5' Tiki statue from Beachcomber Restaurant, Victoria BC

Hi all,

Writing to ask for some help with selling a wonderful tiki statue that my dad brought home (much to my mom's distress) over 40 years ago. He came from the Beachcomber restaurant here in Victoria. Pics below.

Sadly, I have no room to keep him and have briefly had him listed for sale on a local venue. I priced him at a point that I thought was quite high $800, to test the waters (possible that part of me doesn't really want to let him go)...no bites, although a dozen 'watching'.

Then I found this forum, perhaps someone here knows someone who would love him and give him a good home and/or help me determine the right value and place to sell him. All thoughts most welcome.

Thanks for reading!

~Heather

Very cool Heather! Welcome to TC and best wishes

[ Edited by: MadDogMike 2019-12-05 08:50 ]

Welcome aboard! What a great piece. You might want to consider reaching out to local/semi-local (even Seattle) tiki places.

Not only will they likely understand the value and history of such a piece, but you'd know it would be going to a good home where it could be enjoyed by many for years to come.

On 2019-12-05 08:41, MadDogMike wrote:
Very cool Heather! Welcome to TC and best wishes

[ Edited by: MadDogMike 2019-12-05 08:50 ]

Thanks!

Thanks Sandbartender, I will try that. Didn't think of south...have found one in Vancouver so far. Will keep looking! Appreciate the idea!
~Heather

Aloha Heather
No room?
He looks great right there!!!
Lol

It’s a great piece
Cheers and good luck

Aloha Hang10,

Thanks for the positive feedback. :)
Alas, that happy home is to be no more for him. His days are numbered in that location, lol.

All the best to you too,
~Heather

Aloha Treefrogs,
Such a wonderful carving. I tend to agree that it would be great to find a bar or restaurant that would be interested....that way many people could enjoy it. It sounds like you are in the Pacific Northwest area. Hale Pelé in Portland has some really cool carvings, they might be interested,??
The Shameful tiki in BC?

You could check locations on Critiki.com. The map function works, but, needs a patch ...but you can still utilize it....might help with bars or restaurants that would be interested.

One thing that might be helpful is to discover if there is any picture documenting its original location?! TC is great for researching. It would be cool to show a pic of it in its original place along with the actual carving.

In regards to an appropriate price....I would maybe suggest writing to Crazy Al. He has done LOTS of carvings himself, and I know he has studied a lot of carvings....he would probably have a good sense of what it would be worth??

Hi Pineapple,

Thank you so much for your reply! I really appreciate the ideas and further info to check out. I had seen Shameful in Van, but not yet had time to search into anywhere else. I do also like the idea that in a bar he will be loved by many :) I will write to Crazy Al...to clarify, you meant on here? Again, thank you for your help! ~Heather

Forgot to mention that I have seen some postcard type photos of the Beachcomber restaurant here in Vic, but as of yet, haven't found any that I can see a carving like this one in the pic and I was so young all I remember of the restaurant was the big palm tree in the middle of a starry sky and the monkey in the palm tree (pretty sure that memory is correct, but you never know...). Thanks for the great idea to keep looking...I love to know the story behind things! :)

Hello Treefrogs,
In regards to Crazy Al, you can try on TC, but, I haven't seen him post here for a while....Probably thru his website. His name just comes to mind. He knows a TON about carvings!!

So, I'm still learning a bit how to use TC...but....I used the search under Locating Tiki....and the typed in beachcomber...and found a link to Beachcomber in Victoria Canada....I think there's a better way to copy the link...but, I just copies from the url....see below...

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=44898&forum=2&hilite=beachcomber

So, there are a few pics from Dustycajun. I would love to meet Dustycajun someday....I would drool to be able to flip thru the massive collection of ephemera....that I have seen him post here as well as on Critiki. Possibly a PM to Dustycajun to see if he has any other pictures of that location?

Maybe a more general search on TC as well.??

"he would probably have a good sense of what it would be worth??"

My dad put it best, something is only worth what somebody is willing to pay.

With that said it helps to have photos of the stuff you are selling sitting in the restaurant all those years ago.
You may not be able to find that.

It also has a different style of carving that might be hard to sell.

Good luck.

TabooDan may be able to help but I think Skip about summed it up fairly well.

FWIW, this looks like the style of tiki produced in Mexico in the 1960s.

Thank you so much for all your input!

I found Crazy Al online and will continue my search....I had no idea there was so much history and interest in the 'pop' culture of all things tiki...super interesting.

And yes, ultimately it is only monetarily worth what someone is willing to pay for it.

I still have some emotional attachment at this point and will look for the 'right' new home for him.

Thanks again so much for the ideas!

