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Tiki Finds

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mytiki.life – The best place to build and manage your tiki collections.
TB

Tiki Royale-

Nice find - I've never seen that version of the Nautilus shell with "Trader Vic's" on the side... Sabu had disscussed this piece here.

Here are some pics from the TV Bartender's guide:

-Trad'r Bill
K
KAHAKA posted on Sat, Jan 1, 2011 6:26 PM

I found this on a trip to Reno a few days ago. My wife went inside as I parked the car. I almost sat in the car because I thought it was just a clothes store. My wife sent me a message that it had some goodies inside. Boy, was she right.

Tag said $89, but we got it for $80, which I think was a pretty good deal.

Custom Tapa Swag Lamps and Sconces Built By Kahaka

[ Edited by: KAHAKA 2011-02-20 17:35 ]
T

On 2011-01-01 18:26, KAHAKA wrote:
I found this on a trip to Reno a few days ago. My wife went inside as I parked the car. I almost sat in the car because I thought it was just a clothes store. My wife sent me a message that it had some goodies inside. Boy, was she right.

Tag said $89, but we got it for $80, which I think was a pretty good deal.

What luck!!! I have been looking for one of these for some time now. Thanks for renewing my hope in finding one. I just LOVE that print. If anyone out there has an extra, I would be glad to take it off your hands. :)
BPB

Ended 2010 with this:

And started 2011 with this:

I also doubled my stirrer stick collection with this lot:

Buzzy Out!
B

Hey guys,

A family member picked this Tiki carving up near Tampa, Florida last week. Anyone know the carver, origin?

He's cut from palm and has a large signature on his back. There is a hole drilled in the bottom like he was stacked or mounted to something.

Thanks,

Paul
L

Just a few from the thrifts today...
Records , CoCo Joe Wall Hanging, Tiki Farm 2003 Mug,Forbidden Island Mug (which I actually have never bought at the bar)
B

10" Red Vinyl Japanese/Hawaiian music
BPB

Just a couple tikis this week:

And, an autographed picture of local tv celebrity the Gambler and his son:

He wanted me to mess with the other guy on the show, Dave, so I took the picture over to dave's area to get his autograph on it. When he saw me walking up with the Gambler behind me, he took off. Then the gambler stood there and made fun of Dave, his workers, his customers, and his stuff real loud for about 10 minutes. All that, and the cameras weren't even rolling today...

Good times tiki hunting indeed!
Buzzy Out!
1

Have not posted in a while.Here are three Fireside Moai mugs and some solid brass
Trader Vic's Lucky Menehune cuff links I recently picked up .
CN

The new 2011 New Zealand Collins pocket diaries:

No, I didn't buy them, but I did get some strange looks from the mall security guy whilst taking this photo...

CN
PTD

On 2011-01-09 16:05, bigtikidude wrote:

I bet a lot of Hoarders(ahem collectors)
were going thru withdrawals not being able to post their recent acquisitions,
I bet Facebook activity went way up while TC was down.
:wink:

Jeff(btd)

Guilty as charged my friend, although most "hoarders" prefer the term "Preservationists" or "Conservators" and some of us just post our finds to share with those who are interested what can be found out there if you invest some time, patience and a little money.

I am so far behind posting my finds from the past couple of months that I am only going to post a quick overview of what I found this past weekend. Two sales yielded a load of Hawaiiana paper and even though it cannot be seen in the pictures, rest assured when I have the time, I will backtrack and post some of the tiki images. These items are from the 1930's, 50's and 70's.

In no particular order:


"Ku" style mugs similar to The Pottery, Hawaii, that I have.


These rounded off the few I was missing to complete the set of eight Dairymen's Island of Hawaii glasses I have. I did not know there were smaller ones in the set. I have some extras now!

The rest is the paper:

Remember: you are only a "hoarder if you wind up on television!

Later,

PTD

[ Edited by: Psycho Tiki D 2011-01-10 17:24 ]

[ Edited by: Psycho Tiki D 2011-01-10 17:25 ]
PTD

Oh yeah and I found a postcard from the Kona Kai Club:


And a load of other postcards with the Hawaii stuff I posted earlier!

PTD
BK

Nice to have you back, my friend. Great stuff, as usual.
CN

No tiki finds for 8 days! This thread is in desperate need of a tiki transfusion...

