New Otani Pineapple Mug Find

I found a New Otani pineapple mug today at an antique store for $5. I bought it because it had the "DAGA" stamp on the bottom, but I know nothing about it. Can anyone fill me in on more info about this mug? Is it from the Trader Vics in the New Otani? The back of the mug says "The New Otani - Kaimana Beach Hotel - Waikiki Hawaii". Any help would be great.

Mahalo,
MachTiki

Here are pictures of what the mug looks like.

[ Edited by: MachTiki on 2004-02-22 19:23 ]

I haven't heard from anyone on this topic yet. I found this in another forum:

On 2002-06-01 22:12, dogbytes wrote:
i've been reading all you fortunate tikiites finding stuff at thrift stores. today was my day! i got a Daga pineapple mug from the New Otani.. for 75 cents! yay for me!

elicia

Maybe Dogbytes (Elicia) could help me out on this one.

Mahalo,
MachTiki

Hey Mach,

I found about eight Pineapple mugs from the New Otani at an Orange County estate sale. I opened up the kitchen cupboard and there they were, so I grabbed them all.

Most of mine are a larger, taller version of yours, but I found two of the small ones that match yours as well. I also found several New Otani bamboo-shaped mugs, and I believe they did a coconut mug as well. They are all great standbys in my tiki bar and have held many a drink. Other than that, I have no info on what the bar in the hotel was called. Sorry.

Sabu

Sabu,

Thanks for the response. It is a great mug for everyday use. Not that I use it every day. Close, but not EVERY day.

Anyway, sounds like you really scored at the OC estate sale. I keep trying garage & estate sales to no avail... Someday.

Just yesterday I found a mug at an antique store that was nothing special except for the fact that it also was perfect for everyday use. When I asked the owner of the store if she had any other mugs she told me that she had a bunch on Saturday that some guy came in and bought. "He must have missed that one" ,she joked. Funny lady.

Timing is everything in this tiki world.

Thanks again,
MachTiki

Hey Mach- Cool mug. If you ever plan on staying at the New Otani, make sure you're well under 6'2". Man. Those rooms are small! The only bar (10 years ago) that I noticed was the Lanai Piano bar.

And don't forget the New Otani was the last regular gig Arthur Lyman had before he past away. I use to live within walking distance of that place and going to hear him play with mallets in both hands and whistling bird calls on Friday afternoons is something I won't soon forget.

naugatiki,

I just found out that Arthur Lyman was once the house band at the Bali Hai in San Diego (where I live). I wish that I could have see what you did. I can only hear what you did through his records. Carry that memory for all of us. Keep the Aloha alive.

Thank you for your post,
Christopher (MachTiki)

I also found several New Otani bamboo-shaped mugs, and I believe they did a coconut mug as well.

Things have been pretty slow for us since we got back from Hawaii, but I finally have something good to post up-- earlier this week, the missus and I were out shopping, and we found a New Otani coconut mug. I'd never seen one, so we picked it up for $10.

I found a couple other odd little guys, too. One was a mug from Windjammer cruises.

Has anyone learned anything new about the New Otani? Just curious.

[ Edited by: TikiJosh 2006-12-27 19:22 ]

The New Otani hotel still exists in Waikiki. Looks like it's more on the Diamond Head end of Waikiki. Not sure if they've done any remodels recently, but they claim that Robert Louis Stevenson (the author) used to hang out at the Hau Tree Lanai. Maybe that's where the mugs came from?

Same mug, but different Hotel.

http://www.ooga-mooga.com/cgi-bin/my/mug.cgi?mode=view&mug_id=319&ind_mug_id=553

nice! I haven't seen that one before!
where'd you get it?

Here's a clip of Arthur Lyman playing at the New Otani
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ccb69mPgOa0

[ Edited by: TikiJosh 2006-12-28 17:08 ]

Wow! He already looks like a ghost in this clip...

Sweet memories: The Trade winds blowing through the open lobby, wafting around us like the vibraphone sounds, the table with old lady fans of his, one of them dancing a hula solo to his music, and the wait staff replying in kind to his birdcalls...

I got my mug from a friend in the Detroit area who was selling off her entire collection. I didn't really ask too many questions as to why she was selling her collection, but I'm guessing it's because she was planing on moving soon.

The New Otani is located down at the end of waikiki by Diamond Head across from the park. It is two doors down from The Outrigger Canoe Club. In the 70's my family would stay there for a couple of weeks every summer because my mom knew somebody there. We used to sneak down to the lounge in the evenings and listen to the music (I wish I knew who it was) while my parents drank maitais and watched the sunset. I have several different versions of pineapple and bamboo mugs that we smuggled out as teenagers. And yes it is still there.