Tiki Finds

Hey let's start a bit of a brag board where you can show what great finds you got on the weekend from yard sales, parents attics, junk shops, deals with the devil, etc....

I bought two of these this weekend for $3 CDN now I see one for auction at eBay
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2100429252

I'll be keeping an eye on that....

:: Collecting Tiki today for a Tiki-er tomorrow ::

[ Edited by: TikiGuy on 2003-11-11 11:45 ]

TikiGuy, I like your idea brother!
I passed on one of those mugs last week at the flea market because I was trying to get it for less than the $4.00 he had on it and I simply forgot about it. Now I wish I had just given the poor guy the lousey $4.00!

On a lighter note, my wife came home with a Kahiki Headhunter mug yesterday - like I don't already have 6 or 7 of them, but I tell her that they are all different so she wont want me to sell them on ebay.

Also, my friend found a large Coco Joes pipe tray for .25 cents at a garage sale over the weekend. So I gave that a good home as well.

Oh yes, I think a brag board would be very nice indeed!

-C.

I found 2 matching Kauai Resort hotel tiki mugs at the value village for $1.49 each I almost broke them trying to grab them before anyone else could.

Someone gave me $100 just to take a Don the Beachcomber bust mug off his hands!

Okay, well I don't think that one will be topped in a long time. Getting a find cheap is one thing, but actually being paid to take one, that's the stuff Tiki-dreams are made of!

I missed what promised to be a great estate sale in El Segundo this morning...the ad said "50 years of collecting" or something like that...did anyone hit it?? Make me feel bad for being lazy!
Last week, I hit the California Central Coast. Checked out the Harbor Hut in Morro Bay and had some photo ops with each of their 4 tikis. On the way home, hit the Nipomo Swap meet. Hidden in one of the back rooms was a guy with the usual table o' crap. But wait...what's this?? A Harvey's Tahoe tiki mug? Trying not to look too interested, I picked it up and put it down casually. Then looked a bit more...a set of Trader Vic's Salt and Pepper shakers? Not rare, but I certainly don't have a set yet. Still trying to act cool. I ask prices. $1.00 for the mug, $2.00 for the S&P shakers (including salt and pepper) As he's wrapping up my finds, he says, "Hey, here's another mug like that." It was a Mark Thomas' Outrigger mug, from Monterey, CA. Another buck and I was hurrying outta there with my prizes! Not the ULTIMATE find, but I was still happy...

Hey Annalulu,

Nice scores on those tiki mugs and salt-and-peppers. A dollar is my favorite price too, but to find mugs at that price at a swapmeet is so rare. At a garage-sale, sure, but never a swapmeet.

I was wondering if anyone else knew about those tikis up in Morro Bay. I'm planning a weekend jaunt myself soon to photograph them.

Doctor Z and I did not make the estate sale in El Segundo this weekend. However, we did hit one in Torrance that paid off. I found a pair of big-eyed children paintings from the Sixties and a large 1950s show-aquarium, all framed in chrome, with its original modernist black metal stand. It looks great in my tiki room.

As far as tiki stuff goes, the pickings were pretty slim this weekend. Doctor Z found a nice rice-picker's hat to hang in his Castaway Lounge and I found a vintage paperback to add to the stack on my coffee table. Here's a picture:
http://images.andale.com/f2/105/115/6216253/1032810723951_tikifinds_020921.JPG

I wish you excellent hunting again next weekend, Annalulu. Good luck!

Sabu

[ Edited by: Sabu The Coconut Boy on 2002-10-05 19:11 ]

During today's garage-saling, the old Tiki-Luck returned. I tried my local neighborhood of Carson and stumbled upon one of those rare old-school garage sales where one of the last elderly white residents was moving out and selling all her belongings. The dealers never hunt in Carson, and the locals were only after clothes and appliances, so here was all this old Bauer and Fiesta-ware on blankets for fifty-cents a piece and plenty of other great 1950s ceramics for similar prices. I found some great tiki salt & peppers for a quarter and a cool "bowler's ashtray". Here's a photo of some of my finds:

I also picked up 30 vintage Nurse-story paperbacks for a dime apiece. Here's a couple of my favorites:

Yes, the rarely mentioned "SURFING NURSE" and "BUCCANEER SURGEON"."Their's was a Forbidden love - She rode waves. He sold slaves!"

(Sabu the Coconut Boy encourages any lyrics to "Buccaneer Surgeon" sung to the tune of Bob Marley's "Buffalo Soldier").

That's it for now. Good Night.

Sabu.