Here's some stuff I found in Vegas just before New Year's:

The usual suspects:

Three classic Nevada mugs:

A nice shirt with a prehistoric Pacific look:

And a Tahitian postcard...

with the perfect message on the back of it:

CN
GZ

chickens in paradise-sweet!
N

Recent Finds

The wacky

Monkeys

Oriental

The Orchids of Hawaii Buddha appears to be vintage

Yma Sumac program from 1955/56 tour

I'll scan the other pages if anyone is interested.

Actual tikis

The Outrigger mug was found in Fillmore! (Despite being in SoCal and only 25 miles from the ocean, Fillmore has a tiki factor of -0.325.)

The Trade Winds mug is probably my ultimate find. As a wee lass (from Fillmore) I stood transfixed in the Esplanade parking lot looking at that exotic building. So close and yet impossible for me to imagine going to that restaurant. Like Bali Hai it called to me. But not to my parents. Now it's gone. But I've got a mug!
TD

OK ,here is one, may not be Tiki, but I can not find anything on it.
anyone have any thoughts on it?

real armadillo,and fur, plus spiky type fur on the chin.
1

Recent score on ebay from Canada .Will need to hook up with Bob @ Oceanic Arts
to pick up the three parts that are missing.In xlnt condition with no crazing .
Do not know where this came from,however I know these were used at the
Beachcomber and @ Trader Vic's in Vancouver.The fourth pic is from a
similar one that I already have,however it came from the Beachcomber in
Canada for comparison .

[ Edited by: 1961surf 2011-01-27 16:48 ]
K

On 2011-01-27 16:32, 1961surf wrote:
Recent score on ebay from Canada .Will need to hook up with Bob @ Oceanic Arts
to pick up the three parts that are missing.In xlnt condition with no crazing .
Do not know where this came from,however I know these were used at the
Beachcomber and @ Trader Vic's in Vancouver.The fourth pic is from a
similar one that I already have,however it came from the Beachcomber in
Canada for comparison .

Were these made by OA? I have almost the same one and I matched it to one in a Dallas Ports O' Call postcard, but there's a few very small differences. It's also missing the original chimney & shade.
1

Many of the carved wood candle holders were made by OA ,but not the ceramic ones .
I just thought they may have some parts ...primarily the hat.The hurricane chimney
can be found at alot of lamp part places or hardware stores .The second depicted
has a trick spring loaded candle holder that let pushes the candle upward as it
burns down ,allowing many hours of hands free burning .
T

On 2011-01-27 16:32, 1961surf wrote:
Recent score on ebay from Canada .
Do not know where this came from, however I know these were used at the
Beachcomber and @ Trader Vic's in Vancouver.

Hey 1961surf, Great find!! The Beachcomber Restaurants that were in Canada used these lamps for sure. There is photographic evidence and a few are in collections where they are verified as coming right from the restaurant.

Trader Vic's Vancouver though would be new to me. I have never seen these from a Vic's. Did you happen to have any additional info. or pic's about these being used at Vic's?? The Kon Tiki chain used these lamps as well so possibly it came from there as there was one in Montreal.

Awesome find and I don't think you will have a problem making that beauty complete!
Mahalo, TabooDan
1

Thanks Taboo.Yes I wish I had more info on this guy .It's heavier then the one from the Beachcomber.
I will be on a quest to find the proper hat for it .
STCB

Found a few good matchbooks today for 25 cents ea. All are from California. I've never seen the Club Tahiti in Ontario before and the Tahitian matchbook is a version I haven't seen either.
B

Great Tahitian Ontario matchbook indeed. We had heard here about the amazing line up of stars they managed to book for this Tiki temple in its brief heyday, but this is an nice piece of ephemera to prove it.
B

On 2011-01-28 10:48, 1961surf wrote:
Thanks Taboo.Yes I wish I had more info on this guy .It's heavier then the one from the Beachcomber.
I will be on a quest to find the proper hat for it .

Let's not forget to mention that these lamps are based on the Luau logo Tiki:


(a DC find)

They were made for and used at the Luau first, then fanned out at the various Stephen Crane Kon-Tiki/Ports of Call restaurants, and then apparently made it to Canada...thou I don't know about Vic's.

My favorite type of shade would be the rope lined one:

I doubt O.A. has any of these. Years ago they had the wooden Janus Tiki table lamps for rental, but they were all damaged/stolen eventually.
1

Dually noted Sven.I did not know about where the design of these lamps originated .
Thanks for the info and great pics.
T

Let me guess, Emma one shoe.
Here's mine with the shade I made for it.
B

Hey, don't those go on the Janus-PNG birdface lamps from the Kahiki? :D
B

Found these 2 gas torches this weekend

I will hook them up to see how they look lit up.......don't know where they were installed.
D

Bongo,

Those are beauties, did you go the the swap meet on Sunday? It was raining in SB so I bailed on that.

