Tiki Finds

Mahalo for the update!
Reviewing Security tapes at La Mariana, we have file footage of seeds being planted and ideas being collected and thrown into the mix...

Can't wait to see all those gems together in your Tiki bar....the hunt is on :lol:
Freddie

On 2008-06-27 07:40, FreddieBallsomic wrote:
Hey TD, How many of those Witco fountain/statues of fortune do you have total?

witco fountains-3
statues of fortune-2
fountains - 6, not all witco

I had some pretty good finds this week on a trip down to Calgary:

I found 3 of these Kon Tiki mugs; 2 from Montreal and 1 from Waikiki. The Montreal mugs have "Stephen Crane Associates" etched in the bottom, but I'm sure they were made by Daga like all the rest.

2 daga mugs: the Molokai Mule and one from some place called the Fogcutter. Is that supposed to be a cactus?

The Al Harrington Ku mug and a peanut mug. I'm not sure if this peanut mug is by Otagiri; it has no sticker or restaurant markings, only "Japan" on the bottom.

Coco Joe napkin holder and S&Ps labeled "The Mauna Loa". (sorry, bad photo!) This is the same set found by Slacks Ferret. They're not very detailed and pretty cheap-looking. I agree that they're probably from the Mauna Loa in Portage La Prairie, Manitoba. Here's the thread:
http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=27442&forum=2&hilite=mauna%20loa

I got two different types of Kahiki appetizer sticks as a bonus with some Moai Mugs.

Here's the moai mug -- no identifying marks, but in perfect condition. A good "everyday" tiki bar kind of mug.

POST #1000!!

It's been a good month for paper:

Kon Tiki Ports brochure:

Fort Nelson Motor Hotel

The old Trader Vic's in Scottsdale, AZ

Bali Hai, New Orleans

Aloha Phoenix Resort

Orchids Of Hawaii

Kon Tiki, Cincinatti

Waikiki Room at Hotel Nicollet, Minneapolis

Curry's Restaurant, Miami

International Market Place, Hawaii

Good hunting today. Hit the Martin Denny goldmine at an estate sale this weekend. Thought I'd post some eye candy so the new folks on the sight know what to look out for. All from one sale, all just like new and all sound killer on my vintage hi-fi console. Thanks

Trav, I'm definitely jealous of the Martin Denny collection you stumbled upon. I've found nothing on multiple visits to about ten thrift stores int he past few weeks. Ahh, the myths of So-Cal thrift stores...

Found all of this stuff in the past week or so.

The bottle says "hawaiian" on front and 4/5 pint. Bottom has a NW symbol and says "liquor bottle" on the bottom, maybe held rum or sake?

The plate is wooden and looks to be hand painted, some chips on edges.


HIP piece from a yard sale. Found with the plate.

Harveys mug in less than great shape.
I found a set of boy/girl busts made by Lego of Japan at an antique store today. I almost bought them but backed out at the last second to save some cash, because I already have the girl. I know Marwals go for a lot usually (although they seem way overpriced in my mind) but I don't know much about the Lego busts. Anyone have any info about Lego that would sway me to spending $35, or help me to walk away?

A shrink wrapped untouched Exotica Suite, in this day and age, wow! Only in Kalamazoo...

Really great scores on the postcards and albums, along with everything else!

This was another painfully slow weekend...but then again California is on fire.

This week's finds...

Witco guitar on the left.

Here's Hawaii, 1964.

The Sounds of Martin Denny Exotica.

Orchids of Hawaii R-79 Hula Girl mug.

Total paid for everything: $26.00.

See ya round!

PTD

Hey Psycho!

You're slow weekend adds up to a slow year here in the Boston area for Tiki finds.. I have to say you are my Tiki find "IDOL"!!

Cheers!

Rick

and california is literally...on fire!!!! maybe all the brush fires are causing all the tiki stuff to run from their hiding places to escape the flames and right into the yard sales and flea markets!!

This whole page is really a great cross section of all the ephemera that still can be beachcombed in Tikidom today.

Here's a few months worth of finds. With College out, I see it being easier to find Tiki mugs now that the frat boys aren't drinking beer from them. Then throwing them away.

