The show me your Witco thread.

On 2007-01-06 13:43, Hakalugi wrote:

On 2007-01-03 22:26, hala_kahiki wrote:
I am an extreme tiki novice.. I can see the similarity and continuity in all of these pieces, but can anyone clarify for me what exactly witco is?

Didn't you receive a copy of the BOT for Christmas? (check out page 253)

I did indeed! i'm on page 115..I should have known better than to ask

hey tikitim theres a old witco style mug shelf I made. I always wonder where they end up Thanks for posting

tikitim, can you post a a closer detail of the couple holding hands. I see now that my piece should have been mounted on a board. Looks like orange burlap maybe? then the detail I would like to see is the wood bottom piece. maybe someday I can get my couple remounted as they belong.
Thanks for posting, I enjoyed looking!

Not neccessarily, I believe. Maybe keigs can throw some light on this question. Though certainly sometimes, over the years, the frames of Witco wall art broke and were discarded, from what I have seen some of the carvings were sold in two versions, with and without framing.

ahhh ha. I wonder if the framed couple are the same size as my unframed version. There are no marks of any kind on the back of my piece that might have given a hint as to if they were once framed.

If your piece has no holes in the back I bet it was never framed. Both my Outrigger and the World Map, the pieces are held on by long staples or sometimes called horseshoe nails. Scott

exotica, like Bigbro says you could buy them both ways with or without frame and background. On a lot of items you could choose what color background you wanted also.

Here are some additional pics. Hope they help. Tim

Thanks for all the help. I seem to learn something new here every day.
Thank-you tikitim for the close ups.

Whoever sent me the PM about the fabric on my chairs in the tiki room. Sorry I accidently deleted it before I replied to it. The bottom cushions are just leopard fabric from the fabric store. The back rest cushions are covered in a material we got in Hawaii a few years ago. It has volcanos and Tikis. The Hawaii fabric stores have some cool stuff. I wish we had it around here. The chairs are just cool mid century chairs we got 11 years ago on vacation in Florida at a garage sale. Thanks for your question and again sorry for messing up deleting your PM. scott

I was in a store yesterday trying to sell some of my stuff. The owner wanted to show me a carving she had recently bought from a fellow who said he made it. Much to my surprise and delight, it was a Witco just like this only he had painted it white! I told her what the deal was. How much would this piece be worth if the guy hadn't painted it?

This is my 1st post as I have been lurking for a few weeks... love the forums! I have this piece I found at a thrift store a few years ago, and after seeing this Witco thread I thought I'd post these... Is it Witco? I don't know.. at least very similar.
It is a boat form with what looks like either half barrels or some crab traps or something next to boat. There is an eye hook at one end of the piece, leading me to believe the orange backing was attached later(?) any thoughts would be great... thanks!

Chicago Hala Kahiki lover

[ Edited by: jamco 2007-01-16 18:14 ]

Interesting! I am sure the backing is original. This is a very late Witco, from their last years, between 1974 and 1976, when they tried to "keep up with the times", with lighter wood items..such as these (!):

..not for everyone but the hardcore Witco collector or historian :)

Wow.. those are great pieces.. thanks for the feedback, you seem knowledgable on this.
Now that I read back in the forum.. this backing is probably the original because it does have those long staples that go throught the back right into the piece, as mentioned by previous posters.
I think I need to invest in the Book of Tiki asap.. I'd be interested in seeing more examples.

[ Edited by: jamco 2007-01-16 19:10 ]

I picked this guy up this summer at a flea market. My first thought was Witco so I picked it up for five bucks! Now I'm not so sure. The piece is 18" tall. No markings and never had a hanger on it for wall hanging. I thought it may be cut from a larger piece or not witco at all. It also has shell eyes. Anyone have any ideas? It's a keeper either way. Thanks.

Jamco, what do you think the eye hook was for? Is there a missing piece? Maybe another lobster trap or an anchor or something hung off of it? I'm curious.

On 2007-01-20 07:33, Termite wrote:
Jamco, what do you think the eye hook was for? Is there a missing piece? Maybe another lobster trap or an anchor or something hung off of it? I'm curious.

It's hard to say, and there isn't even another hole on the other side, so it never hung by those. Maybe one day I'll find out. I just picked up a 1976 Witco catalog on Ebay, there might be similar pieces in there (similar time period?) who knows!

Congrats on your $5 find.. can't beat that price! Are there any big staple holes on the back? maybe it was attached to a fabric board for the wall, the staple holes would indicate that.

here are the few pieces that we have:

thanks for looking!

Drunkethat, you don't need all those wood things. You guys have too much. Tanya and I will take some for you so you don't have so much. I think that wood fountain thing will do.

Thanks in advance,
Kahaka

On 2007-01-20 07:53, jamco wrote:

On 2007-01-20 07:33, Termite wrote:
Jamco, what do you think the eye hook was for? Is there a missing piece? Maybe another lobster trap or an anchor or something hung off of it? I'm curious.

Thanks to Keigs for the incredible Witco catalog I just received! Unfortunately, I did find my piece (pic in post a few comments above this one) in this 1976 catalog, it is called the Lobsterman and my piece has an entire missing figure that is supposed to be attached to the front of the boat!! This figure is quite large and is MISSING aaargh... oh well... I still appreciate how it looks.
Thanks again Keigs.

[ Edited by: jamco 2007-01-24 16:19 ]

A couple more Witco finds -- I was surprised to find them at the big NYC "Pier Show" antiques show this weekend. Good thing I've got high ceilings!

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And this one came off eBay a few months ago:

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And it's confirmed -- Witco works well with Arts and Crafts Movement stuff!

So far this is the only Witco I have purchased...

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Notice I said "so far"?

