii

[ Edited by: ron-tiki 2010-04-04 10:31 ]

here's one i've only seen one other of owned by tiki kate.

I love this thread! Those pieces are great - I hadn't seen them before. Terra Ceramics also produced bowls and mugs for the Kahala Hilton and the Hilton Hawaiian Village.

Wow I love that four faced Ku design... Is that also a "terra" design?
Very cool...

hawaiian village mug-terra-ceramics.

That mug looks a lot like this plate:

Love this thread. I don't know if this mug is crypto or not but so far nobody has been able to help me ID it.

Now I see JONPAUL has it on the menu at the Islands at Hanalei serving a fog cutter and HOUSE OF KU has it in a picture with other mugs from Vic's but not identified. Who made it and where else was it used? Mine has additional nose markings but otherwise looks like those pictured.
TT

On 2010-04-03 20:32, ron-tiki wrote:
here's one i've only seen one other of owned by tiki kate.

I've seen this in a different glaze. Black and white.

I have really enjoyed coming back over and over to this thread.

On 2010-03-22 17:19, Big Kahuna wrote:
My contribution to this thread:

I have this, it's close but unequivocally an ashtray - and of British origin :( however with careful use of garnish 8)

In the "menu leads to mug", and "menu image is really a painting of a unique mug and not an artists meanering" catagories:

The drink menu from The Luau Atlanta, the Dinkler version.

The Fog Cutter mug:

Gives some hope that the blue tepco style bowl may be out there somewhere marked Luau Atlanta.

Well, doing research shows me this is pretty much the same mug used at Trader Vic's, so, not unique to The Luau...

Swanky,
Never-the-less, a great score on the Luau Fog Cutters.

Randy posted this picture of a mug from the Trader Vic's in Honolulu, it is not the same as the one I posted earlier. Anybody seen this one??

DC

clam bowl

mystery cup?

:down: They also had this custom-printed bamboo glass

Sabu posted this earlier. And I bought these 4 mugs today. Saw them yesterday at an antique mall, came home, and looked them up here. Horrified, I charged back in this morning and realized that they even had the original swizzels in them, all pristine. The price tag said $60.00 for the 4 but they evidently had been sitting there so long they had been marked down to $40.00.

Are these the mugs that Tipsy said were quickly phased out because of concerns from the health department? Does anyone have any more information on the manufacturer? Are these even the one's from the menu or just some reproduction?

I would say those are original. I have never heard of a reproduction and you'd have to find a bamboo "glass" to start with, which is not easy.

Now, are you parting with the extra 3?

SuperEight - Those are a fantasitic find! Congrats.

The original swizzles, (which would be worthless if found alone), probably up the value of the set considerably.

Man, I always wondered 'bout those weird swizzle sticks in the menu...so they're just ...twigs?

Yea the swizzels are just....twigs. Wicker chair type twigs with a few sharp prongs on the end. I absolutely could not believe that one was sitting in all four of these mugs, each in perfect condition. I guess thats why I was concerned at first that they were reproductions. I was just about pleading with the antique lady to tell me their story. How on earth did 4 of these mugs get to California and make it into the store with the sticks intact? Out of context the swizzels could not be any less impressive. Why would anyone but a collector keep them together? But there they were. Sadly she had no information for me.

Does anyone have a rough time period for these mugs?

I have a few of the bamboo mugs (also with swizzles) that I inherited from my aunt, along with about six of the black moai mugs. She moved to Vegas in the mid-60s and said she frequented the Aku Aku into the mid 70s. She thinks the bamboo mugs were some of the first ones they took home but couldn't be completely certain.

I wonder if the menu collectors here could help? I have a set of menus from (I think) the late 60's and the bamboo mugs/swizzles are still pictured.

This looks a bit like the ron-tiki handle mug......less handle....more nose bone

bongofury--that mug of yours definitely looks like mine all the way down to the blotchy glaze and check on the forehead.any info???