A pair of Shonfelds Tiki & Moai Mug. A souvenir Tiki bank (no markings, but looks like the souvenir mug from the Kona Coffee Mill mug i picked up some time ago),and three bottle stoppers (wine?) of a Kane and a few wahines.

Some Libbey mugs I picked up at World Market.

A brown plastic mug, an unmarked barrel with handle, another Shonfelds mug, and a mysterious statue made of lava pumice. It is flat on the back as if it would have had a CoCo Joes sticker o the back? It also has been laid on it's back and a "swipe" florescent paint sprayed in one direction, this to give it an illuminated look when sitting up. I don't know if this was done during or post production. I just about passed it up, but my wahine loved him. Any ideas on who made him?

I've scaled back a little on the collecting front - after months of boxing new acquisitions for lack of display space, I'm now running out of places to hide the boxes! Things still seem to find their way into my life, and I can't resist the lure of cool ceramic pieces, especially anything Maori or Cook Island themed. Here's the latest couple of "finds":
Set of 3 ceramic Tang wall masks, no maker's marks or any clues to their provenance. They're about 4 inches long each:

Second ever op (thrift) shop find - this made my day yesterday! I've wanted one of these for ages. A bit simpler/abstract in form than many I've seen, but I ain't complaining. The wood is beautiful and very hard, like ebony, and the inlays really pop. He's about 5 1/2 inches tall.
I dig that these Nguzu Nguzu figures represent success in headhunting, and it also adds a new country to my Oceanic collection!

On 2008-07-01 11:46, Unkle John wrote:
...a mysterious statue made of lava pumice. It is flat on the back as if it would have had a CoCo Joes sticker o the back? It also has been laid on it's back and a "swipe" florescent paint sprayed in one direction, this to give it an illuminated look when sitting up. I don't know if this was done during or post production. I just about passed it up, but my wahine loved him. Any ideas on who made him?

They're Mexican and have been discussed on TC before. I can't seem to find the thread though.

I think it was this thread...
http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=23121&forum=5&vpost=287940&hilite=mexico

Aloha....Freddie

Hi, I'm hoping that someone on one of these boards can help me. I was watching T.V. late one night when I stumbled across a show on Elvis...you know where I'm going with this right? Yep the Jungle Room furniture. I was surprised because all my life my parents have had this weird dragon head furniture, it was only when they were showing the pictures of the Jungle Room that I realized IT'S THE SAME FURNITURE! Not sure what that says that my father has the same taste as Elvis...anyway when he brought it home my mother hit the roof said it was the ugliest furniture she had ever seen get it out of the house. After many long and sleepless nights of fighting over the furniture they came to an agreement. #1 He could keep the furniture in his private den where it could not be seen by the neighbors who came to visit and #2 there was no way it was staying in the den private or not without be reupholstered period. If you flip the sofa up you can even still see some of the original striped faux fur it originally came with. Now decades later my parents are downsizing homes and the furniture needs to go someplace. Does anyone have any suggestions on where would be the best place to get rid of this? I suggested E bay but I don't know if that is the kind of thing that sells on there and then how in the world would you even ship that? Any help anyone has would be great thanks!

On 2008-07-03 10:58, jmayer2112 wrote:
Hi, I'm hoping that someone on one of these boards can help me. I was watching T.V. late one night when I stumbled across a show on Elvis...you know where I'm going with this right? Yep the Jungle Room furniture. I was surprised because all my life my parents have had this weird dragon head furniture, it was only when they were showing the pictures of the Jungle Room that I realized IT'S THE SAME FURNITURE! Not sure what that says that my father has the same taste as Elvis...anyway when he brought it home my mother hit the roof said it was the ugliest furniture she had ever seen get it out of the house. After many long and sleepless nights of fighting over the furniture they came to an agreement. #1 He could keep the furniture in his private den where it could not be seen by the neighbors who came to visit and #2 there was no way it was staying in the den private or not without be reupholstered period. If you flip the sofa up you can even still see some of the original striped faux fur it originally came with. Now decades later my parents are downsizing homes and the furniture needs to go someplace. Does anyone have any suggestions on where would be the best place to get rid of this? I suggested E bay but I don't know if that is the kind of thing that sells on there and then how in the world would you even ship that? Any help anyone has would be great thanks!