Psycho Tiki D (I know I am and I will purchase more Witco)!

[ Edited by: Psycho Tiki D 2007-03-18 15:44 ]

Hi, First time poster, long time reader/searcher. I saw this beauty (and what a beauty it was with its pink paint job) about two weeks ago as I walked into a thrift store. From across the store I knew it was a Witco, but a PINK witco? Couldn't be, but one never knows. As I got closer though, I knew it was not original paint, and to top it off, someone had painted the cloth without removing the frame nor the outrigger so there was pretty pink paint all over the sides of the cedar pieces. Well I knew if I didn't buy it, who knows what would happen to it, so I got it and decided to restore it. On with the pictures.

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The original pink beauty

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Confirmation of a second (horrible) paint job.

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reclothed and painted back board

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and at last the finished product.

My only regret and suggestion for someone who's trying to do the same thing would be to paint the backing board before putting the cloth on. I was painting the fabric with a brush and roller, but it was difficult to get the paint onto the backing board which Witco painted white. Given this, there are a few small spots where you can see white throught the osnaburg fabric. I believe Witco probably used a paint sprayer to paint the fabric, so they could get a deeper coverage due to the paint mist being able to hit the backing board.

Hopefully no one else finds the need to get paint off the cedar, but if you do, zip-strip does a good job and isn't too caustic. I just used a toothbrush and wet cloth to scrub the paint off after the zip-strip did its job.

Now I have a question, should the cedar be oiled? I see other pieces which are darker and are shinier than mine, I presume this is due to the oiling. Enjoy and thanks, -verbatone

Has anybody ever found a witco outside of the USA?

I think some just have a matte finish and others are sealed. I have both types and it doesnt seem like oil, more like an actual finish.

I don't own these but I did get a picture of the original tag. This might help with the proper care of your Witco ship:

Witco Boy & Girl with original tag

Tikisgrl

I adopted 2 Witco kids:

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They are named Chip and Betty.

Is it inappropriate to say they are really cute?

Tikisgrl

I was thinking that out of the box they looked a little pissy from spending a week on eBay with essentially nobody wanting them. But now they're chillin'!

On 2007-03-26 18:04, Tiki Kollektor wrote:
I was thinking that out of the box they looked a little pissy from spending a week on eBay with essentially nobody wanting them. But now they're chillin'!

Personally.....this is just me talkin'...but I'd do something about that orange. It's just so.....orange?

Pocky wrote Quote: "Personally.....this is just me talkin'...but I'd do something about that orange. It's just so.....orange?"

It IS just you talking Pocky. Your just so ...Pocky?

I like the Witco chillruns, the orange is signature Witco and very mid-century.

ST

[ Edited by: Sneakytiki 2007-03-27 13:54 ]

Just got this sweet Witco Fire Dancers -- it was found in a thrift shop in Ohio. A picture just can't capture how three dimensional these are -- the dancers are almost 3 inches deep.

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[ Edited by: Tiki Kollektor 2007-03-31 16:35 ]

[ Edited by: Tiki Kollektor 2007-03-31 16:38 ]

Wow, I really like those fire dancers!

Here is a sailing ship I have up in my garage/workshop right now:
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My wife hates it, but it's growing on me! :lol:

On 2006-08-19 21:14, fatuhiva wrote:
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This is where I won't to be.

I found this today. I can't tell if it is a table or stool? Amyone seen this before?

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I don't even know if it's Witco, but it sure looks alot like some of the stools for Wicto bars I have seen. Oh well, for $5.00 I took a chance.

Psycho Tiki D (I know I am that's me in the mirror)!

Looks to be Witco for sure. Use it for whatever you want.

psycho tiki its a Witco called a "pedestal accent table" #t-15. Cool find.

My new tiki find. Looks like a Witco to me. How 'bout it Ken? And anyone else who would know.
Thanks,
Erik the Red
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Yup. Witco. Luuuucky!

cool find mr noname its a Witco Bongo Player congrats

Great pick uP!!

This puppy was an early staple of the Witco line, together with "Big Joe", the totem pictured below left. The "Bongo Player" usually came with the "male dancer" and "female dancer", as seen in this 1972 catalog photo. Witco started making these in the early 60s, and for a while then the ensemble came in two sizes, 3 feet or 6 feet (pictured) tall, and one could choose unpainted or painted.

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You seem to have an unpainted one, and if he's only 3 feet, you can be sure he's from the 60s.
The painted version will be on the spine of my new book, also. :)

Thanks gang!!
He is in the kitchen, sorta. Not a lot of functional wall space, but he is displayed well. He is four feet tall if that makes for a particular year.

Ooops! Just measured mine again, and indeedy, the unpainted drummers made during the 60s are 4' tall, not 3.
The 6 footers are impressive, but it's harder to find space for them at home. Witco made a lot of large stuff for public buildings like hotels that needed their empty wall space filled.

Witco from the Polynesian idol series, 4 ft.

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Witco with African like horn head dress and Abelam tribe New Guinea mask paint, 5 ft

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These have been posted in another thread but i thought I'd post them here for convenience sake.

Thanks,

ST

Since these Witco pics will probably disappear from the Web soon, I figured it would be a good idea to post them here for documentation. These are all from the same estate in North Carolina, and they've been listed for a while at:

http://www.uniquestone.com/unique_stones_treasure_trove.htm

I'm told there are about 6 pieces left (not sure which ones). They were supposedly purchased by an Elvis fan to create his own Jungle Room (now that's dedication!).

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Please tell me I finally have some Witco.

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I made new cushions, and cleaned them up a little.

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[ Edited by: The Granite Tiki 2007-06-02 13:33 ]

[ Edited by: The Granite Tiki 2007-06-02 13:34 ]