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

Hey guys,

Just spent the past hour pouring over this thread, thanks it's very educating and I hope it will stay with me when we are out hunting.

Keep up the great detective work!

Paul

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

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

Do they exist?

DC

I found the Smog Cutter mug on the way home from Oasis today at the only Thrift Store I stopped at. I was in the middle-of-nowhere California!

It does not say Tahitian on the side, but it is marked Tahitian on the bottom!

[ Edited by: mrsmiley 2010-08-23 22:40 ]

And the Tiki Gods smiled down on Mr. Smiley! Great score, nice to see a new Crypto mug surface. That Tiki Oasis money was probably burning a hole in your wallet.

DC

Wow! What an encore to a great Tiki Oasis weekend. Those are great mugs! Congrats on the find, Smiley.

Koolau -

Sorry I didn't comment on your find earlier:

Those are really beautiful. I'm impressed with how well the menu illustrator captured them in his artwork. They look just like the picture!

I think I found one today...

Fogcutter mug...think I saw it here somewhere. Thinking about selling this one??

PTD

The Sam's Seafood Fog Cutter (some other places too) nice find! :D

On 2010-09-06 16:08, Bora Boris wrote:
The Sam's Seafood Fog Cutter (some other places too) nice find! :D

Thanks Bora Boris...it looked like a vase at first, but the shape of the mug was too close to pass on!

PTD

????

Hawaiian punch glass from the Hilton Hawaiian Village perhaps ....awesome Tikiskip!

[ Edited by: 1961surf 2010-09-13 19:58 ]

Tikiskip those glasses are a great find! They came in several colors. I think I have a blue one somewhere in my collection. They are often called Deep Sea, Skin or Pearl Diver glasses and were made by the Dunbar Flint Glass Company. They were used at various Polynesian restaurants and can be seen pictured in several older Tiki drink menus. I think the style glass is called Aramis...

Forget about the old mugs, that set is truly amazing. I love all the different colors. Worthy of use even today. Great find.

My set of "pearl divers"

Always looking for more of these.

[ Edited by: Tikisgrl 2010-09-15 19:21 ]

On 2010-09-15 19:19, Tikisgrl wrote:
My set of "pearl divers"

Always looking for more of these.

[ Edited by: Tikisgrl 2010-09-15 19:21 ]

This is driving me crazy! I KNOW I've seen these in my hunts but at the time didn't know what they were. Now I couldn't find any to save my life! Kudos to those with good eyes AND the knowledge to grab 'em! They're beautiful!

ENvious here, to say the least.

The rare Sam's Sea Food mug...

...appears to be in use by the fellow on the left in this newspaper photo from 1967:

Nick Alex, nothin'. That's THE JAB!

[ Edited by: Sabu The Coconut Boy 2010-09-17 16:40 ]

Larger pieces are reduced in size and made into shot glasses and salt and peppers.

I'll stay out of the thread and doubt I'll ever post again even if I find the real thing.

Paul

[ Edited by: blacklagoon 2010-10-02 19:49 ]

This thread is about Crypto Mugs..the rare mugs that appear on cocktail menus that seem elusive in our hunts.

Not about salt and pepper shakers that look like these mugs and have nothing to do with what this thread is about.

Why cant anyone just let a thread be about the topic its referencing without adding in a bunch of nonrelated stuff...please someone tell me why.

Your salt and pepper shaker find has zero to do with the topic of this thread. You should just stick it in the Tiki Finds thread although its not tiki either at least its nautical in nature...

[ Edited by: leleliz 2010-10-02 18:59 ]

"This thread is about Crypto Mugs..the rare mugs that appear on cocktail menus that seem elusive in our hunts. Not about salt and pepper shakers that look like these mugs and have nothing to do with what this thread is about."

Since blacklagoon pulled his pictures and changed his post I don't know if the S&Ps he posted were not related to an image in a menu or ad or if the S&Ps resembled some crypto-mug in a menu.

If objects are merely unusual but don't go with any evidence for an unseen mug then they should go in the Tiki Finds thread.

But if the object is a mass produced ceramic that has a strong resemblance to an elusive mug in a menu or ad I think it would be entirely relevant to this thread.

It might show that the mug rendering in a menu wasn't entirely made up by an artist.

The S&Ps or condiment container could be smaller versions of a larger design (as blacklagoon pointed out above).

The small object might have been the artist's inspiration for the illustration, either just because it was available to work from or because Mr. Tiki Restaurant Opener had a set of S&Ps he liked the look of and thought he'd have mugs made in that same design so he had that design included in the menu.