Not that they're in demand, but I got a westwood shotglass for .25 @ a church festival. I startewd to walk through was almost out and my tiki senses spotted it from across the room. It had a little chip. But hey, it was a quarter!

I MUST read buccaneer surgeon!!!
That looks too good to be true. I will trade for my copy of "Teddy and the Mystery Goat".

Haha!

Living in Maryland tiki mugs, Hawaiian items and even exotica albums are extremely rare in thrift stores and flea markets - Last Saturday I went to this giant antique fair near York Pennsylvania and got a carved wooden tiki bottle/can opener for $3.00, didn't see any tiki mugs but saw a volcano bowl that was crazed and chipped so I didn't even ask the price...Friday at the Goodwill here in Bel Air I came across the short frosted Polynesian Village mug - I nearly flipped out! Not really impressive for west coast standards but here in suburban Maryland it was a major score!

Another recent score worth noting - I went to a local Chinese restaurant to pick up carry out about a month ago - behind the bar were stacks of large Orchids volcano bowls as well as the Fu Manchu's and coconut cups - I asked the owner if he's sell me one of the bowls he said yes, I bought it for $10.00 and was quite pleased! I couldn't have gotten near one for that price on Ebay!

:drink:

Just Cool!!

JohnTiki

Greetings to all from The Pi Yi Lenai in luxurious Bel Air Maryland!

[ Edited by: johntiki on 2002-10-07 06:29 ]

I got a (what I strongly believe to be) Witco tiki mask on Ebay for $20. Just got it in the mail. It of course did NOT have "tiki" in the description. I'll try to post a pic.

Kentiki

Sabu- I like those shakers....score!
I hit a little tiki vein at a garage sale this weekend.
3 of those special tiki leilani mugs that seem soo rare. (ha!) They are actually older & heavier than previous versions I've owned
AND
3 of those sexy Kelvins mugs.
$3 for the lot!
Also saw a bamboo bar for $300.
It was nice, but that's an awful lot at a g-sale, I think they were on glue.

bigbadtikidaddy -

Congratulations on those mugs. In my ten-plus years of garage-saling, I have yet to find a tiki leilani mug! Where are those things? I've found about 60 mugs in all - some of them quite rare, but the rarest of them all; the tiki leilani still eludes me. I don't believe there are any of them left. So sad.

Tikifish - Please don't ask me to give up my "Buccaneer Surgeon"! It looks so swank on my coffee table. But I would be willing to lend it out on an extended reading-plan. E-mail me if interested. I'll send it to you. And WHAT is a Mystery Goat anyway?

Sabu

I didnt pick up my first one until a few years ago & I almost never actually run across them while hunting.
I think leilani has a bit of a bad rap.
It's actually kind of a cool mug, design wise & very grip-able. I think the reason there are so many out there is that they are short, quite solid, & built like a brick. Therefore they almost never break & hang around forever waiting for us to find them.
You're next!

Most of my best finds are shirts. Honestly I think I love collecting hawaiian shirts more than mugs or any of the other hawaiian stuff. Maybe it's because I can actually wear the shirts. Anyways, it would take to long to shoot, scan and post them all to try and show them off so instaed I think I'll keep sporting them to the Tiki parties. By the way, best shirt score I ever came across was a vintage deadstock Iolani Executive shirt for $6

Thanks bigbadtikidaddy,

And congrats on your 101st post - Oh Socialite.

Sabu

[ Edited by: Sabu The Coconut Boy on 2002-10-08 18:19 ]

I think leilani has a bit of a bad rap.
It's actually kind of a cool mug, design wise & very grip-able. I think the reason there are so many out there is that they are short, quite solid, & built like a brick.

**Poly-Pop ***

Bartender, make mine a glass of WATAHHH!!!!!

[ Edited by: PolynesianPop 2013-02-04 21:12 ]

Even in the tiki-starved north, a Leilani doesn't cause much excitement. My first 2 mugs were Leilanis, I quickly found a few more, and now when my mom finds one for me I tell her to keep it! She's now got some leilani's, a Shecky, and a Fu Man Chu. Go mom Go!!!

I now have ones marked "Tiki Leilani" and just "Leilani". The first is a bit heavier and maybe a tad shorter. I know they're everywhere, but is one more rare than the other?

-martin

For those of you interested in the classic Leilani style tiki, I found an Ebay auction for a large pitcher version! Take a look at it:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=722440334

In pitcher form, it looks like the Kool-Aid guy.

Look what I just bought! I can't wait to get this book in the mail and find out all the great 50's advice on how to make a Polynesian rec-room!