I'd like to offer some Canadian menus for the crypto-mug search. I just got back from a trip to Regina, Saskatchewan, hoping to find a trace of this Ky-Tiki place:

(courtesy of Arkiva Tropika)
Unfortunately, I didn't find anything, but I wasn't able to invest as much time as I would have liked. I'm wondering if anyone has a mug marked for this place or who happens to know it came from there. I'm especially intrigued by the Aloha Drink of Mystery bowl.
Then, there's Western Canada's Beachcomber chain:

(Edmonton menu courtesy of Dustycajun)
I'm curious how much artistic license was used with the Headhunter and Tahitian Coffee mugs. They don't look like anything I've seen! I'm still waiting and hoping for something to turn up with some sort of marking linking it to this restaurant chain. The Hawahine coconut mug and Samoa Fog Cutter peanut mug can also be seen in this photo:

This mug is said to be from The Beachcomber, but I'm not sure whether or not it's represented by the Tahitian Coffee mug on the menu:

The Coffee Grog skull mug is probably more of a generic design. So, does someone out there have something to share? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

This amazing menu from Aloha Motel located in Rock Forest outside of Montreal showed up on ebay this week, two copies that went for about $140.

The menu contains photos of the entire line-up of the Céramique de Beauce (Beauceware) mugs

Including the amazing vicious virgin.

I don't know if I have ever seen a close up color photo of that one before.

I have a postcard from this place that I posted previously.

Pretty amazing menu line-up for such an assuming place.

DC

A Luau 400 prototype bowl that never went into production - fabricated by Harper of Florida; the same manufacturer that produced several early pieces for the Mai Kai with the most notable being the 1956 Mystery bowl as well as the Kona Coffee Grog mug and pitcher.

Kohalacharms,

WOW, what a score. That is a very cool find with the signature Luau image on the side of the bowl.

Thanks for posting.

DC

[ Edited by: Dustycajun 2010-05-25 15:11 ]

Very excellent, Frank! What a prize, congrats! A Krypto-mug before we even knew it was a Krypto-mug!
Now you just have to find this one :D :

Check this out, two crypto mugs on one page of the Los Angeles Islander menu.

We have seen the Cobras Fang mug, and here is the Coffee Grog mug made by Spurlin which is on the same menu page.

This mug just sold on ebay and this is the first time I have ever seen one of these. Here is this listing information.

One of the rarest tiki mugs out there. A handful of these hand-made mugs were made by Spurlin Pottery for the LA Islander's Coffee Grog drink. This mug does not have any makers marks on it - Spurlin didn't maker mark any of their Islander pottery. 4.5 inches tall .

DC

wow! this looks like the mystery mug i posted on the previous page. the difference is mine has a handle in the back and no earrings..

Ron-Tiki,

Those two mugs sure look like the same maker. I wonder if Spurlin modified the design of the original Coffee Grog mug because the earrings kept breaking off? Or patrons singed their hands on the hot, handle-less mug!

Could you get a better close-up shot of the front of your mug to compare?

DC

Hey guys,

I would say that these mugs above :up: are certainly from the same set(s) of molds. The handle and the ear rings on the 2 are added to the castings after they have been pulled from the molds. I would bet that DC is right in thinking that the one with the ear rings came first. Also, both are the same glaze...Spurlin for sure.

I would wager that this brown/yellow/runny glaze Spurlin used was made up by them, and not commercially produced....I've been trying to mimic this glaze off and on for a while now, and in the last few weeks, I think I,m getting closer. Hint: This look was a way for them to save money in production :wink:

Keep up the great work on this thread fellas...it's one of my favorites.

On another note...I keep forgetting to post this.

I keep seeing this crypto(?) bowl with the 3 nude female figures on it. Sorry, I don't know all of the Tiki establishments that they were used in, but I feel pretty confident in saying that the female figure part of these bowls was from a hobbyist mold of the day...

This little thingy (same girl as bowl girls) I have here was made by a local photography teacher (now deceased) at a community college here in San Diego in the early 70's...He took a couple of brought cast pieces (the girl and the pipe) and added it to a slab of clay with a photo of his girl friend - hehe

Now, this doesn't make those prized tiki bowls out there any less valuable...it's just interesting is all. In fact, it kind of adds to the Kitch factor of these bowls in my opinion...All one would have needed to do to make this bowl with the girls would be to take a feashly cast bowl and push in the sides - take a little slip (liquid clay) and attach the pre-cast nude figures in the bowl's depressions.

Like today, back in the 50's and 60's there were many hobbyists playing with ceramics, and it was a waaaay more popular hobby back then. There were many stores and magazines (such as these) that were all over the Country. Today ceramics/clay is more accepted as a medium that one can make 'fine' craft, and even fine art with.

