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

Was not sure if this was the right thread to post on, since it is primarily
about hard to find mugs , however anything vintage from Sam's Seafood is hard
to find.If you look at the middle of the pic, and then just above on the top
of the shelf ,you will see the tiki pendants there on the shelf.

( photo from Sabu in prior post )

Here is a close up shot of what the Marquesan tiki pendant actually looks like.This was on ebay and
I was out bid yesterday @ $124.00 .I have never seen anyone else post one of these on TC,
nor have I ever seen one in person.I am wondering if anyone here on TC won it.

That pendant was made for the reopening of Sam's in 2006, the date on the bottom in picture of the auction listing. I have one hanging in our tiki lounge. At that price, it may be up on ebay soon!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&_trksid=p4340.l2557&hash=item3f166f284a&item=270959323210&nma=true&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&rt=nc&si=fgkmzHTV0RIx4dQcOjHQVxliKYg%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc#ht_500wt_994

[ Edited by: tikigreg 2012-04-26 12:56 ]

Do we know made these ? Glad I did not win .I thought it was old .Date is not totally
ledgable in pic.I am wondering if there are any old original ones out there ?

Now that I have my reading glasses on I can see the date clear!
Curious if this was sculpted from an original or not ?

Polynesaic!

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=19531&forum=17&vpost=234195&hilite=sam%27s%20seafood%20re-opening

I used to have one of those pendants. I loaned it and a menu to TikiFarm so they could do the sculpt for the mug, but Holden and Squid do not know what happened to them. Oh well....

Er, Sam's closing party... yeah, that's what I meant.

The Beachcomber Mayfair London Flaming Grog mug:- At last i found one the rarest British tiki mugs, Whilst in a local junk shop which i always go in i saw a rather grubby and ugly looking mug on a high shelf only to pick it up and see what it was, Couldnt believe it! It looks almost homemade and glad i didnt pay a load for it on ebay!!(it cost 50p, about $1)

I'm going to buy a hat to doff it too you!

So impressed in your find, I can't express my delight in your find without swearing.

Inspired by Tiki Wagons Beachcomber mug find, I decided to spend some time trying to find the makers of these crypto mugs.

A few months ago I chanced, on a search on a search for "Beachcomber Mayfair London", on the following web page from the Telegraph from 19 Oct 1996..

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/4705107/Arabian-sights-on-the-tiles.html

..the page is about the welsh ceramicist Jean Powell and has the following intriguing passage..

Jean and her late husband, Rhys, were among the first of North Wales's legion of struggling potters. Back in the Fifties they made "Polynesian coconut" pot ashtrays for the Beachcomber restaurant in the Mayfair Hotel, London. They were so popular that diners regularly walked off with an ashtray in their pocket.

Orders for more and more replacement coconut ashtrays were sent to the Powell workshops, then in Llangollen. Rhys and Jean even had to stop making their bestselling piggy banks and salt and pepper pots just to keep up with the demand for baked-clay coconuts. But the ashtrays paid the rent.

So Jean and her husband made coconut ashtrays for the Beachcomber, well that adds another item to the list of crypto-items from that establishment.

Next I searched to see if Craig Bragdy Designs was still in business..

http://www.craigbragdydesign.co.uk/

..they are and on the site they have Jean Powell's book "Earth Fire and Water", which contains on page 19 this enlightening passage..

..now in my search I've turned up another crypto-item "Butlins Beachcomber Tiki Lamps". But on sentence got me thinking..

On each we had to scratch "Mayfair Hotel London".

Now we have no examples of the coconut ashtrays but we do have these mugs..

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

Beachcomber Logo Mug

and Mayfair branding does appear to be scratched on.
Were these mugs made by Jean and her Husband?
Surely the Beachcomber got their mugs made at the same place as their ashtrays?

So I took the chance and wrote to Craig Bragdy Designs and got this lovely reply back..

Dear Johann

Yes you have tracked us down! In the late 50’s early 60’s we did produce hundreds of these half coconut shell ashtrays and the primitive mugs, I remember a holiday maker watching me working and doing the scratching’s and remarking “oh how nice to be so artistic!”

