Treasure Craft stuff

I like collecting Treasure Craft items because they are vintage, go well with other tiki-related stuff, and the prices are still very reasonable in this area.

Although Treasure Craft made a lot of souvenir type items for National Parks and amusement parks, I am just going to show pictures of the ones in my collection that are tiki, Hawaiian, or ocean-related.

Tiki ashtray

Tiki salt & pepper shakers from Hawaii and Florida

Sea Horse s&p from Marineland, whale s&p from Sea World

Pineapple s&p's

Fish s&p's

Coconut tree s&p

Treasure chest cookie jar

Menehune figures

Figurines about 8 inches tall

Figurines about 11 inches tall

Coconut mugs

Many items have the year and the place it was manufactured. Most of my collection is dated between 1957 and 1969.

If you are interested in the history of Treasure Craft, there is a lot of info on the internet. Here is one website to start with.

[ Edited by leevigraham on 2024-01-15 20:08:47 ]

[ Edited by leevigraham on 2024-01-15 20:16:25 ]

Thanks for the pics and info. I didn't know Treasure craft made those nifty mugs.
Aloha,
:tiki:

Not that it really matters but I am curious why this is in Beyond Tiki! I think it should be in the Collecting Tiki Forum.
I know, I know Treasure Craft made plenty of non tiki items.
But personally when I think of Treasure Craft my brain goes to tiki.
After all one of the Treasure Craft manufacturing plants was on Maui. I loves the Treasure Craft!
Super collection ookoo lady!
Thanks for sharing :D

Here's one of my treasure craft peices. My guy has a couple of little white dot splats on him, but I love him just the same. There are plenty of great tiki and tiki-ish items to collect from treasaure craft.

[ Edited by: DawnTiki 2005-08-31 22:34 ]

Dawntiki,
I originally put this thread in "Beyond" because Treasure Craft isn't exclusively Tiki, and I planned to add pictures of my other Treasure Craft stuff that has other subjects.

Thanks for posting your picture. You have the piece I've been looking for! Every time it comes up on e-bay I've been outbid. I'm also looking for the Sailing Ship salt & pepper set.

Some treasure craft shtuff:

i really liked this one - $28 i think

this was about $18.

my wahine found this for me for about 20 cents (handful of pennies to random seller)

treasure craft 1961 ~ toothpick holder?

the head is broken off and glued back on, so that makes it worth 10 cents - ? :)

treasure craft ashtray

On 2005-09-01 05:50, Johnny Dollar wrote:

I've never seen this one! Score!

I love Treasure Craft stuff!

I find quite a bit of it up here. It had been taking over my collection space so I boxed it all up until I have the chance to re-do the living room and put up a perimeter shelf just for the mugs.

As soon as I have the time I'll photograph what hasn't already been posted.

-Tw

[ Edited by: Tikiwahine 2005-09-01 09:46 ]

And never forget the missing link:

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=12893&forum=1

[ Edited by: Monkeyman 2005-09-01 19:39 ]

I've always thought these little S&Ps had a certian Treasure-Crafty quality, but aside from a little "Japan" sticker on one of the "mugs," they are unmarked. Anybody know for sure?

looks treasure crafty to me!

i have a plastic mug that looks almost exactly like the one on the bottom, but it's for kona coffee. i ought to bring it to work and freak people out :)

it looks like this, but this aint my photo, it's lake surfer's

[ Edited by: Johnny Dollar 2005-09-01 19:00 ]

More evidence of the symbiotic relationship between tiki central and owl central:

I'm saving these for Sabu

[ Edited by leevigraham on 2024-01-15 20:17:26 ]

I've got to agree that Treasure Craft made some really cool looking stuff. I only have the beautiful Sperm Whale Salt and pepper shakers though.

Thanks for sharing your pic's everybody!!!
Later,
Spermy

On 2005-09-01 18:50, SilverLine wrote:
I've always thought these little S&Ps had a certian Treasure-Crafty quality, but aside from a little "Japan" sticker on one of the "mugs," they are unmarked. Anybody know for sure?

these are not treasure craft. the bottom ones are made by quon-quon. the top ones i'm not sure but treasure craft is always marked and always fully glazed.

I have a bull that is soooo treasure crafty, but without T.C (a new meaning of TC!) markings. He's the exact same full brown glaze with crackled white touches (the horns) the way the dancing kane and wahine are (with white flowers, etc.). I have seen the matching bullfighter, but never had him.