Pineapple,
Thanks for the link...wish I could get a hold of Mrs. Smith who wrote in that post that her grandfather operated the Victoria Beachcomber for a time and she too has/had tiki statues. So fun! I wrote her a PM, but it's been 6 years since her one post, so unlikely.
My research continues :)

Aloha Treefrogs!!
OK...so, something hit me today....you had mentioned that you remember when you were younger seeing a palm tree in the middle of the dining room, with a monkey on it. But, I was looking again at the pictures of the Victoria BC postcards that Dustycajun posted....((Thank You Dustycajun!!! Seriously, you have contributed sssooo much to the entire community with LOTS of pictures and info)).......and I wasn't seeing a palm tree in the dining room.

So, I thought I would look for something in one of the other Beachcomber restaurants in Canada. The one in Edmonton has a palm tree in the middle of the dining room. Maybe this was from the Edmonton restaurant?

On 2003-08-06 23:55, Sweet Daddy Tiki wrote:
Name:The Beachcomber
Type:restaurant
Street:10138-100A Street
City:Edmonton, Alberta
State:
Zip:
country:Canada
Phone:422-5126
Status:defunct

Description:
The Beachcomber opened at the end of October, 1963. I'm told it was owned by Zane Feldman who was the first owner of the Edmonton Oilers hockey team (he passed away earlier this year). I have only the vaguest memory of this place from my one and only visit shortly before it was bulldozed in July, 1980 to make way for a bank tower. I remember crossing a small bridge at the entrance, and that's about it -- I certainly don't recall the marvellous decor in the pictures below. I'm sure emspace will have a thing or two to add.

Note the carving on the pillar, far right -- a woman's naked body with a tiki head (?). There's a black velvet wahine on the wall, right. The tables have lamps with tiki bases and wooden (?) tiki salt & pepper shakers.

-Sweet Daddy Tiki

[ Edited by: Sweet Daddy Tiki 2010-01-14 16:01 ]

The mask on the wall does have those big teeth like the tiki you have.

The palm tree was just like that here in Victoria also! If you stood under it and looked up it had a starry night sky! That was my favorite part as a kid...and the shirley temples grin My tiki is def from Victoria, so maybe they had the same designer for more than one of them...

The does have the big teeth and also the pointy nose like my statue!

Very fun to look at these pictures too! Thank you!!

~Heather

Good catch on the nose.

You know some of the Kahiki stuff came from Mexico, and I just sold two masks that had "made in Haiti" on the back of them.
So this stuff many times does not come from Hawaii.

Yes, someone else mentioned Mexico as a source of things and thought this style of tiki statue had connections with what they'd seen from Mexico. I am learning a great deal! :)

Yes, this is the style of Mexican tiki that has similarities to your pole.

Thanks tikigreg! Are these fairly recent or from a prior time?

Those masks are from the 1960s or thereabouts.

On 2019-12-11 13:18, PineappleWhip wrote:
Hello Treefrogs,
In regards to Crazy Al, you can try on TC, but, I haven't seen him post here for a while....Probably thru his website. His name just comes to mind. He knows a TON about carvings!!

So, I'm still learning a bit how to use TC...but....I used the search under Locating Tiki....and the typed in beachcomber...and found a link to Beachcomber in Victoria Canada....I think there's a better way to copy the link...but, I just copies from the url....see below...

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=44898&forum=2&hilite=beachcomber

So, there are a few pics from Dustycajun. I would love to meet Dustycajun someday....I would drool to be able to flip thru the massive collection of ephemera....that I have seen him post here as well as on Critiki. Possibly a PM to Dustycajun to see if he has any other pictures of that location?

Maybe a more general search on TC as well.??

Hello @Pineapplewhip,

Wanted to let you know that we found my tiki in the photos that you linked to above!! I tried to post with quote of it, but it seems to have disappeared.

If you look at the last pic of the dining room, he's directly above the booth seating...follow a line from the right booth seating back (at the edge of the beige framed tiki pic right in the middle of the photo).

Thanks again!
~Heather

Aloha treefrogs,
Well, I looked, and I think I need to wear some glasses....I couldn’t make him out, but, I’m glad you found him!!! That is some definitive proof of where he was. If you can find that postcard....or, ask DiustyCajun....or Sweet Daddy Tiki to get a hi-res Scan to you!!...maybe!!

Anyway. Very glad you found the Tiki in some photo documentation. It adds nicely to the story. eBay, there are some postcard only vendors online, Tiki marketplaces sometimes have old postcards, brochures, etc.

Cheers!! :drink:

Hey there Treefrogs! I sent a personal message in regards to purchase.

I haven't heard anything back! Is this amazing tiki still for sale?