Shipping is a problem. You could list it on Ebay or Craigslist as "pickup only." You could also list it in the Tiki Marketplace part of Tiki Central. Hopefully you live near some Witco collectors.

Where DO you live?

LOL B. S. try not to get to excited, no pics and again no idea of what part of the country he is in.

i remember back in 63 i was just a kid,my father brought home this corvette car ,and my mother hated it because it was a fast back and the rear windows were split in 2.so my father had to put it away in the garage and.........well you know the rest

On 2008-06-29 15:58, Kenike wrote:
POST #1000!!

It's been a good month for paper:

Fort Nelson Motor Hotel

That's in Alaska right?

I always thought it was in B.C. (British Columbia for you Yanks)

On 2008-06-29 18:31, kahalakruzer wrote:
Found all of this stuff in the past week or so.

The bottle says "hawaiian" on front and 4/5 pint. Bottom has a NW symbol and says "liquor bottle" on the bottom, maybe held rum or sake?

That's a Hawaiian Distillers bottle that held their Chi Chi cocktail mix. This bottle design came in all materials and sizes, from large ceramic Okolehao bottles to small plastic airplane bottles:

On 2008-07-03 12:23, Swanky wrote:

That's in Alaska right?

British Columbia on the Alaskan Hwy.

We are in Florida.

On 2008-07-02 17:36, MrBaliHai wrote:

On 2008-07-01 11:46, Unkle John wrote:
...a mysterious statue made of lava pumice. It is flat on the back as if it would have had a CoCo Joes sticker o the back? It also has been laid on it's back and a "swipe" florescent paint sprayed in one direction, this to give it an illuminated look when sitting up. I don't know if this was done during or post production. I just about passed it up, but my wahine loved him. Any ideas on who made him?

They're Mexican and have been discussed on TC before. I can't seem to find the thread though.

Good to know.. Thanks!

On 2008-07-03 17:03, jmayer2112 wrote:
We are in Florida.

Take a few pictures and post a message with the pics on the Tiki Marketplace forum. You'll no doubt make a quick sale, there are many tikiphiles in your state :) How many pieces do you have? One of the chairs sold recently on eBay, I think it was for 900 bucks. But it had the original fabric, if they're recovered that'll hurt the value somewhat. Good luck!

hello everyone,

i am Kelly from Germany. and i have two problems.

1. my English is not very good.
2. the bigger problem is that i search a picture of a tiki mask that don't looks angry or something. the tiki should smile and look funny. and he has to be very colored. (e.g.: red lips, yellow pineapple on his head etc.)

i saw some of those on a documentary. but i don't know on witch channel and i don't know the name of the documentary.

i just remember that the carver was an older man with Grey hairs an he came from California.

he said his style has no special name an its untypically for tikis but he calls it CALIFORNIAN STYLE.

i hope you can help me and send or post me a picture of such a tiki.

thanks in advance.

greedz from Germany
Kelly

ps: sorry if this was the wrong thread or topic. please correct me!

Found these vintage 1960's slides today. All mint in the package. Ten packs with five slides per pack. All from Hawaii. The Coco Palm's set is the best. I took the pic's through the package so they are not the best but the slides inside are untouched. Two bucks for the lot. Thanks.

On 2008-07-04 09:47, k1510 wrote:
i search a picture of a tiki mask that don't looks angry or something. the tiki should smile and look funny. and he has to be very colored. (e.g.: red lips, yellow pineapple on his head etc.)

i saw some of those on a documentary. but i don't know on witch channel and i don't know the name of the documentary.

I don't recall anyone on TC that carves masks that fit that description, but there are a lot of threads on the carving forum and I have not been through that many of them so maybe this guy's work is buried in there somewhere. Here's the forum:

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewforum.php?forum=7&57622

I've seen a few colorful masks on eBay like this one:

http://cgi.ebay.com/KAUAI-GOLD-PINEAPPLE-MASK-40-HAWAIIAN-TIKI-BAR-DECOR_W0QQitemZ200236563983QQihZ010QQcategoryZ29460QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I don't think that's what you are looking for as it's not exactly a "happy" expression, but if you look around eBay you might find something similar to what you want. Good luck!