Is it possible that Treasure Craft made him, even without the markings? I mean, EXACT same glazes. If not, who was the company copying T.C. (and it's not Quon-quon here)? What a bizarre thing to knock off!

I know the bull you're talking about. I'm sure it's Treasure Craft even though it isn't marked. I have a horse figure like that too. Maybe since there isn't a "hidden" side (like the bottom of a mug or salt shaker) they didn't want to engrave their name in it. Some items came with Treasure Craft stickers that were meant to pealed off.

Please post a picture of your bull. I'll try to post the picture of my horse when I get home tonight.

Treasure Craft was a pretty big company, based out of SoCal, but much of the tiki/Hawaii stuff was created out of a Hawaii satellite location -- Treasure Craft Hawaii. Designs were created in Hawaii and produced there; occasionally Hawaii designs would be produced out of the SoCal factory, too. Perhaps the glaze/marking hallmarks of a Treasure Craft Hawaii piece aren't always seen on the mainland headquarters location pieces?

Great thread! I've got such a soft-spot for Treasure Craft stuff. I don't collect it, and I leave a lot of it behind in antique malls, but I can't help but spend a moment looking at it lovingly before cruelly walking past.

The Matador and Bull are one of my favorite sets, not all treasure craft are marked. Nice Calypso Drummer Man ookoo lady, I sold the Calypso Set on ebay about a year ago, I miss them very much. There are a couple on ebay right now. She goes with your drummer.

[ Edited by: dawntiki 2005-09-13 20:50 ]

Great thread.

I have these TreasureCraft pieces not previously mentioned:

11" figures. Marked "TreasureCraft 1959"

5 1/2" S&P. Marked "Tiki © Made in USA" No mention of TreasureCraft.

-Sweet Daddy T.
Because crap doesn't buy itself.

blog

[ Edited by: Sweet Daddy Tiki 2008-09-18 02:09 ]

Dawntiki,
A calypso figure went for over $100 on e-bay just two weeks ago! See here

Dayum!!! I sold mine as a set for 65.00 and was stoked to get that! Love the Treasure Craft!

Here's that horse. It doesn't have any manufacturer's mark, but I'm sure it's Treasure Craft.

On 2005-09-01 05:50, Johnny Dollar wrote:

That one makes me drool...

Here's pic of a TC pupu platter that I have. It has a place for the pineapple/menehune to sit, I suppose to hold pupu picks. This is an old pic, she's in storage at the moment.

I've got a whale salt and pepper set from Disney's Polynesian Village but I can't find a pic of it. It too is is wrapped up in a box.

Pineapples? In Florida??

Ku.

I think johntiki has a TC Moai.

Here's a piece that's not marked Treasure Craft but I'm sure it was made by them. It's a boomerang ashtray.

Bottom's marked "Napili Kai Beach Club, Island of Maui."

There is a Treasure Craft book out there that came out last year.

I love those old pupu platters. The prices on e-bay are usually pretty reasonable, but since they're so big and heavy the shipping can cost more than the platter. I'm waiting to find one at the flea market.

Kono, that boomerang ashtray is fantastic! I wouldn't be able to walk past that one in an antique mall.

Sorry I got in on this topic a little late... I don't know how I forgot about my one and only Treasure Craft item, I'm kind of surprised no one else has posted a pic of this one...

On 2005-09-12 22:16, johntiki wrote:
Sorry I got in on this topic a little late... I don't know how I forgot about my one and only Treasure Craft item, I'm kind of surprised no one else has posted a pic of this one...

Are you kidding me???? You dont know why people haven't posted this one? That is a rare find my Tiki friend!!! I've been collecting about seven years now and have never seen that one before! What a awesome piece!!! Thanks for posting the picture!

On 2005-09-14 21:19, TabooDan wrote:

On 2005-09-12 22:16, johntiki wrote:
Sorry I got in on this topic a little late... I don't know how I forgot about my one and only Treasure Craft item, I'm kind of surprised no one else has posted a pic of this one...

Are you kidding me???? You dont know why people haven't posted this one? That is a rare find my Tiki friend!!! I've been collecting about seven years now and have never seen that one before! What a awesome piece!!! Thanks for posting the picture!

i'll second that!! great find john. i've never even saw one on ebay before!

