Tiki Finds

On 2004-02-18 18:29, naugatiki wrote:
Today on my travels I drove by one of those roadside shacks that sell every kind of chainsaw carving for your home and garden where 90% of them are bears.

Wow...I didn't know the guy south of Dallas had franchises!

Kono wrote:

I was cleaning out my kitchen cabinets a couple of weeks ago and came upon this mug that I forgot I had. I bought her quite a while ago and don't really remember where I got her (ebay?). I got to looking at her and she's pretty interesting to me now that I know a little more about tiki/Polypop mugs. She's an exotic gal, polynesian or SE Asian perhaps, likely topless, leaning against a big barrel. On the bottom it appears to say UC121, Horvath, 1949. Anyone recognize her or know anything about her?

Your mug looks like a particularly nice example of male America's infatuation with the nudie-mug. There was a popular set of six "stripper mugs" in the 40's or 50's, on which the handle/woman gradually disrobed. A California potter named Dorothy Kindell sculpted the best known set of these and others took off on the theme with different poses. As far as I know, none of the other stripper mugs credited the sculptor although maybe yours was done by Horvath, unless that was the company. Btw, you can see an example of Kindell's work in Tiki Quest in the hula girl section. She also did ceramic women of various sorts that had a Hawaiian look.

[ Edited by: tikijackalope on 2004-02-18 21:32 ]

I wrote:

Btw, you can see an example of Kindell's work in BOT in the hula girl section.

Actually, I think its in Tiki Quest.

On 2004-02-15 23:07, Humuhumu wrote:
Floratina & I visited the Pasadena Antique Mall today, and I picked up a swell tiki:

You kids were in my backyard! Woulda been cool hookin up with you. Great finds!
TG

Wow...I didn't know the guy south of Dallas had franchises!

LOL i know of that guy! He has two locations one on I-35e and 287 across from the drag strip. I've thought about going in and asking him if he made tikis, but I've heard he's got a bad temper, so I didn't want to push it. BTW I heard he was in jail for almost killing a man with one of his blunt scultures. There is a kid in Italy who carves wildlife 100xs better than him. I'm going to locate him and see how he does it and see if he can get into tiki carvings. but then again it would put me and my buddy Andy out of a future job. Here's one of Andy's... um.. altered state abstract tiki. he carved.. I added and painted:

This was done on a long hot summer day back in 96. it's a chain saw tiki. Only pic I have, but he has many others around his yard. Oh yeah, did I say we where in an altered state?

These are my antique mall finds from last weekend.

The mug appears to be the male version of a one generally agreed previously on TC to have come from Pearl City Tavern; it was $3. You can see a female version and the thread where it was discussed here: https://tikicentral.com/viewtopic-new.php?topic=4046&forum=5
The Luau shakers were $5 and still have the OMC stickers. The object on the left is the end of a Coco Joe's letter or napkin holder; it was $5.
I also (hesitantly) picked up this small puffer fish light, below. I don't remember the price but it was in the "please get it out of the store; its creeping us out" catagory. It furnishes a nice red glow but I'm betting UL doesn't approve of a dead fish with a C-7 bulb enema.

Just wanted to share our latest find. At our local thrift store we found this Polynesian Village glass. Its over 12" tall and in perfect shape all for the low cost of $2.48. Are these as common as everyone's favorite frosted two faced Polynesian Village glass? I think I remember seeing one on ebay ahwile back...

This was given to me and my girlfriend from her uncle. He had it in storage for years. It stands approx. 52" There are no markings on it. If anyone has any info on it I would love to hear about it. Thanks!

[ Edited by: tikipunk on 2004-02-20 17:56 ]

[ Edited by: tikipunk on 2004-02-20 18:04 ]

[ Edited by: tikipunk on 2004-02-20 18:05 ]

Looks like you got yerself a Witco lamp there, fella.

That's great news!!!

Thanks!

And a beauty if I do say so myself! If you ever get tired of looking at that lamp, just give me a call :wink:

But seriously finding something that your family has had for a long time is very cool. My grandmother was obsessed with Tahiti. When she passed away I was able to adopt her vintage hula wiggler.