(the marine room probably has some schwank ideas too!)

YEAAA!!!!

In my excitement, I forgot to post the link:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1568224153

Ms Fish

Nice snag. Post some of the pics when you get it in your hot little hands. Looks like a fun time.

Trustar

YEs, I plan to post the Polynesian Pages on tikifish.com for all to see...
I may photocopy it and then offer the original for sale again, if it's good enough. I have a 'house file' where I photocopy collect all sorts of 50's house ideas for the future day when I actually get a house they will work in, as opposed to the railroad car sized victorian I live in now...

Wow - that looks great Tikifish! Please let us know when you post the "Polynesian Room" pics. Gotta love that retro concept art. They just don't make artists like that any more....

Wow! Fun score & I've never seen that one!
I dont know how many vintage interior decorating books I have, but I do know that NONE of them have any polynesian or tiki ideas for a bar (buffets & recipes maybe).........I found one the other day that had a few different styles like 'old english' & 'old school tipsy', with the backwards clock & drunk leaning against a post lamp, ect. (yuck).....and NO tropical.

I cant wait to get a peep!

Years ago I had several 1950 era decorating books along with 15 years of National Geographic. After lugging them out for two garage sales with no luck. I recycled them for $1.00 per 100lbs. This was before Ebay. Who knew?

Hey, my find of the day was on the side of the road for the trash. Not exactly tiki but for my tiki lounge(back porch:) ) Anyways it was one of those old florida style cane chairs with zebra print custions. COULDN'T believe anyone would throw it a way. My boyfriend calls me the garbage picker. I'm really not that bad just my way of recycling.

My friends and I have coined a politer term for when you take something home from someone else's curb: TRASHPORTATION.

Now if you'll excuse me, it's garbage day - Im off to take photos of old mattresses...

I snagged these lights for $9...
They are the PMP mug type, but were listed as "totem pole"
(image no longer available)

http://www.tikiking.com Neat Tiki Stuff
http://www.mp3.com/tiki_king Hear the King sing!

[ Edited by: tiki king on 2003-09-22 12:28 ]

I have seen those lights before...they are very cute! They are the same design of the famous PMP (Paul Marsall) tiki mug!

Yeah, I already have the Mugs, and the Salt and Pepper shakers, and the Ketchup and Mustard bottles, but I have been looking for a vintage light set for years. So this rounds out the Paul Marshal collection. But I thought it was funny that they called them "Totem poles lights"

Trashportation-not bad. Just got done doing some rounds at goodwill, salvation army, and Michael's craft store. Found a tiki bottle opener(50 cent), 3 hawaiian records(75 cent), 2 tiki buttons,2 set of stickers and 2magnets(Michael's-for $3). And that's about it no major founds for today but a good day...

For those of you interested in the classic Leilani style tiki, I found an Ebay auction for a large pitcher version! Take a look at it:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=722440334

TikiManiac,
Yes, I've seen this pitcher before. Believe it or not, its a BRAND NEW reproduction of the Tiki Leilani styled mugs. Yup, this repro pitcher has matching repro Tiki Leilani mugs that look exactly like it. I saw them a few months ago at The Great Indoors (http://www.thegreatindoors.com). For those that hate the vintage Tiki Leilani mug, you'll absolutely LOATHE these!

My mother in law actually just picked these beauties up for me at a garage sale:


That's right, I said "mother in law!" I didn't even know she had a little Tiki in her. I was so surprised by the gifts that I didn't want to be rude & ask how much she paid, but I doubt she'd fork out very much.

bamzeno, you have the type of mother-in-law I hope for!

OK, so I received the 50's polynesian basement plans book from Ebay... the book is nice and big, and does not dissapoint in size and quality, but the 'polynesianness' of the polynesian home bar seems a bit lacking. However it is still a cultural treasure and I will post the relevant chapter for all to see in a day or 2 - I've been pretty busy at work since I got back so my extracurricular antics have to take a slight back burner position...

Doctor Z and I were blessed with Tiki Manna this morning at the garage sales. Look at all this stuff we found:

Doctor Z got these two cool Tiki Table Torches, one still unopened in its original box. He also got the ceramic tiki-statue on the right, a Hawaii souvenir plate, and a little plastic scene of a hut and palm trees that looks like it was attached to something else. I got a baby-ku wooden tiki table lighter, and an unopened 1960s cake-decorating kit with very detailed plastic hula girls and island boys strumming ukeleles. Doctor Z also got the blocky hand-carved tiki which we believe to be one of Gecko's kindergarten projects.