Thank you for your help on this matter. I will get some more pictures and post them. The set has a sofa, chair, ottoman, end table, coffee table, corner unit, and a shelf unit. I took some photos but my mother would not let me up load the current ones seems the camera picked up too much of the dust that was on them and well that was just not acceptable! I guess if you wanted the furniture for the "Elvis" factor then recovering them was a bad idea. If you like the witco style furniture then I guess it's still okay. It's all in excellent condition lol it didn't get used very much. Tikiphiles now that's clever.

You're quite welcome, and that is a most impressive collection you describe!! It is very rare to see an entire set come up like that and it is no doubt quite valuable even if recovered. It would be great to see it go as an entire lot so that it all stays together as it has been in your home all these years, but to get top dollar you may have to break it up. I'm sure I'm not the only one that looks forward to seeing the pics :)

got skunked out today at the swapmeet, no tikis.

i got a few exotica albums, but nothing major

on an un related tiki note i did score 3 oingo boingo records, 2 english beat records, and a stray cats record

On 2008-07-04 09:47, k1510 wrote:
....the bigger problem is that i search a picture of a tiki mask that don't looks angry or something. the tiki should smile and look funny. and he has to be very colored. (e.g.: red lips, yellow pineapple on his head etc.)
....he said his style has no special name an its untypically for tikis but he calls it CALIFORNIAN STYLE.

Mein lieber Kelly,
Wie alt bist du? Das Problem ist nicht dass du im falschen Thread bist, sondern dass der Tiki den du beschreibst generell hier verpoent ist: Richtige Tikis sind weder bunt, noch haben sie 'ne gelbe Ananas auf der Stirn. Tikis sind keine Partyclowns. Es wird dich vielleicht wundern dass es in der Tikiwelt so was gibt, aber diese Art Tikis kann man getrost als "schlechten Geschmack" beschreiben.

Und das mit dem sogenannten "California Style" ist Bloedsinn, es gibt hier in Kalifornien zig Kunstler die gute Tikis im klassischen Fuenfziger Jahre Stil schnitzen. :)

Herzlichst, Dein Sven Kirsten

Aloha, Found the dresser, nightstand, and headboard at a consignment shop about a month back, liked them but were pricey, went back yesterday and they sliced the prices in 1/2.. My 5-year old loves bamboo (tiki's too), never too young, right?? The bamboo shelf was bought last month from craiglist..

On 2008-06-08 21:35, bigbrotiki wrote:

Is that Christian's Hut from Waikiki, or from Balboa? I still am hoping to find out about the original owners of Christian's Hut one day, all I know from Ray Buhen is that they were Hollywood agents in the day.

I recently picked up a menu mailer from the Christian's Hut restaurant on Balboa.

Bigbro, I also found this article on the original owners of the Christian's Hut and some nice history and photos of the restaurant.

Christian's Hut
The Hangout Of The Stars

Christian's Hut Was A Big Draw For The Hollywood Set Because It Was Owned By The Brother Of One Of Hollywood's Biggest Cinematographers.

In the late 1930s, Art La Shelle opened Christian's Hut, a Tahitian style restaurant and bar on the bay front, now the location of Newport Towers. Christian's Hut was noted for its great oriental style food, and was always being frequented by the Hollywood set. Red Skelton, Johnny Weismuller, Fred Mac Murray, and Howard Hughes to name a few. Joe La Shelle, Art's brother, was an Oscar-winning cinematographer, one of his more well-known movies was "The Birds."

This rare circa 1945 aerial view shows Christian's Hut in its heyday.

Much of the Christian's Hut food was prepared in a big outdoor cooking pit. No one could figure out how the filet mignon could be crispy-charred on the outside and rare in the middle. One regular customer was told in confidence the secret was to first freeze the steak, toss it on a white-hot grill to sear it, then drop it into a deep fryer. The downstairs bar area had a sand floor which led all the way to the water where the patrons would beach their boats. The dining room was upstairs. Marshall, the maitre d', was given the nickname Francois, because he would kiss the hand of every woman coming in the door, starting at her finger tips and working his way up her arm all the way to her head. Marshall's daughter, Delores, was a beauty queen who married George Perlin, who owned the Richfield Station then located at the corner of Adams Street and Balboa Boulevard. George had the nickname "Beast" because of all his body hair. After the couple were married, they were given the nickname "Beauty and the Beast." Christian's Hut burned down in 1963.