Congrats!

Thanks Tikiwahine!!

naugatiki- Nice find those are a witco or Westenhaver design. They look like the designs in the chainsaw carving book Bill wrote. So if you found them at a chainsaw carving place they are probably knock offs. A good way to tell is the coating on the out side. Witco used a clear thick wax coating. The masks you have look a little to shiny like they have a glossy verathane coating. Tikipunk another great find that is a Witco called Polynesian idol #LA-225. It looks like the shade has been replaced usally they had a shade with carvings on it also.

[ Edited by: filslash 2008-09-10 13:57 ]

Woke up at 5:30am to go to the humongous antique extravaganza at Renningers in Mt Dora FL. Looked at the clock, decided I have enough tiki stuff and turned off the alarm. Had a dream about Charisma Carpenter. Woke up at 7:30am and decided to go to Renningers after all. I had a vision that I'd find a Tiki Hibachi. Hit the road about 8:30 for a 30 mile drive north of Orlando. Hwy 46 is an 18 mile stretch of two lane highway through rural Florida (complete with "Bear Crossing" signs) from I-4 to Mt Dora.

A mile or two from Mt Dora, traffic comes to a complete stop. Now I knew that when you go to one of these shows its best to get there about 7am or it can be difficult to find parking. I did not expect it to be like Woodstock with cars piling up still a mile or two away from the site. I said "screw it," I'd just passed a roadside yard sale and turned my truck around and went back to it. They had a big ol' gigantic King Kamehameha Coco Joes made with lava 1962 sitting there with a $15 price tag on it. I didn't want to pay $15 so I say "Will you take $10 for this?"

The guy says "What about $6?" I'm like WTF? How does that work? He sees my confused look and says "OK, what about $5?" I figure out he must've thought I said "What will you take for this?"

Being an honest and forthright person I say "OK. But you know you have $15 on it right?"

He says "I don't care. He should be here to take care of his stuff. I've packed and unpacked that twice now and if he can't be here to watch his stuff..."

So I got it for a fiver. I decide to hit garage sales and thrift stores instead of the antique market (since I couldn't get to it). Went to Sanford and tried to visit HETO TIKI at her store but they didn't open till 1pm! Talk about banker's hours!

My finds:

Blue Orchids of Hawaii surfer mug, Orchids of Hawaii R-72 (I had a newer knock off but not a real one), Coco Joe's King K, Martin Denny's 20 Golden Hawaiian Hits, a Hawaiian bar towel. Under $30 for the lot. I doubt I'd have done any better at the extravaganza.

As I got close to home I saw a Yard Sale sign and went to investigate. The sale was actually at the home of an older friend. She and her husband were friends of mine for a couple of years and then he died a few months ago. He'd been in Asia during WWII and spent some time in the South Pacific as well. They own a nice vintage black velvet of a topless polynesian girl that he acquired over there.

We're talking a while and she mentions that she was having the large Japanese good luck symbol in her front yard (forget what it was called) replaced due to rot. I go look up front and spy this large black cylindrical organic object propped up near the front door. I go and look at it and it's really odd looking. Of course, I notice it's the right size and shape for a tiki but it was just a rounded amorphous log-like thing with all these brushy fibers sticking up. It looked like a thin "Cousin It" upside down. There were large tunnels in the center as if the core rotted out.

I ask here "What's that?" She tells me its another good luck symbol.

"Oh, another Japanese symbol?"

"No, he got that in Hawaii. What's it called...I can't remember."

"Tiki?""Yeah, that's it. A tiki."

I told her I have never seen a tiki that looks so unlike a tiki before. She shows me where the eyes and noses and mouths used to be and I could kind of make it out. I pulled it away from the wall and could better see some of the carving on the back. It was 4.5 to 5ft tall and apparently had two faces with small bodies one on top of the other. She said it was so degraded because her husband had it out in the elements in front of the house for over 40yrs. It looked more like a bush than a log. What is amazing to me is that I've been to their house several times and walked past that tiki many times (poor tiki radar) and never knew he had a big ass tiki sitting in front of his home for the latter half of the last century and they never knew of my interest in tiki. Weird.