Another Polynesian innovation we made was for Butlins holiday camp in South Wales, they wanted big lamp bases for their bar. We were living at Wern Mill, Nanerch near Denbigh at this time (1960ish) and we didn’t have a very big kiln. There was a pipe and brick making factory in Pont Y Bodkin near Mold making salt glazed drain pipes and bricks, so we picked up unglazed unfired drain pipes of various sizes, some quite big 1-2 meters in height, we carved them into Polynesian Easter Island faces and Totem poles and then took them back to the pipe factory to be salt glazed and fired. The factory men were very helpful but thought we were quite mad. The lamp bases had exotic drum like raffia shades fixed on them afterwards. I am sure you won’t find any of those in your hunt!

After my husband “Taffy” died in 1994, I have carried on with two of our sons, Nick and Shon. We design and make Ceramic Murals and Swimming Pools in our Denbigh factory. Our customers come from, Saudi Arabia, Emirates, far East, Russia, USA and the UK.

It is very interesting to have your enquiry, best wishes to you.

Jean Powell

So finally we have an answer to the Beachcomber Mayfair Mug Maker Mystery, the Flaming grog and double toggle tiki logo mug were designed by Jean and Taffy Powell and made at the Powell Pottery in Wales.

Now does anybody have an example of Jean's lamp bases as I like her challenge..

I am sure you won’t find any of those in your hunt!

[ Edited by: atomictonytiki 2012-05-27 00:07 ]

Atomictonytiki,

Stellar research! Great to learn about the mug maker, and even better to add the coconut ashtray and Tiki lamp to the Ctypto list.

Good luck on your search.

DC

Aloha,

Yes, WELL done Tony! I did recently find the Triangle Diamondhead mug from the HHV. I did not have it previously...

Thats amazing work finding that out Tony,Sherlock Holmes has nothing on your detective work so i doff my deerstalker to you!I wonder if any other stuff from the Beachcomber survived?

On 2012-04-09 11:23, OceaOtica wrote:
Kona Hilton from my collection

I have one of these - came from a UK seller on ebay for under $15 including shipping.

Back on page 8, we were talking about this hat / ice cone thing in the Delmonico's menu illustration of the Kon-Tiki (on the right below). Here's woofmutt weighing in...

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

I thought the general consensus made sense, that it was some kind of base saucer plus ice cone thing. But I never saw anything real and photographic until I noticed DC's post on the thread for the Shangri-La in Chicago...

On 2009-06-01 12:30, Dustycajun wrote:

Bingo bango, right down to the pineapple lid. But what's that blue part anyway - is that ceramic or ice?

-Randy

Damn..... Randy...Good eye! :)

[ Edited by: HOUSE OF KU 2012-06-07 04:03 ]

On 2009-06-01 12:30, Dustycajun wrote:

Bingo bango, right down to the pineapple lid. But what's that blue part anyway - is that ceramic or ice?

-Randy

I'd say ice. However, how does the fluid stay in and not level off?

Got super lucky and found, what I presume to be, an old Trader Vic's Samoa Fog Cutter mug. At least it sure looks like one.

Earlier in this thread (bottom of p.17) Aquatic Safarinaut found the same mug which is found in the 1944 Life Magazine Article. And later he (p. 19) got a letter from Trader Vic's stating that these early mugs were hand made locally and thus display some variety... so here's another one for comparison.

Very cool Tattoo!

Always wanted a Trader Vic's 3 Tiki bowl and jumped at the opportunity when i saw this version with the cool green glaze.

But wow, what a surprise once I got it. It's incredibly heavy and completely handmade. It feels and looks more like a mid-century ceramic studio piece rather than a drinking bowl. A little too nice for barware. It's sculpted out of a think clay and is completely matte on the outside. The inside of the bowl has a cool thick green glaze. It has a really nice pitted texture to it from the firing process. The bottom is inscribed: "Made for Trader Vic by Dickman Walker."

Dickman Walker was a mid-century potter and artist from the San Francisco area. I found a 1952 article that mentions him as a famed potter and his work being exhibited at a museum opening. Not much to go on but Trader Vic did seem to commission his early barware from local producers like the pieces in the 1944 Life Magazine article. This bowl is probably not that old but most likely early to mid 50s. However, I really don't know and don't know what the story is behind this version. Does anyone else have a Dickman Walker bowl? Hope someone here can help me out...