On 2010-04-03 20:26, ron-tiki wrote:
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 ]

I just found this mug today. I wasn't even sure if I was gonna buy it, (It has no markings on the bottom, just more glaze) but something about it seemed very "Trader Vic's Honolulu to me.
Was it ever documented in the Hawaiian Trader Vic's menu?

Here's a pic of mine:

nice score!!!

Aloha,

Was it ever documented in the Hawaiian Trader Vic's menu?

Nope, but it did make the front cover of "Waikiki Tiki: Art History and Photographs."

On 2010-10-06 07:53, Phillip Roberts wrote:
Aloha,

Was it ever documented in the Hawaiian Trader Vic's menu?

Nope, but it did make the front cover of "Waikiki Tiki: Art History and Photographs."

Hey! Whattayaknow? It's right on the cover. I know I just saw your book recently...so maybe that's why I knew there was something about that mug...

On 2010-10-06 11:43, Slacks Ferret wrote:

Hey! Whattayaknow? It's right on the cover. I know I just saw your book recently...so maybe that's why I knew there was something about that mug...

My mug collection is actually quite small and very focused. I am only really interested in the regional ceramics and pottery of Hawaii. Made in Hawaii or used in Hawaii are the only mugs used in my book, "Waikiki Tiki: Art, History, and Photographs.

Found this mug exactly a year ago at a Salvation Army .Phil Roberts was instrumental awhile
back when I did not know where mug was from .Great multi color glaze ,no markings on bottom
leads us to believe it is from Polynesian Pottery .

this mug was made by terra ceramics not pp. the one i have is marked a shown above..

On 2010-10-11 09:19, ron-tiki wrote:
this mug was made by terra ceramics not pp. the one i have is marked a shown above..

Ron based on what Phil had conveyed to me , they were made by both companies .
Most of Terra ceramics had markings on bottom like the foremost depicted and
shown with Trader Vic markings .I am only going by what he said .I know Phil
is alot more knowledgable then I am when it come to Hawaii tiki mugs.I honestly
don't know one way or the other,however I dig the mug and apparently not that
easy to find .The cool thing about this find is ,I have not found any tiki mugs
there since at that location.I happen to have found at the same time the smooth
more sought after version of the cross arm tiki mug that was made for Luau Hut
and several other locations .

great info!! thanks...

Aloha,

: From Tiki finds, which is almost impossible to find info in...

On 2010-10-07 15:11, Tiki Royale wrote:

Phillip Roberts, can you provide any details on Terra Ceramics?

I can. "Terra Ceramics, Hawaii" was active 1965-ish until around 1989-ish. It was run by Victoria Citron (She was 81 when she passed in 2003) out of a kiln in Kalihi. They often bid against Polynesian Pottery (Daga) , and Louie B. Ceramics for jobs.

The company started doing flowerpots for hotels and eventually got the contract to make the coconut mugs for Duke Kahanamoku's on the Beach, and the Hilton business. After the majority owner passed on her son (sadly) disposed of many of the custom molds. (I know Gecko picked up a couple of the molds but this was the exception to the rule.)

Added information:

I was just at the Daga Warehouse on Friday. Dan Cosina, confirmed BOTH Polynesian Pottery and Terra Ceramics made the mug in question. Apparently it is an "Adele Davis" design/mold.

Adele ran the original kiln in Kalihi. She lived and designed near Sunset Beach before selling out to Dan and Gary of PP (Daga). She also sold molds to Terra Ceramics, HB Hawaii, Louie B and others.

You'll often see a 'Tahitian Lanai' green bamboo handled mug with the "SSS" incised on the bottom. (SSS=Sunset Shore Searamics) Some of my 'Shipwreck Kelly' items bear the same mark. She also signed some of her work "AD" like the ashtray Freddie showed earlier in this thread.

About Adele. Dan discribes her as a short, stout woman who smoked cigars, played high stakes poker, and drank hard; quite often. :)

phillip--thanks for the info-- this explains something to me..i have 1 of these marked terra ceramics and the other isn't but side by side they are identical.. size,glaze,etc.this makes sense now since they were probably made from the same mold and used the same glaze..

Mahalo Phil! Great info.
Aloha,
:tiki:

Aloha,

On 2010-10-12 10:39, Tiki Royale wrote:
Mahalo Phil! Great info.

Regarding Terra Ceramics. Had an awesome experience today I'll share. I had gone up to the Bess Press to do my weekly pop in at the publisher. About 15 minutes after I was there, a lady walked in.

"I'm here to buy 4 copies of the Tiki Book."