That's my story, sorry it's so long but hey no one made you read it!

Well, what a week it has been...
Flounder dropped off his Kahona painting for me. I can't thank him enough. It's choice-I highly recommend picking one up if you have the means...
That would be enough for most any week, but here are the finds from various thrift stores, garage sales and flea markets to top it all off:

An amazing 31" x 43" original oil painting dated '44. My wife finds it a bit creepy, but it sure fills the wall...

An odd pair of Salt & Pepper shakers (does anybody know what these are?), two unmarked bug-eyed mugs, a Tiki Gardens brochure, 2 Mai Kai postcards and some Hawaiian First-Day-of-Issue stamps.

Also picked up this swell bamboo lamp. Seems to be vintage. Came with it's own flicker bulb that smells like incense when it's turned on...

Also found a Witco. It's 29 1/2" tall. Anybody know the model/style?

Also just received this etched plaque from an eBay auction a while back...

Whew.
I think I'll have to take it easy for the next few days...

JonPez
http://www.playgroundzero.net/tiki/
------_-

-On the eternal search for the recipe for Kobe's white sauce -

[ Edited by: JonPez on 2004-02-21 20:11 ]

[ Edited by: JonPez on 2004-02-21 21:04 ]

treasure craft ashtray

got this couple months ago fol like two bucks

any feeling on whether this witco or not?

mahalo~ j$

Picked up a few things here lately...Cool very old Tahitian drum, A Chinese boat fender (As seen in Trader Vic's), Mai Kai postcard, great Canadian tiki postcard, a red homemade moai mug, several matchbooks from the Kona Kai and Trader Vic's, and a cheesy coconut purse....Not bad!

Oh, yeah...I guess I should back that camera up and show the little sumpn sumpn I found today...(tee hee hee...) The rarer second style, too! A little cleanup, a new pump, and a restain and Witco tiki fountain will be good as new! Chicka Boom Chicka Boom ("Donnnn't 'ya juuust looove it!)

WTF! Dude! Your relentlessness just keeps paying off. This is why he has nearly 200k miles on his vehicle... Nice. I like that one better I think.

That's it - i'm staking out your house and following you everywhere.

He should change his name from basement kahuna to Lucky Bastard.

BTW BK, will you adopt me? I'll sleep on the hide-away couch and I don't drink much.... much more than a baby elephant.

On 2004-02-24 21:59, Unkle John wrote:
He should change his name from basement kahuna to Lucky Bastard.

I’ll second that proposal.

C'mon... he's got you ALL fooled.
Tell 'em BK. It's all done with mirrors isn't it? Even the Paradise Room is a brilliantly executed optical illusion.
Admit it you evil genious! I can't stand to see so many TC'ers in such pain. Please confess and relieve your overburdened guilty conscience. (If you have one).

I hate to say it, but BK has become the Barbie of Tiki... the b!tch has everything!!

Good Tiki find BK.

I have seen that same one as a stand alone (non-fountain) tiki. The one I saw was in fairly pristine shape and it resembled a Witco, but I haven't seen that style actually catalogued. If it's not catalogued by Witco (Keigs, any idea?), then maybe it was done by an ex-Witco employee? Either way, it is a fantastic find!

Question: is the "box" under the water well a possible replacement piece? The picture shows quite a difference in the wood in comparing the tiki, the well, and the supporting box. The carving also doesn't seem as deep. It could just be the picture.

We all would love to see how it comes out after you get it all cleaned up.

That's my boy. Always raising the bar on us.

BtB

JonPez wrote:

Also found a Witco. It's 29 1/2" tall. Anybody know the model/style?...

Very cool JonPez. Now that you've got 'the king' you've got to find 'the queen' now.

On 2004-02-25 10:12, SugarCaddyDaddy wrote:
Good Tiki find BK.