[ Edited by: Tattoo 2012-09-23 18:47 ]

I don't have any info for ya but that is a beautiful Tiki bowl Tattoo! Great find! :)

Whoa - Never seen one like this, you might indeed have found one of the earliest "TIKI"-depicting cocktail containers! As there is still no clarity about WHO invented the first Tiki mug, and WHEN, one thing becomes apparent when looking at dates and Tiki mug illustrations in vintage cocktail menus:
The Trader Vic Tiki bowl was there before any other restaurants began to serve their libations in Tiki mugs. Technically it is not a Tiki mug, but the step from the bowl to the mug was the next logical one.

Wow Big Bro! Could this then be the "Tiki" of Tiki mugs?

[ Edited by: SilverLine 2012-09-25 18:45 ]

I've found out a little bit more history regarding this bowl. First off, John (aka Aquatic Safarinaut) was super kind enough to ask the fine folks at Trader Vic's about this bowl. Kier Fullmer at Trader Vic's forwarded the info to Peter Seely who is the CEO and Trader Vic's grandson. Here's Kier reply:

Hi,
I showed the pictures to Peter and he said that Dickman Walker made some for the San Francisco restaurant on Cosmo.
He has one with a different color scheme.

Peter loved it!

If I get any more info on the bowl (year it was released), I will let you know.

Have a great day!
~Kier

Mahalo John, Kier and Peter for that great info. So it was actually used at Trader Vic's and others were made. Also, with the San Francisco Trader Vic's opening in 1951, the bowl isn't any older than that. But I also found out some more info about the maker of the bowl.

Dickman Walker (born circa 1908) was indeed quite an accomplished artist and potter. He won numerous awards for his pottery in 1940s. He eventually moved to San Francisco in the late 40s where he started his studio. Unfortunately Dickman Walker passed away in 1953. Sadly he died relatively young and not sure how.

With the San Francisco Trader Vic's opening in 1951 and Dickman Walker passing away in 1953, we can now safely date the three Tiki bowl within that time frame. Hope that helps your timeline Sven. The rest is guess work but I would imagine that soon after Trader Vic contacted Tepco to make the same bowls based on this design. Probably around the time they expanded into the Hilton chain. Not sure when that exactly happened.

Either way, some interesting info regarding the history of this bowl all thanks to the Tiki Central community and Trader Vic's. Curious to see what the other bowl with the different color scheme looks like as well as other pieces Dickman Walker might have made for Trader Vic's.

The plane! The plane!

[ Edited by: Tattoo 2012-09-27 20:04 ]

Great research, Taboo, that really seems to make this bowl the earliest Tiki cocktail container ever made. I do not know of any Tiki mugs having appeared earlier than the mid-50s. Perhaps the first cylindrical logo Tiki mug ever was the the Tiki Bob's mug. Then there was Spurlin in L.A. who hand-made mugs for The Islander. Steve Crane's The Luau did not have any Tiki mugs until the Kon Tiki chain started, Don The Beachcomber never had any, and Trader Vic's "Suffering Bastard" mug came out much later and was never used in the restaurants. The heyday of the Tiki mug, the explosion of the many designs and manufacture in Japan really did not happen until the late 50s - early 60s, paralleling the heyday of Tiki Style in design and architecture.

The Tiki supported drinking bowl is a very logical "first", as the concept was take directly from museum pieces, most likely one of the Hawaiian bowls, this being the most famous one:

The Hawaiians made quite a few others...

...and there are Maori-made designs too:

But what inspired the first MUG ? Clearly, there were cylindrical Tiki poles, and on a smaller scale, Marquesan bone toggles that were hollow inside...

This thread is what makes Tiki Central great. I wish I had some info to contribute, but mahalo to all of you who keep the information flowing.

I have a weird mug here that hasn't turned up yet on TC based on my searches &
reading this thread (which kept me highly entertained when I was home sick on Monday
I might add, so thanks for that...)