The torches are going to look nice at the Rincon Room matched with my favorite, this guy.

DC
G

Those torches are awesome, I would have walked right by them

I've been collecting for a little over a month now. I thought I would post what I have managed to gather so far.
Forgive the long post but I want to get some feedback on this stuff. It is mostly random crap from thrift stores and such. The prices are what I paid as this stuff is staying around for a while.

I wanted a scorpion bowl very badly and found the Tepco across the street from my work at an antique store. It was dirty and in a pile of stuff with no prices labeled half off. She wanted twenty and I talked her down to $12 on account of one of the figures busted off and was sloppily repaired with I don't know what. Still, it keeps the drinks cold. I have only seen blue ones online. Is the brown and white glaze uncommon?
Also: an Arthur Lyman album and a "We are Hawaii" comp from Hula Records - still sealed. Paid 50 cents each. I also got weird Oral Roberts in Hawaii comp at the same time. Televangel-iki? In the back is an original pinup of a lady in a fishnet bathing suit. I'll scan it and if anyone is interested. Have another model in a tropical flower print suit. Came from a local newspaper photographer's estate, I'm told, and has the model info on the back. Paid $7 for each one.

Swizzle Sticks! Don the Beachcomber, Trader Vics, Seagrams etc. $3 bucks for a bunch.

My favorite thing I've gotten is the red paper umbrella in the middle. It is an old one from bali hai. It is broken in the middle so I haven't decided how to display it. The dealer threw it in for free and I think it is cool that it survived.
Also: Hawaii Kai Cookbook - $2 nice. The food isn't bad, either. First thing I found.
Nudie Hawaiian glass. $8.

Mugs from local thrift stores
Orchid of Hawaii Coconut .99 cents. Homemade barrel marked "V. for MTE '65" $3. Quon-Quon Tiki .99 cents.

Newer Trader Vic Hawaii mug $10. ebay. My favorite to drink out of.
Orchid of Hawaii bamboo $6 ebay

Old tiki beer coozie. from big lots & Old 1965 Olympia pull tab can. Priceless. 3 of the dread Leilani. $3 each - the tall one leaks. Display only. Drumming coconut monkey. $5 at the thrift store. He snuck up there.

The one that got away. Tiki/Orange Shag Fur Headboard. The clerk told me one bottom leg tiki was broken and the other his uncle took. The headboard is about 9 feet long. It is still there.

The biggest thing I'm wondering about is the Tepco bowl.

gabbahey
T

On 2011-01-31 15:11, bigbrotiki wrote:
Hey, don't those go on the Janus-PNG birdface lamps from the Kahiki? :D

Right you are Bigbro.
Now I want to try and make the rope one.
S

On 2011-02-01 00:00, gabbahey wrote:
The biggest thing I'm wondering about is the Tepco bowl.

Seems to me that the more common color IS brown for those, but I could be wrong.

The thing that peeked my interest was the Witco headboard. Even in near-junk condition the one good post of that headboard would display nicely if you could get it cheap enough.

Either way, you're off to a GREAT tiki-collecting start!
G

On 2011-02-01 07:29, SilverLine wrote:

On 2011-02-01 00:00, gabbahey wrote:
The biggest thing I'm wondering about is the Tepco bowl.

Seems to me that the more common color IS brown for those, but I could be wrong.

The thing that peeked my interest was the Witco headboard. Even in near-junk condition the one good post of that headboard would display nicely if you could get it cheap enough.

Either way, you're off to a GREAT tiki-collecting start!

Thanks. The headboard is actually complete and has the tiki on the other side (I just couldn't get a good picture). The lower posts are broken/missing. I bet they would let it go super cheap but it is too big for my current apartment and I wouldn't feel right removing the posts and leaving that funky fur. Really, I would want to get the shag professionally cleaned so that it pops again. It is at a junk shop in southern Colorado if anyone wants to know where it is hiding.
B

Found this Pirate House mug at an estate sale. I ended up spending $60 on the box, way more than I wanted to. I got two boxes of stuff I didn't want and on my way out to the car a lady offered me $50 for the stuff other than the skull mug, she thought it was ugly. :wink:

So later in the sale I saw some swizzles sticking out of a box and I bid and won for $8. Well inside were four swizzles from the Pirate house as well, it was meant to be. :wink:

This mug looks very old and has it's original sticker on the bottom. I thought it was a neat find and I'll end up selling the other swizzles and junk and make way more than I have in the mug.