I have seen that same one as a stand alone (non-fountain) tiki. The one I saw was in fairly pristine shape and it resembled a Witco, but I haven't seen that style actually catalogued. If it's not catalogued by Witco (Keigs, any idea?), then maybe it was done by an ex-Witco employee? Either way, it is a fantastic find!

Question: is the "box" under the water well a possible replacement piece? The picture shows quite a difference in the wood in comparing the tiki, the well, and the supporting box. The carving also doesn't seem as deep. It could just be the picture.

We all would love to see how it comes out after you get it all cleaned up.

No, It's all Kosher. The piece had been outside so there was a mix of weathering on it. The tubing groove even has bridged discoloration from the tiki to the box. The minor issue is about 2 inches of rot to the bottom, which I plan to remedy by 2 pints of Minwax wood hardener, a filler, and a good rubber undercoat to seal it all back up. For 325.00, I ain't 'bitchin!

Hey LB -I mean, BK -

Where ya gonna put that thing? I'm trying to picture in which corner it'll finally squeeze once it's all cleaned up. Or in the middle of the room - the centerpiece, la piece de resistance!

On 2004-02-26 15:42, Formikahini wrote:
Hey LB -I mean, BK -

Where ya gonna put that thing? I'm trying to picture in which corner it'll finally squeeze once it's all cleaned up. Or in the middle of the room - the centerpiece, la piece de resistance!

I think it would be perfect for Hale Tiki!

I found this full bottle of Tahiti Joe Gimlet mix among some old bottles at in an antique mall today for all of 3 bucks. Nice graphics but unlike the small Okolehau bottles I have there is no temptation to sample the witches brew. It was distributed by Tahiti Joe Company, LA Calif 90045 in case you're keeping score.

I thought about Hale Tiki...we'll see..I have money in it so it'd be a re-imburser if it ever happened.

Here are my findings for the week
Green Trader Vic's Seahorse
"The Warehouse" Rum Barrel
"Kona" Monkey Pod mug
"hawaii" Vase
Sauari (cant spell)
HIP "Hawaii" (Lava) ash tray (can't really see in pic)

[ Edited by: TikiTrevor on 2004-02-27 00:37 ]

Cool digs.

Hey Gang,
Couple nice finds today for $0.25 apiece...Martin Denny's Quiet Village (jacket in fair condition but the vinyl is excellent) and the album "Savage" from Tihati's South Seas Spectacular Luau. BK and Tikis Obayli had mentioned this one back in January. Mine came with an 8-page newsprint insert entitled Hula Hips, or How to Become "An Instant Polynesian". It contains "Four illustrated hula lessons, complete with music from Tihati's record album." That reference to the album makes me think it originally came with it. Well, that and it was folded up neatly inside. An Aloha Airlines advertisement on the back page dates it to Fall 1978. Sorry no pix at this time as our dog destroyed the digi-cam.

Last album was 101 Strings performing The Romance of Hawaii. Tiki Muzak I suspect, but for a quarter, I splurged.

-JTD

On 2004-02-24 21:50, tiki_kiliki wrote:
That's it - i'm staking out your house and following you everywhere.

Hey BK, how about becoming a Tiki tour guide for us fellow Atlantans?

OOOO It finally happened, made my biggest tiki find and haul to date.....Big thanks to my freinds that are storing the totems and wall hangings!!
oh yea,,,
I scored two 8 & 9 foot tall tiki gods (I think they are made out of palm wood, Very porus light yet pretty strong) Very intricate carving, has a base diameter of about 3 and a half 4 ft...
2 other tiki poles,these have a diameter of about 1 to 1 and a half feet (these are rough guestimates) these two are made of a much denser and (Ugh) heavier wood!!
We also scored up about 10 wall hanging tikis, they are made from maybe 3 peices of planking, stand about 5 ft high and about 3 and a half across.. all sorts of different ones,
I am going to be posting pics with a freinds help. I promise!!
Jay

Jay, First of all CONGRATS on the haul!

Are your new treasures vintage pieces from a lounge or restaurant or are they new creations from a local carver? Finding that much large stuff at one time is very unusual unless it was a batch of salvage perhaps sold off in lots at auction with the closing of an establishment. Get us some photos NOW!
Thanks and congrats again!

