Unseen Rare Tiki Mug

Okay, so I figured that would get people's attention. I have a mug that I got at a thrift store for $3 that I've never even seen mentioned anywhere else. It's from Fisherman's Wharf, Honolulu, HI, and is a lovely blue-green glaze . On the bottom is a stylized B. The mug seems to br quite old. Any idea of its age, or has anyone seen another like it? Is it worth anything? Mahalo

[ Edited by: Hale Tiki on 2004-10-27 16:24 ]

Okay, maybe not so rare? Anyone? I'm completely clueless on this one. I've seen a bunch of the modern babmboo mugs with only one rung on them with a mermaid looking like this one silkscreened on, but other than that, my knowledge is limited.
Mahalo for any help!

[ Edited by: filslash 2008-09-12 14:57 ]

filslash. Mahalo man. Glad to see someone else out there has seen on of these. Now if only someone knew what the B stood for. Perhaps Bosko has a long lost twin brother in Honolulu. lol.

My guess is that it was made by Louie B ceramics. They've made other mugs for the Fishermans Wharf (incl. a TV-style seahorse) as well as Mugs for the Royal Lahaina (Tiki Quest, pg. 54, lower right) and a green, handled mug for The Tahitian Lanai. The seahorse and RH mugs I have have a "Louie B Ceramics" stamp on the bottom along with a bee logo, but the Tahitian Lanai mug has "Waikiki" and the same stylized "B" your mug has.

Or else it's Bosko's brother. :)

That mark is actually not a B but rather a stacked pair of P's. It is the mark for Polynesian Pottery which later became Daga. Cool mug.

On 2004-10-27 20:49, Doctor Z wrote:
and a green, handled mug for The Tahitian Lanai. but the Tahitian Lanai mug has "Waikiki" and the same stylized "B" your mug has.

[ Edited by: filslash 2008-09-12 14:57 ]

Here's my favourite question again:

Why would this mug, not being from a Polynesian restaurant, and NOT depicting a Tiki in any shape or form, be called a Tiki mug?

It wouldn't be, in my book.

On 2004-10-28 11:02, bigbrotiki wrote:
Here's my favourite question again:

Why would this mug, not being from a Polynesian restaurant, and NOT depicting a Tiki in any shape or form, be called a Tiki mug?

Than this must be a tittie mug.
I'm cool with that.

On 2004-10-28 11:02, bigbrotiki wrote:
Here's my favourite question again:

Why would this mug, not being from a Polynesian restaurant, and NOT depicting a Tiki in any shape or form, be called a Tiki mug?

It wouldn't be, in my book.

That explains the unseen rare tiki part. :wink:

On 2004-10-28 11:02, bigbrotiki wrote:
Here's my favourite question again:

Why would this mug, not being from a Polynesian restaurant, and NOT depicting a Tiki in any shape or form, be called a Tiki mug?

It wouldn't be, in my book.

I've seen you raise this question before BigBro...
My take is that "Tiki Mug" as become a brand of sorts. Any ceramic vessel used for holding a tropical beverage whether it is in the shape of an actual Tiki (PMP mug, lelani, peanut guy)or not (mermaid, seahorse, hula gals) is referred to as a Tiki Mug.
Not unlike calling any adhesive bandage a "Band-Aid", anything to blow your nose a "Kleenex", steel wool a "Brillo" pad.
It's just an evolution of the language, maybe not always correct, but then again is it proper to refer to some of the modern, highly stylized creations by Munktiki and Bosko as "tikis"...?
Just my 2 shots worth.
Aloha,
:tiki:

On 2004-10-28 19:37, Tiki Royale wrote:

My take is that "Tiki Mug" has become a brand of sorts. Any ceramic vessel used for holding a tropical beverage...
It's just an evolution of the language...

To me, it is a DE-volution, dangerously smelling like a watering down of the style. Tiki= Tropical. As long as my motto "If it says Tiki on it, it should have Tiki in it (or on it)" is not met, we are in e-bay seller "Tiki/Eames/retro" terminology land.

Tiki style as defined by me always has the iconographic figurehead of the Tiki in the foreground. Otherwise it is nautical, or trader, or beachcomber, or Hawaiiana style.

The above item is a mermaid mug, or would you call the new Tommy Bahama Hawaiiana pottery "Tiki" mugs? They are Hula Girl mugs. And the good ole' rum barrels?

....but then again is it proper to refer to some of the modern, highly stylized creations by Munktiki and Bosko as "tikis"...?

Absolutely, if they bear any trace of being inspired by primitive effigies from any of the Oceanic culture groups. That's to me as far as the name mingling goes:
In Polynesian Pop, all idols from all Oceanic islands can be called Tikis. But if mugs depict monkeys, they are monkey mugs, if they are skulls, skull mugs, and so on....

BigBro,
I'll buy that.
What I meant was that, to the layperson, any figural drinking vessel is refered to as a "Tiki Mug".
I see your point of how Tiki=Tropical to most people, and I don't know if that is always a bad thing (until it involves Jimmy Buffet but that's a whole 'nother thread) since "Tiki", as many here at TC embrace it, does consist of tropical, beachcomber, hawaiiana, etc. elements melded together to create their own slice of paradise.
But back to mugs... I like your motto of "If it says Tiki on it, it should have Tiki in it (or on it)". Correct. A "tiki" mug should be in the form of a tiki. Otherwise it's a (insert figure here) mug from a tiki themed establishment.
Lemme buy ya a drink...
Aloha,
:tiki:

To clarify, the reason I called it a Tiki mug was out of ignorance. I know nothing about the restaurant, but had seen other Tiki mugs with their logo printed on it before, and assumed it was a Tiki restaurant. Mahalo.