Thanks for looking,

Paul
TD

PP

PNG Gope, a little too authentic for me normally, but something spoke to me.
(and the unending snow in the background outside the Boom Boom Room)

[ Edited by: Pittsburgh pauly 2011-02-01 17:03 ]
S

On 2011-02-01 12:55, blacklagoon wrote:
Found this Pirate House mug at an estate sale.

Damn fine photography! Cool mug, too.
R
Rorysm posted on Wed, Feb 2, 2011 8:36 AM

On 2011-02-01 13:43, TIKI DAVID wrote:

I have that mug at home. In case anyone didn't know, The Pirate's House is a restaraunt in Savannah that is said to have inspired "Treasure Island," as it was a bar and hotel when R.L.Stevenson visited so long ago. There used to be a tunnel downstairs that led to the beach so Pirates could get some local drunk off their butt and they'd wake up and find themselves "Shanghai'd." Today it's a good place to eat with a pirates theme... the Pecan honey chicken on the Buffet made a good consolation prize for when we weren't able to get into Paula Dean's place (we didn't get in line early enough, like 8 in the morning to wait for lunch).
B

"Damn fine photography! Cool mug, too."

Thank you!

I spoke with the manager at the restaurant and he confirmed that this is an old mug, probably from one of the first orders they placed when making collectible mugs. It's interesting to see how bad the molds got over the years or they switched factories.

Paul
PTD

Visiting family in Utah...tiki finds...


Two Tiki Farm Moai mugs.


Two carved Rapa Nui Moai tikis, about 24" tall.

Later,

PTD
PTD

Utah, part two...


Just went out to lunch and found these at a thrift store; hanging fish, Coco Joe's tiki and surfer and the Schirman coral Hawaiian couple.

Later,

PTD
L

Psycho Tiki D your "need to find all the tiki stuff in the wild(thrift stores,
garage sales, swap meets) before the other tiki people do" has done you well so far on your unplanned trip.

Hope you brought an extra carry on!
B

On 2011-01-31 19:21, bongofury wrote:
Found these 2 gas torches this weekend

I will hook them up to see how they look lit up.......don't know where they were installed.

I installed one of them....
BB

Love it!
D

Bongo,

Looks like those torches turned out to be a HOT score! Nice! Looking forward to seeing them all installed.

PTD,

That Mahi Mahi fish mount is very cool, how you going to get that home? Is it a real fish mount or just a plastic mold deal?

DC
J
JOHN-O posted on Wed, Feb 2, 2011 7:39 PM

I never post on this thread since I really don't collect anything. Here's a recent "Tiki Find" (Poly-Pop gift actually) story that I thought I'd share.

Now for those of you who read my "Honolulu Confidential" thread, you know there was a really cool vintage Aloha shirt that I wanted to buy at Bailey's Antiques near Waikiki. When they told me it costed several thousand dollars, I opted for a modern reproduction that was (loosely) based on the original print. I later found out that Anthony Bourdain purchased "my shirt".

Flash forward to Don the Beachcomber in Sunset Beach, CA. One of the Monday night TC regulars, HB Tiki (aka Roger), told me he had a vintage Aloha shirt (at least 1960's era) that he couldn't fit into anymore. He offered it to me as a gift. This last Monday night, I was wearing my Anthony Bourdain version. As he pulled out his shirt in Don's parking lot, I thought it was a pretty cool design. As I looked more closely, I realized it was the EXACT print of the reproduction shirt I was wearing, albeit in a different shade.

I was Shocked.

Floored.

Amazed.

Blown over.

I said "Roger, are you sure you want to give me this? I have a feeling that it might be a VERY expensive vintage shirt".

He said "JOHN-O, as long as you like the shirt and will wear it, that's enough for me".

A thousand Mahalos HB Tiki !! This is one of the BEST gifts I ever received. I wouldn't sell it even if Anthony Bourdain offered me ten grand for it.

Here's a comparison between vintage original and the modern reproduction...

[ Edited by: JOHN-O 2011-04-07 15:10 ]
1

On 2011-01-31 15:07, tikiskip wrote:
Let me guess, Emma one shoe.
Here's mine with the shade I made for it.

Yes the fourth pic does depict candle holder from the Beachcomber and it did come from Emma one shoe .

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