Ok well it all came out of a place close to pittsburgh called "The Connely Inn" aparently it is a chain in the area. This partivular location had bee sold and is now an econo lodge. They at some point used to have a Hawiain floor show, I am unsure of when it started, but it seems to have come to an end around 4 years ago when a fire strted in the rear part of the hotel, (where the Dancers lived) They were then kicked out and all of the decorations were uncerimonialy thrown into storage around the hotel. (closets and basement)
I put the age of the goods in the sixties (course I'm no expert) I hope to have the pics up shortly, (like somtime this week)
The wife and I are going to hang onto two peices then the rest is up for grabs......
Will keep everyone informed..
Jay

Duh Sorry 8 ft They are vintage pieces, IOnce I get the pics up I hope to get Geckos opinion on them.....

gotta vintage japanese glass fishing float this weekend! price had dropped from $150 to $100. green glass, beautiful, about 12 inches diameter. i was pretty down with that.

i saw a strange OMC mug, about 8 ounces capacity, looked like an abstract OWL with many holes perforated through the outer wall, brown. anyone ever see such a thing? i was thinking maybe benihana...

j$

[ Edited by: Johnny Dollar on 2004-03-01 09:04 ]

This past weekend I went to a big antique show and the only tiki/Hawaii item I could find was a 1969 comic book that I got for 25 cents. Its called Dennis the Menance in Hawaii and the cover has Dennis peaking out from behind a tiki. Inside there are lots of tiki drawings inside too. There are a few stories about Dennis and his family going to Hawaii, where he learns all about the islands. Tahiti, etc. I couldnt belive my luck for only a quarter! Given the fact that I live in the tikiless wasteland of PA, I felt the way Basement Kahuna must have felt after scoring that wild fountain.

This weekend I faired better than most.

At the flea market I found a monkeypod wood tiki mug. One of those ones that looks like the carving on tiki forks. It's a pretty big one in good condition, but i probably paid too much with $5

Then right after that I found a Trader Vics's skull mug. Although not quite "tiki" I do like it. $10.

Johnny Dollar noted:

gotta vintage japanese glass fishing float this weekend! price had dropped from $150 to $100. green glass, beautiful, about 12 inches diameter. i was pretty down with that.

I'm glad to see another price reference for these; I turned one down a couple weeks back for $85. The guy also had two more at $125 and $150. All were about 12" in diameter, of thick clear or green glass and had a small amount of water inside which he said was from decades of leakage. I doubt that and assume it was from condensation from the air blown inside being humid. The $150 ball had a symbol that looked like an "F" and its mirror image, back to back. It also had areas of a frosted appearance which he called "frostbite." The dealer said they were vintage Japanese and were found by a friend of his in Alaska. I don't tend to trust local flea market dealers to make authenticity judgements on such things (i.e. this table was across from one selling "Egyptian artifacts") but I was tempted...then I remembered what else $150 could buy and that I didn't know squat about drilling glass fishing floats so I went home.

On 2004-03-02 00:36, tikijackalope wrote:
...then I remembered what else $150 could buy and that I didn't know squat about drilling glass fishing floats so I went home.

yeh, this one is so pristene (the glass part) that i'm leavin it well alone. i figure someday i can rig some lighting effect to make it glow without actualy drilling it. anyways, i got an angle on new-made glass float light fixture in the near future :) i also thought i could use the historic netting pattern as a basis if i ever wanted to recreate it myself...
peace
j$

[ Edited by: Johnny Dollar on 2004-03-02 09:24 ]

WHOOO
Hey all just posted topic called Da Big FInd Link, This will bring you to the photos of the large tiki goodies that I found here in pittsburgh, lemme know what you think!
Jay

Let me preface my comments with a hearfelt excuse my language.....holy shit!! That is without a doubt the best fucking score I've ever seen here on T.C.! That is THE motherload! How much for one of the poles - I'll drive to Pittsburgh to get it!!!! Congrats!