"The author is right there..." said the business manager, who pointed to me.

"I'd be happy to sign those for you... How did you hear about the book?"

"I work at Bamboo Press, another local book company that puts out fiction, poetry, (by local writers,) and ghost stories, etc. I saw it at the monthly Hawaii book publishers meeting. Some of my Mother-In-Law, Victoria Citron’s mugs are in your book. She ran TERRA CERAMICS with her sister. I am buying them for all my relatives for Christmas. Makes it easy."

We had a long talk... She is going to look around the house and see what "she has lying around..." She says there are mugs, molds, and photos…

More to follow...

It may take me some time so please be patient…

Phillip

:o Can't wait! More great detective work, Phil! Mahalo

Has anyone found the Luau Cup, Frustrating Fanny, or Voodoo Bowl from Club Luau in Houston, TX?

How about the Dr. Munk, Log-Cutter, or Keg O' Rum?

[ Edited by: Sabu The Coconut Boy 2010-11-13 00:10 ]

"Frustrating Fanny" my new holy-grail mug, I wonder if its the ancestor of the bearded clam?

On 2010-05-12 19:13, Brandomoai wrote:
I'd like to offer some Canadian menus for the crypto-mug search.

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.

I'm also interested in this Swizzling Babalu mug on the other page:

It seems to be ceramic with some kind of raised design of a dancer. Has anyone else seen something similar?

Sabu

Sabu,

I can't remember ever seeing a mug with the Club Luau name on it. The postcard I have does not show any mugs on the bar tables either.

Here is another one that I have not seen before from an illustrated drink menu that came from the Hawaiian Isle in Florida (from ebay).

Most of the mugs look like standard issues from the Otagiri catalog

But how about this Navy Grog mug with the distinctive handle?

DC

island sling is your basic toby mug....the mai tai (i have) and the navey grog (i had but broke) are somewhat common in that they appear on ebay here and there....remember, menu colors can be misleading...mugs were often colored differently in the menu (for artists compositional reasons) than what they were in reality ...i do not think these mugs exist in the color green, but are often seen in the color brown....well, except for the toby mug which i did see in green but it was a copy some home ceramicist made from a mold of an original mug......

the navy grog looks like a tepco mug and is available in both green and brown. the green is the less common one.

i have a brown/green toby mug. i thought they were pretty common.

Well obviously my mistake on the Crypto Mug ID for the Tepco. I am a paper guy and don't know much about mugs.

Could someone post a photo and then we can move on to ACTUAL hard to find mugs.

Thanks,

DC

I got that puppy as a lighter:

Ugly lil' duckling. But any Tiki object with an early 60s date is cool:

I wonder whooo got that great Hawaiian Isle menu!

Sven,

Thanks for bailing me out with your Crypto Lighter version of the Toby mug!

That was one sweet drink menu, now residing in a deserving home museum.

DC

I'm also interested in this Swizzling Babalu mug on the other page:

It seems to be ceramic with some kind of raised design of a dancer. Has anyone else seen something similar?

Sabu

Very nice work boys! Of course, I'm kinda partial to that "Swizzling Babalu" too. :wink:

I don't know about that mug being made of ceramic though Sabu?...I mean, it could be, but it would also be kind of a pain in the ass to mass produce. That stem on mug would need to possibly be slip attached to the main body...and that's kind of a tough to do right there. The whole thing could also be done as one casting, but that area would still be a weak area pulling the cast from the mold, and if the mug was not poured thicker it might create a dip on the bottom inside down into the stem area...

My guess would be that the Swizzling Babalu mug is glassware.

[ Edited by: Babalu 2010-11-18 18:06 ]

From a sale on ebay that just ended, two of the lost Beachcomber mugs.

The Flaming Grog Mug, note the Mayfair branding on the side..

The mug in use in the Pathe footage..

Listed as a tumbler from the Mayfair we have this second crypto-mug.

A close examination of the pattern suggests that it is in fact a repeated toggle tiki design, perhaps this is the Beachcomber Logo Mug?

Behind the letters T and O is this a blurry image of the mug in use?

Glad to see these mugs were appreciated by the collectors as the grog mug made £122.01 ($190.20)and the logo mug went for £137.40 ($214.16).

What lucky person got these as i have been after them for ages!

atomictonytiki - Thanks for updating the thread with those rare mugs. It's great to actually knock a few crypto-mugs off the list when we've been adding so many new ones to it. Those are beautiful, unique mugs too.

On 2010-11-29 13:10, TIKIWAGON wrote:
What lucky person got these as i have been after them for ages!

not me, my bids were blown out of the water!