Tiki/Polynesian/Hawaiian Napkins

Hello all...
Just started going through all the napkins I have picked up over time and thought someone out there may want to have a look...

A napkin from the late, great Tiki Gardens

Mystery Aloha napkin. Possibly from Tiki Gardens.

Great napkin with Tikis on it. Possible from TG.

Another tiki napkin, again, may be from Tiki Gardens (right locale/era).

Hale Tiki napkin

Hawaiian Village, Honolulu

Bahi Hut in Sarasota (really strong drinks!!)

More to come when I dig them up!

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

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

[ Edited by: JonPez 2005-09-23 07:35 ]

What a great topic! I've got a few napkins at home, I'll scan them when I get a chance. I love napkins. The combo of limited color capability with a fair amount of space makes them generally go graphic, which I love. I love that "napkin sketch" design, too! Great stuff!

Critiki - Ooga-Mooga - Humu Kon Tiki

[ Edited by: Humuhumu 2005-09-22 02:57 ]

You can still get that Bahi Hut napkin if you are brave enough to visit the place.

I took my 70 year old in laws to the Bahi Hut last year and I have never seen them so loaded. I was pretty tanked myself and my poor designated driver husband had to drive us all home, with me, who gashed my heel against the Bahi Hut's front door while taking a photo (someone opened a door on my foot, If I was sober I think I would of had the sense not to stand in front of a door) and my in-laws in the back seat screaming that they wanted to keep partying and wanted my husband to drive them to another bar.

And we only had 1 drink each, but it was a doozy.

i did get a napkin though.

On 2005-09-22 14:31, tikibars wrote:
You can still get that Bahi Hut napkin if you are brave enough to visit the place.

Geeez... You make it sound so bad.
I don't think bravery is an issue. Its not in a bad neighborhood, on a main street, in a Best Western parking lot for crying out loud. It's in Sarasota, not "Escape From L.A."
Sure, it's dark inside. Many older bars are. Yes, it smells like 40 years of stale cigarettes. It is tiny.
But the staff is friendly and they make some of the strongest drinks I have ever had (other than at Wally's in Orlando, of course).
I went there all the time when I was in college and never feared once for my safety. Walked home many a time. I've been more scared in the parking lots at Downtown Disney at night.
They still have the napkins, and according to Tiki Road Trip, they are still using the big batch they ordered many decades ago.
So never fear everyone. Stop by there and patronize a very old, dark, small, sometimes stale smelling, classic tiki-ish bar. Have a stiff drink. See for yourselves why it has been there so long.
And get yourselves one of those napkins before they finally run out.

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

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

[ Edited by: JonPez 2005-09-23 07:22 ]

Not a scary place at all, worth a visit if you are the area. I like how they have a limit on their drinks. Now everytime we go back to Sarasota, my inlaws want us to take them there again!

On 2005-09-22 02:06, JonPez wrote:

Mystery Aloha napkin. Possibly from Tiki Gardens.

I bought a bunch of these at the Punahou School "White Elephant" sale a number of years ago. I also got placemats and dinner napkins with the same design in the set. The artist is Susan Barker. The napkin is signed on the lower right of the table.

[ Edited by: Phillip Roberts 2010-07-12 20:40 ]

The Bahi Hut napkins are being recreated.
According to the owner of the Bahi Hut and adjoining Golden Host Resort, the art was lost in a vendor shuffle and they've long since run out. But thanks to a scan and modern technology, the artwork is being readied for eventual rerelease on napkins (In piles, next to the tub o' cheese during happy hour).

The artwork was the handiwork of noted illustrator and portrait artist Thornton Utz. Utz was a big time illustrator doing covers for Saturday Evening Post and similar magazines back in the late 50's-early 60's. During this time he had a little publication company doing local maps that had advertising around the edges. When he sold an ad to a company that did not have any artwork, he'd do a little original sketch for free as part of the ad cost. Such is how an illustrator whose originals go for quite hefty sums, came to do the artwork that was on the napkins mentioned in Tiki Road trip.

When I mentioned the above book, the owner said "yeah, that guy was in here, he left us some books...."