On 2008-07-05 21:40, Dustycajun wrote:

On 2008-06-08 21:35, bigbrotiki wrote:

Is that Christian's Hut from Waikiki, or from Balboa? I still am hoping to find out about the original owners of Christian's Hut one day, all I know from Ray Buhen is that they were Hollywood agents in the day.

I recently picked up a menu mailer from the Christian's Hut restaurant on Balboa.

woah, am i tripping out, or is the goof two timing the bali hai in san diego?

No reason to trip out, it's all in the Book of Tiki. :)

i think i need to pay a visit to amazon.com

I had some excellent finds yesterday that included striking a motherlode of Hawaiian postcards. I also found this beautiful Rotoruan carving from New Zealand, an old Appleton Rum recipe brochure, and a Coco Joe-ish Don Ho "Suck 'Em Up" ashtray. You can view scans of all the postcards on the first 2 pages of my Vintage Hawaiiana gallery.

My favorite is this postcard of the Hula Hostesses at the Hawaiian Pavilion at Expo '70 in Osaka, Japan. I spent a week at Expo '70 as a kid, and I remember these gorgeous gals in their Mod polyester Muu-muus very well.

On 2008-07-05 21:40, Dustycajun wrote:
Christian's Hut Was A Big Draw For The Hollywood Set Because It Was Owned By The Brother Of One Of Hollywood's Biggest Cinematographers.
In the late 1930s, Art La Shelle opened Christian's Hut, a Tahitian style restaurant and bar on the bay front,

Scott, THANK YOU!
One more mystery cleared up! So there WAS a Hollywood family connection to the owner: Not an agent, but a cinematographer! Today I tried to find a link between Joe La Shelle and the original film version of "Mutiny of The Bounty" (1935), but no luck. This is why I thought he should have been part of the film's crew:

As I wrote in the Book of Tiki, Christian's Hut originated at the Isthmus on Catalina Island, where all the Island footage for "The Bounty" was shot (just like for "The Hurricane" two years later). Clark Gable, who played Fletcher CHRISTIAN had his sleeping quarters above the room that became the crew's watering hole, so it was named "Christian's Hut". It stayed open after the film, and Ray Buhen worked there as a bartender in his youth (see photo with him on the right under the sign that says "proprietor Clark Gable" on page 16 of Sippin' Safari). Here is a link about the place:
http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=28251&forum=2

From Balboa and Laguna Christian's Hut tried to branch out to Waikiki and San Diego. When the San Diego location failed, its manager Tom Hamm took it over and turned it into the BALI HAI. To this day we do not know how the Christian's Hut logo of "The Goof" originated! Who will find THAT out!?:

Maybe Joe's brother Art was the caterer on "The Bounty"? Joe La Shelle is credited with two island location pictures among his long list of Hollywood movies, one at the beginning of his career as a camera operator with 29, "The Pagan", (which introduced the "Pagan Love Song"), shot in Tahiti (!), and one at the end, when he was 68, called "Kona Coast", shot in Hawaii. That one sounds very intriguing, check out its tag line:

THE KONA COAST --1968 --

IT'S WHERE IT'S AT... The action, the adventure, the excitement of a turned-on world that can't turn itself off!
Her name was Woman... Her other name was Excitement. She belonged to Hawaii's Kona Coast like the surf riders and the beach bums!

Beautiful set Beachbumz, especially for 1/2 off!!!
Aloha,
:tiki:

On 2008-07-06 08:11, bigbrotiki wrote:

THE KONA COAST --1968 --

IT'S WHERE IT'S AT... The action, the adventure, the excitement of a turned-on world that can't turn itself off!
Her name was Woman... Her other name was Excitement. She belonged to Hawaii's Kona Coast like the surf riders and the beach bums!>
Bigbro,

Here are some images from the movie lobby cards for Kona Coast

Coo-elle! Thank You. This movie is more proof of my theory that in the 60s, the Kona Coast was supposed to become the new Waikiki. After Honululu was bursting under the big tourist and building boom (with a certain loss of Island romance) of the late 50s, developers and the hotel industry were seeking virgin lands to expand to, and Kona was pushed on the mainland as the next "it".
That's why restaurants, motels and apartments called Kona Kai (the Kona coast) popped up here in the early to late 60s.