Okay, sorry...back to crypto mugs :)

here are some more pics

it looks like the islander mug, bongofurys mug, and my mug are from the same mold with different add ons(earrings ,bone in nose..etc.) thanks for the info babalu!!

On 2010-05-29 22:48, Babalu wrote:

Now, this doesn't make those prized tiki bowls out there any less valuable...it's just interesting is all. In fact, it kind of adds to the Kitch factor of these bowls in my opinion...All one would have needed to do to make this bowl with the girls would be to take a feashly cast bowl and push in the sides - take a little slip (liquid clay) and attach the pre-cast nude figures in the bowl's depressions.

You mean something like these....

...from a coupla of years ago... :lol:

Here is another of the Spurlin mugs from the Islander in Los Angeles that sold on ebay recently. This one is not illustrated on the menu....

but is shown on several live action photos from the Islander thread in Locating Tiki.

Those old B & W photos show how crisp the original castings were.

DC

that guy looks like Al Hirt - a well known trumpeter of the 50's and 60's (not sure if it is him though)

On 2010-06-26 16:53, Digitiki wrote:
that guy looks like Al Hirt - a well known trumpeter of the 50's and 60's (not sure if it is him though)

That's definitely him.

On 2010-06-26 18:04, MrBaliHai wrote:

On 2010-06-26 16:53, Digitiki wrote:
that guy looks like Al Hirt - a well known trumpeter of the 50's and 60's (not sure if it is him though)

That's definitely him.

Yeah, look at the way he bent his straw I wonder if it sounded like a trumpet after he did that? :)

What's weird is that there's no JAVA on the table? :lol:

[ Edited by: Bora Boris 2010-06-26 18:21 ]

On 2010-02-27 16:57, Dustycajun wrote:
Here are two mug illustrations shown in the drink menu from the Tahitian in Pasadena

The first is a Fog Cutter style mug (cleverly named the Smog Cutter!) that shows the Tahitian name and their logo hut.

The second is a Rum Barrel with the Tahitian name.

Do they exist?

DC

Saw the Tahitian Rum Barrel mug on ebay.

So, the Tahitian Fog cutter must exist too. Surprised we have never seen one here.

DC

i found a islander coffee grog today o go with my handled version.
here are the two different spurlin mugs side by side.

On 2010-02-25 Sabu wrote:

THE HILTON HAWAIIAN VILLAGE MUGS

So far, I've seen just about every one of these custom mugs from the Hilton Hawaiian Village in Hawaii appear on TC over the years:

The exceptions are the "Chimp In Orbit" and the "Suffering Haole"

You can check off the "Suffering Haole"

Thrift store finds. I almost passed them by, as they are too nice - shiny and smooth, not at all crude. Then I turned one over and saw "Terra Ceramics - Hilton Hawaiian Village - Hawaii".

I also finally picked up a "Hawaiian Eye". But I too have never seen the "Chimp in Orbit" - one more Holy Grail to find.

SCORE!!! Nice job.

DC

Wow, it's beautiful, Wendy

Here's another Spurlin Coffee Grog mug spotted on ebay.

I tried and failed to win this one but maybe another Tiki Central member did.
It seems to be from a much crisper mold than the others out there.

-Darrin

[ Edited by: mr_retro 2010-08-12 15:02 ]

Hey Dusty we should put this one on the thread too:

Pix of this Sam's Seafood fogcutter mug has already been shown, but here is the one I found at a thrift store in SD County. Since it is (I'm pretty sure) Spurlin, the lack of glaze has taken a toll on the paint.

On 2010-04-04 19:28, Swanky wrote:

On 2010-04-03 20:32, ron-tiki wrote:
here's one i've only seen one other of owned by tiki kate.

I've seen this in a different glaze. Black and white.

I didn't think I'd be doing anything other than admiring this thread but I have been looking for the original mug that my homecraft version was created out of, looks like it is this one. Mine has an added lip, is 6 1/2 inches tall and is marked "Hawaii Nov.#1 Handpainted TB" on the bottom.

that mug looks more like the ooh version .
its a little shorter and not as wide at the top. but the same ku design...

[ Edited by: ron-tiki 2010-08-14 06:39 ]

I love this thread. Just so much to take in and wish to find.