Fast forward to today. The widow of Utz has given her approval on using the logo in more ways. Look for some cool merchandise to be developed. Thorton's son David is a painter who works in the style of Henri Rousseau. He may be involved in a few projects that would be a combination of his art with his father's artwork for Bahi Hut. Tiki collectors stay tuned as this develops.....

Robotiki
Mira Mar League of Extraordinary Gentlemen

[ Edited by: robotiki 2010-07-10 14:12 ]

This thread needs a little kick start.

Ahh, the cocktail napkin. One of the more elusive little pieces of paper ephemera. So delicate and fragile, yet so beautiful to behold. Here are a few from my collection as well as some images snagged from the web.

THE OLD

I have a few old pre-Tiki napkins that used the same base design and then printed the name of the establishment.

The Hula Shack in Oakland

Glenna's Bamboo Room in South Gate

Another style from early Damons.

Repeated at the Tropics in San Francisco.

A few more early venues.

Hawaiian Gardens in San Jose

Club Royal Hawaiian in San Francisco.

The Hurricane San Francisco.

Tahitian Hut San Francisco.

Tradr Sams San Francisco.

Zanzibar San Francisco.

THE POLY POP ERA

Trader Vic's

Skipper Kents Zombie Village

Zombie Hut Sacramento.

Coral Reef Sacramento front and back

Another Coral Reef Sacramento (thanks Sabu)+

The Polynesian Torrance

The Tahitian Pasadena

South Seas Hollywood

The Islander Los Angeles

Kelbos Los Angeles

One of my favorites, the Leilani Hut Long Beach.

The Hawaiian Long Beach

The Luau and Leilani, Fresno

Hawaii Kai New York

Another Hawaii Kai paper wrapper for a cloth napkin.

The Mahi Mahi Nashville.

ON TO HAWAII

Coco Palms

The Willows

The Halekulani

Waikiki Tavern

South Seas

THE NEW YOU CAN STILL GET THESE

Damons Glendale

The Galley Santa Monica

Trader Vic's assortment

Chucks of Hawaii, Santa Barbara

And finally the Endless Summer in Santa Barbara.

Thats a wrap.

DC

WHOOA!, major collecting, scanning and posting job, Cajun-man! Kudos for your continuous work that reminds everyone that Tiki is a visual art form.

That was great, thanks DC! Don't see to many advertisements today for "Chinee Smorgie"! :)

Skipper Kents in San Francisco.

ps- Check my eBay or PM me if anyone wants to buy it.

Another version of 7 Seas napkin.

[ Edited by: hiltiki 2012-01-22 10:23 ]

Here are a few more modern napkins I picked up in a trade with Bora Boris.

The Warehouse

The Mai Kai

And a few more oldies from Arkiva Tropika.

The classic image from the Aloha Room at the Beach Boy

Pago Pago

And a nice old one from the Royal Hawaiian before the "upgrade".

DC

Got this Lanai napkin in the 80's

Vintage Trader Vic's Hawaii.

A couple more from Club Waikiki Chicago.

DC

I just got these two napkins.

Judge's Beyond the Reef

Canada Beachcomber

DC

I picked up this nice one from Trader Dick's.

And a few more from the web.

Trader Vic's San Francisco/Oakland

Mr. Tiki San Diego.

Tiki Room in Kewanee.

And a cloth napkin from Ren Clark's Polynesian Village.

DC

A few new ones courtesy of today's paper show.

Had not seen this Trader Vic's Menehune one before.

The writing on this one indicates it may have been from the Hula Shack.

This one folds out

to look like this!

This one was used at many locations.

DC

Here are a few more images I clipped from ebay.

Kowloon Restaurant in LA.

The awesome graphics from the Tonga Lei in Malibu.

And the singular graphics from the Las Vegas Don the Beachcomber.

DC

The current Tony's on the Pier napkin.

Great thread DC - napkins are one of those things I love to collect, but the wife just doesn't understand. That and my growing collection of tiki sugar cubes lol.

Here's a shot of an early Hinky Dink's napkin hanging in the Palo Alto TV... might be the last time visiting that place...