Recent stuff that I found hidden behind some benehanas mugs at the swap meet:

18" wooden Hawaiian Tongan styled tourist totem tiki

A vintage marked mug from an old tiki bar called "Tai Wan's"

EFCCO ceramic tiki face mug

Which is sadder?...

Pepe, the lonely Trader Vics shaker,

or the Tiki spoon without the fork?

Some books:

An old travel encyclopedia

Moai detail

Maori detail

Here's an interesting Hawaiana book find:

Published in 1922, a book of poems and photos.

Signed by the author in 1925

There was also a signed xmas card in it:

Doing some intensive research on google for about 5 minutes, i found some information on the husband of the author mentioned on the card, Bishop Restarick. I figured that there couldn't be that many bishops out there in the early 1900s. There are several references to him on the web and a complete scan of the book here. My favorite was an old article in the New York Times from 1909 entitled "IMMORALITY IN HAWAII.; Bishop Restarick Declares That Conditions There Are Very Bad." It was so bad they couildn't even print what he saw! My mind is about to explode just thinking about what might have been going on. I envision that bar from the movie called "Porky's"

A Gauguin Noa Noa Tahitian Journal:

After flipping through the Gaughin book, I was in a Tahitian mood, so I picked up this framed print:

Picked up a couple new copies of these gems:

I didn't open the copy of Tiki modern yet, so I don't know if this is a Witco boat/clipper

All the pieces have staple holes on the backs of them like they were originally mounted on something:


Detail of the grain:

Buzzy Out!

Great finds by everyone lately, looks like the hunting has been good for a few of you.

I was gonna go to the Alameda Anitques Fair today, but the distance, smoke, heat and price of gas kept me in my own stompin grounds. Did o.k. though...

Coco Joes #16-062 Hawaiian Hula Dancer.

Bucket mug from "The Mandarin" Ghirardelli Square SF, CA.

Vintage Trader Vic's coconut mug, to go with my other TV coconut mugs!

Harvey's small Hula Girl bowl, to go with my other bowls (hard to pass on it for $1.00)

Small Westwood shots and toothpick holder, to go with my other Westwood mugs.

Tiki mug, maker unknown, Paradise Cove Hawaii Ko Olina Resort printed on the back. Never seen this one before?

Two blue Daga Hawaii Surfer mugs, Aloha Cup Honolulu Hawaii 1984 printed on the back.

Blue next to the brown, never seen the blue ones before.

Stockton Islander Earring mug, at home with his companion Islander, Tonga Room and Zombie Village Earring mugs.

See ya soon,

Pyscho Tiki D (I know I am and I just can't get enough)!

Found this guy at the flea market for $3.00 today, anyone know the maker? has this mark on the head and says made in the Philippines on the bottom.
I have the same mark on the same looking 3 stacked guys here also.

Was out shopping today & found a few stump the tiki hunter post cards. I can't take photo's now but if anyone has heard of these places please chime in...

I posted on the West Virginia thread a place called: The MA-KIKI Club in Huntington W VA

Bali Restaurant Aruba, Netherlands Antilles. Postcard is of the restaurant at night with a boat dock all lit up and two big signs that say Bali

The Bamboo Hut @ the Hotel Wiggins Tavern in Northampton, Mass, some glass floats, bamboo & tiki masks shown. No date on it looks like it was a fun place though.

Lyon's Bowl in Lyons Illinois, back of the card says visit our beautiful Hawaiian cocktail lounge. the front shows the bar with palm tree's in the middle.

Also got some other ones, a couple of Tonga room ones, Don the Beachcomber Jamaica rum, Tiki Gardens, Tiki Room Disney Land, Hawaiian punch village San Diego, Stardust & one with a Tiki from Kona. So not a bad day, just wish I had my camera here.

Tikisgrl