Here's a closeup of the Tiki Table Torches and the lighter. The label on the box says that the Table Torches were purchased at the Marina Liquor Mart in Marina Del Rey.

Here's a closeup of Doctor Z's ceramic Tiki Statuette. The label says "Morro Bay". Has anyone ever seen one of these, or know where exactly it came from? There was some other nautical items with Morro Bay stickers as well, so maybe they were purchased in a gift shop there.

I also purchased all of these little Bauer flower pots for two dollars. (I know Kukuinut appreciates these.) The garage sale where we purchase the majority of these items was amazing. Doctor Z and I would accumulate large piles of vintage merchandise on the lawn and one of the old guys running the sale would come over and price it five-to-ten dollars a pile. We were in heaven.


I grabbed this mint-condition pole lamp with three fiberglass shades, (one yellow, one orange, one green), for five dollars. It had never been removed from its original 1950s box and still had the Sears tag for $9.98 attached.

Doctor Z also picked up a cognac bottle shaped like a glass float and these giant straws which we will use for our scorpion bowls. The cognac bottle should convert fairly easily to a lighted float, because it already has an opening to insert a light.

All in all, a splendid day of tiki hunting. I wish every Saturday was like this.

Sabu

A couple of hunters after my own heart!
That is quite a bounty of goodies you scored!

I also scored one of those Courvoisier cognac bottles with the rope just this week myself. (ironic!)
If you take the paper labels off & put some led lights in the spout, you have a fine authentic looking light up fishing float ideed! I wasnt sure if the rope was original because I've never seen one before, but now I know better!
I have one of those ceramic tiki statue dudes too, there are 3 or 4 different types to look for also. I'm sure you will find them too! I like that one because it is quite similar to the Jonny Sens big teeth mug. (that I want & dont have yet)
LOVE the pole lamp, what a great score!
Really dig the tiki table torches too!
Thanks for sharing!

I like the ceramic tiki; he looks like Herman Munster.

I must say I am green with jealousy over everyone's tiki scores! However I am pleased to report that the other day at the thrift store I found an old vinyl record called "Hawaiian Favorites" by Akoni Lani and his Islanders. The cover has a nice wahini photo, very retro. Here in Penna, tiki and Hawaiian stuff is super rare.

I should have been doing college work but i went a wander and checked out the charity stores on the far side of town.
After checking five stores the best tiki i found was I could see a small set of glass fish floats through the a chink in the window of a fotunetellers shop, which has started selling brick-a-brac.
I was heading for home when i notice that this charity store that is usually shut was open, I entered and a man came in behind me and my tiki-sense tingled (quick it said find the tiki before that man dose, he's a tiki central member from america on a day trip to steal your tiki's) like a flash i ran over a body blocked the plates and cups shelf, nothing, I leapt to household goods section, bah still nothing, the record section was crowded with shoppers I was almost doubting my tiki hunting abilities, when i spotted the cheeky face of a "Butlin's Beachcomber Bar Souvineer Plate".
I got it for £3.50, I had to walk away from the store calmly before whooping.

Nothing hardcore vintage tiki, but I finally got 3 out of 5 of Shag's second series tiki mugs, just yesterday. I'm a big fan of Shag's artwork, so I'm happy that I got them. And not at eBay's hyperinflated prices. I think I bought them at the original retail price of $125/ea. Can someone verify?

I think the actual original retail price was something like $100 less than that!

(They were somewhere between $20 & $25 each, if the memory serves me correctly - Can anyone pinpoint the price?)

Trader Woody

On 2003-01-13 14:20, paranoid123 wrote:
Nothing hardcore vintage tiki, but I finally got 3 out of 5 of Shag's second series tiki mugs, just yesterday. I'm a big fan of Shag's artwork, so I'm happy that I got them. And not at eBay's hyperinflated prices. I think I bought them at the original retail price of $125/ea. Can someone verify?

When the Shag second edition mugs came out they were sold at $30 each. Switched on Gallery sold them in complete sets at $150.00. If you were able to get 3 of them at $125.00, then you paid just a tad over retail for each. You still got a great deal, considering what they sell for now. However, if you paid $125.00 for each mug, then you got eBay pricing.

*** * * The Polynesian Popster * * ***

[ Edited by: PolynesianPop on 2003-01-14 08:33 ]

When the Shag second edition mugs came out they were sold at $30 each. Switched on Gallery sold them in complete sets at $150.00.

Oh poop...way to ruin my day... :wink:

Well, that's what I get for getting into Shag's artwork so late in the game.