...they even had a letter from the original artist who did the rendering on the napkin:

I would like to submit a few more napkins to this thread. I'm digging for some more.

Anything from the Leilani is good

I used to go here with my grandparents all thru my childhood.



Anyone been here before?

Here's another napkin. At first glance it looks like a neo-tiki bar, the Kahuna Lounge. It's definitely vintage. I was going to post it in locating Tiki, but I don't have any info on this place. I did a search and honestly couldn't find a thing. Cool Witco Biku graphic.I Also put in a close up (Dusty Cajun-style)of the Artists signature.

Wow, great stuff Kiara. Thanks for sharing. Have not seen a few of those before.

Here are a few more classics clipped from the web.

DC

On 2012-09-18 11:58, kiara wrote:
Here's another napkin. At first glance it looks like a neo-tiki bar, the Kahuna Lounge. It's definitely vintage. I was going to post it in locating Tiki, but I don't have any info on this place.

Kiara,

That is the Kahuna Lounge from the Mai Tai Restaurant. See more here.

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=13645&forum=5&hilite=indianapolis

DC

[ Edited by: Dustycajun 2012-09-19 21:00 ]

Thanks for shedding some light on that napkin DC. I've got the matchbook from that location. I must be getting a little rusty. I finally had some free time to scan a few more. Forgive me if I post any doubles from this thread.

All 4 locations for Canlis

Some great stuff Kiara, thanks for posting. Never seen a few of those before.

DC

So many of these would look great on t-shirts.

A few new acquisitions.

The Waikiki Beachcomber with some nice graphics.

The Tropics from both Beverly Hills and Hollywood.

DC

This has probably been posted somewhere on TC, but I couldn't find it.
Mike at Tiki Ti gave me this napkin. I think he said it's what they used when they first opened. I'm hard of hearing and after 3 of their drinks my recollection might not be correct.

On 2013-02-05 17:51, tikilongbeach wrote:
This has probably been posted somewhere on TC, but I couldn't find it.
Mike at Tiki Ti gave me this napkin. I think he said it's what they used when they first opened. I'm hard of hearing and after 3 of their drinks my recollection might not be correct.

You are correct.

EDIT: Mike's the best.

[ Edited by: Hale Tiki 2013-02-06 03:13 ]

Here's a cool napkin from the tradewinds in Newburgh, N.Y.
My scan doesn't show how vibrant the colors are.

The back says "Especially designed by Beach~Kalamazoo

Kiara,

Great napkin from the Trade Winds. Have never heard of that one before. Wonder if that is a Witco fountain?

Picked up a few of these Tahiti Nui napkins.

DC

Dang, DC, I think you are right! I knew I had seen that idol before somewhere and could not connect it, but now that you say that...

I am away from my archive though and can't check, anybody else got a picture of the real thing?

So, no ID on that Witco fountain from the Trade Winds?

Picked up this napkin from the Castaway located on Geneva-on-the-Lake in Ohio.

I like the simple cartoony look. Reminds me of Squidwards house from Sponge Bob.

A 1970s joint that hosted bands and also sold the Bug-Eye Moai mug.

DC

On 2013-02-05 17:51, tikilongbeach wrote:
This has probably been posted somewhere on TC, but I couldn't find it.
Mike at Tiki Ti gave me this napkin. I think he said it's what they used when they first opened. I'm hard of hearing and after 3 of their drinks my recollection might not be correct.

This is awesome! I love the story.

Wow, what a beauty this one is!

DC

Love that Club Bali Napkin Dusty. I assume that is from old Club Bali (of the hand-colored postcards).

Old one from the Pago Pago in Long Beach with some nice driftwood graphics.

And a cool pair from the Tonga Room

DC

[ Edited by: Dustycajun 2018-09-14 15:47 ]

An old beauty from the South Seas Room at the Coast Inn located in Laguna Beach. Never heard of this place before.

DC

On 2013-02-05 17:51, tikilongbeach wrote:
...

Funny thing is, this is an old Caribbean song.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNn7ZSMti1M

This Jamaican Mento version is from the early 50s, but it goes back further in different musical forms.