Clearly, this is some variant on the Oceanic Arts "Mahi Mahi" mug (which is in and of itself nearly a crypto-mug), but there are no markings of any kind on it, and it's in a reddish-brown color (as opposted to OA's mottled brown paint job...)

On the OA mug (and the Tiki Farm repop from 2001) there's the "Mahi Mahi" text on
the rear where there's only a blank box on this one:

No markings on the bottom:

Maybe it's a prototype or some kind of salesman's sample? To my knowledge, OA only made this model for the Mahi Mahi in TN; I've never seen one with any other restaurant on it and I know OA didn't veer into the mug business too often, so I can't see where a prototype or salesman's sample would make much sense.

If it were a hobbyist job, modeled from the original, I would assume there would be imperfections and there aren't any. I've seen the original, and the Tiki Farm version, and this sculpt is identical except for the missing text (and the heft.)

Did OMC or Orchids do a Mahi Mahi knock-off (a la Orchids' Kona Kai knock off)?

Or is this something painfully common I've just somehow never stumbled on before (even though it's been in my house for two years)

Thoughts?

--Pete

I could swear I saw one of those a year or so ago on e-Bay that had a Mister Tiki Mai Tai Lounge heat decal on the back. Same color. I searched around then for another example of it, but never found one. However, you can see a pineapple mug from Mister Tiki's with the same heat decal here:

http://www.ooga-mooga.com/cgi-bin/all/mug.cgi?mode=view&mug_id=1343

The rounded rectangle space on the back is the same. My guess is that both the pineapple mug and the mug in question are from the same manufacturer.

On 2012-09-28 21:28, Ragbag Comics wrote:
I have a weird mug here that hasn't turned up yet on TC based on my searches &
reading this thread

Here you go, if you want to make a set: http://www.myriahsbazaar.com/Brown-Square-Mouth-Tiki-Mug-p/s292.htm

Bingo!

I had a sneaking suspicion this fella was some kind of knockoff, but the fact that anyone would use the OA Mahi Mahi mug as a base for making cheap-y party ware seemed kinda weird to me. Not only is it an exceptionally rare mug from an obscure location, but it's kind of a weird design to boot.

It really looks nearly identical to the Tiki Farm repop of the OA mug (sans the Mahi Mahi markings), but then... look at those recent Chinese knockoffs of Tiki Farm's Lil' Waha Nui, Mana Mana, Tikinator, etc that popped up on ebay awhile ago. The mug-mashers are always out there, lurking in the shadows....

Always surprises with this stuff.

Thanks for the tip(s)!

--Pete

Okay, so I saw this Kava Bowl up on e-Bay, and then like so many wonderful things that pop up, the auction was quickly canceled, probably when somebody with deep pockets made an offer.

It appears to be an early piece without the scalloped top edge. Anybody seen one like this?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/150908552280?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

Tom:

I also saw that auction on ebay and obviously someone made an offer that couldn't be refused. It looks more like a vase than a drinking vessel to me and according to the description it's rather small at 9" in height. Who knows what it exactly is or how it was used. Couldn't find any pictures anywhere with that particular version in it.

On another note of "crypto mugs", the Zombie Village menu has a listing of two mugs. One for the Tabu which must have been the amazing Zombie Village mug but the other one listed is for the Bambooie which includes a "ceramic vase."

Then one day I came across a listing for two vases with the same Zombie Village mug markings. I'm pretty certain that these are the mugs for the Bambooie.

Unfortunately I was too late for the mugs and 5 years later I have never come across these ones since. So... are these the Bambooie mugs? Does anyone have these? Either way, another crypto mug to look for.

[ Edited by: tattoo 2012-11-02 19:42 ]

Tattoo, good thoughts/details about that kava bowl/vase in question.

Also, very interesting details on the Zombie Village pieces.

Currently, I'm waiting with great anticipation to see who ends up with all the Los Angeles Island/Spurlin/Stella Bodey pieces that just went up on e-Bay. A whole collection of cryptos on the block! Some of them I've never seen or heard of before. Amazing.