Wow! I'm not a Treasure Craft collector so I had no idea it was that rare... I guess it was $4.00 well spent! :wink:

Well, here's a good chunk of my Treasure Craft collection. Alot of my Treasure Craft stuff I got rid of but I did hold onto a few pieces.

These are the Hula Dancers that have the white colored porcelain on them. They look great with age as they get all those crazing lines. The two on the right are a couple of young Hula Dancers. In the center are the Menehunes in a couple of the poses that you can find them in. Two still have the original paper cards.

This photo is of some of the many different Salt and Pepper sets you can find. My favorite is definitely the Tikis in the center. Their style of Tiki is just awesome!

This picture has a couple different pieces starting with the great Tiki face ash tray on the right, two mugs with the different Hawaiian Island names on them (probably part of a whole set), a set of three different bottle top pieces in their original stand, and a small vase (2.5" tall)that has a pineapple on the front.

Here are a bunch of pineapple bowls/dishes/ash trays in different sizes. A big fish shaped dish, two small beach bum feet and cool shaped "Hawaii 50th State" dish. You sure get a pretty good idea of some of the bright and different colors they used. The majority of these pieces are dated in the 1960's.

Well, that's a quick look at some. Hope I have inspired a few people to not just turn away from those still inexpensive and easy to find pieces. They make a great display of Hawaiiana for your Tiki rooms!! Dan

Good stuff, thanks for posting the pictures!

On 2005-09-12 22:16, johntiki wrote:
Sorry I got in on this topic a little late... I don't know how I forgot about my one and only Treasure Craft item, I'm kind of surprised no one else has posted a pic of this one...

I guess it was $4.00 well spent!

A similar one just sold on e-bay for $76. Not bad...

check it out!

On 2005-09-20 07:36, ookoo lady wrote:
A similar one just sold on e-bay for $76. Not bad...

check it out!

Is that the same piece? The faux wood grain looks different. John, does your's have a flat back and a hole for hanging?

I gotta check... I actually don't remember... :)

I have a couple more salt & pepper shakers from Treasure Craft:

This set with the skull and rum barrel is my new favorite:

Since this is the only Treasure Craft specific post I could find, I'll ask my question here.

I often find TC items with the "brown" faded or leached off of the bisque areas. Has anyone had any success "re-browning" a TC item? Seems like a wood stain might do the job. Any advice?

Did Treasure Craft ever have figures with a black glaze with the withe crackle highlight areas? I have seen a couple of these figures unmarked and have passed them by. Should I pick them up in the future? They had a Hawaiian theme. Thanks.

We have been collecting Treasure Craft for years now and it never ceases to amaze us how diverse a product line they had.
We were at an estate sale last week, the guy there handed me a box said fill it with stuff and I’ll give you a price, I wandered around there for half an hour and it wasn’t until we got home and I realized I had been carrying the prize, reminding me of this thread.

To say we have a lot of Treasure Craft is an understatement; I wish I could locate and shoot it all, but one of my favorite pieces is what we call the “Shrimp Galleon”. You fill the large ship with shrimp cargo and the small boats labeled “shrimp boat” hold your catch and they have an extra removable (read washable) compartment for the cocktail sauce. The Galleon isn’t marked but the boats are, Treasure Craft 1957 scratched into the bisque.

My very best Alohas,

Bosko

cool stuff people

MMMMMMmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!!!!!!! Skrimpsss....Please pass the Cocktail sauce! :lol:

Found this at the Kamehameha Swapmeet a few years ago, between $5-10 ??

Aloha, Freddie :tiki:

Aloha! This just ended on Ebay...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=170209315794&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=007

Freddie :tiki:

Are these by Treasure Craft? I think they look like it to me but they are not marked. 3" tall and are solid not hollow. I put a quarter in the pic to show how small they are.

Treasure Craft clam shell chip & dip set

Big fish little fish set

Pineapple menehune set

close-up menehune

Who cares about the dishes...I want the FOOD! Yummy, greasy, non-health food!

Trav, that cartoony dancer couple is tres cool, never seen one like it before. Isn't there a whole series of Menehune in a similar style?

Thanks Sven. If I remember right there was a line of Menehunes but I don't remember those having the crackle glaze. Anyway I couldn't pass them up for a dollar.

I have the pineapple/menehune part without the dish. Now I know what all the little holes are about!