Not sure who the seller is (dzlist) however he has a fine collection he is selling on ebay.Looks like he is a
reader or member of TC and gives props to DC .Cobra Fang and a viscious virgin . as well as some other
rare Spurlin mugs .The Islander - La Cienega .Who wouldn't want these in their collection !
I'll let you guess who is currently bidding on most of them !

http://www.ebay.com/sch/dzlist/m.html?item=261113718264&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3ccb9725f8&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2562

[ Edited by: 1961surf 2012-10-20 08:48 ]

On 2012-09-28 23:24, Trader Tom wrote:
I could swear I saw one of those a year or so ago on e-Bay that had a heat decal on the back.

I found one like that a while back
Mister Tiki Mai Tai Lounge

Buzzy Out!

Yeah...according to O.A., these were the first Tiki mugs ever produced, in the late 50s, before Otagiri cornered the market.

The seller might have come upon these as one lot, the broken piece and the plastic lei/swizzle sticks suggest that.

What I wanna know is how Otagiri came to take over some of the designs - did they buy the molds or did they "borrow" them?

Amazing.

Surprised no one copied more of these photos and stuck them here.

I hope whoever sold of their rare Islander mugs was happy with the prices they fetched. Also whoever purchased them I hope I get to see this Vicious Virgin bowl in person sometime...its amazing!

:o
That is amazing.

On 2012-10-05 12:36, Trader Tom wrote:
Okay, so I saw this Kava Bowl up on e-Bay, and then like so many wonderful things that pop up, the auction was quickly canceled, probably when somebody with deep pockets made an offer.

It appears to be an early piece without the scalloped top edge. Anybody seen one like this?

The Trader Vic's Kava bowl is exceptional; I'd be willing to make a trade, in the owner's favor, for it.

You didn't get it? I was hoping that you did! It's a masterpiece.

A minor crypto mug I guess. I feel it is fitting and I like keeping this thread alive! I found this Coconut Mug with this marking which looks like an "I" but as Philip Roberts pointed out, might be a T and a L combined. Which still doesn't help me figure out who the maker is.

BUT I have found where I have seen this marking before. Which is this Honolulu Trader Vic's Bowl.

And this Honolulu Trader Vic's mug:

So this is most likely the Honolulu Trader Vic's coconut mug from the same era. However, the famed Hawaii TV menu with the Polynesian Pottery mugs, doesn't feature the bowl, mug and also features a different coconut mug.

Which looks like a Coco Joe's piece

Neither the Honolulu Trader Vic's marked bowl, mug or the coconut mug are (obviously) from Polynesian Pottery and I wonder who the maker mark is for. And curious if they came after or before the Polynesian Pottery mugs.

The plane! The plane!

[ Edited by: tattoo 2012-12-07 18:50 ]

Tattoo, nice find on the coconut mug and research on the mark. The same post that Dustycajun showed that menu in also had this shot...

Doesn't that look like your coconut behind the pineapple mug? Across the table is the bowl that showed the same mark, and I'm digging that skull mug! Dusty's post stated that this shot was from the Trader Vic's Old Plantation restaurant on Ward Ave as the International Marketplace location was opening.
What year that was I don't know right now but I'll start searching (edit, apparently 1967). Also, is it possible the mark could be Kanji?

Aloha, tikicoma

[ Edited by: tikicoma 2012-12-08 00:15 ]

Aloha Tattoo,
I'm pretty sure that coconut mug is a LaTour Hawaii..Check out the picture of one with LaTour Hawaii spelled out.. It looks like the same signature.

Ron-Tiki beat me to it, but that would be my guess as well. The pineapple mug and Ku bowls by La Tour on Ooga-Mooga have their bottom signatures spelled out, so the stylized L & T brand on your coconut mug probably came before or after. I think the capital "H" in "Hawaii" looks similar too. The bar across the "H" is long and the two vertical lines bow inward the same way both in the print and cursive versions.

Tom-
Did a search here on TC for Latour of hawaii and apparently The pagodas that Latour made were marked with the L& T signature as well as Latour of Hawaii??

Well, with all the accumulated evidence, I think it's 99% certain that LaTour and the LT brand are the same.

Wow! How cool is that. Thanks everyone for figuring all that out and illuminating a semi-major manufacturer. And now we have a way to identify a particular line of mugs and bowls from the Honolulu Trader Vic's. Gotta love Tiki Central!

Just have to figure out more about the actual company...