New Here and need Tiki Lighting help

Hi Everyone,

I'm new here and need some lighting help. I've been giving outdoor tiki parties on our deck for a few years now and the decorations and lighting keep getting a little more elaborate each time.

For my next one, I'm trying to source a table lantern that was quite popular in mid-century Polynesian (and other) restaurants of that time. My mom and dad lighted many a cigarette off these things as I was growing up. It was a colored wavy or rippled glass candle lantern that was also sometimes covered in a thin white plastic webbing. An exhaustive web search has yielded no results, probably because I'm unaware of what these lanterns were actually called to enter as key words. Attached is the closest thing I could find, which is a modern citronella approximation with larger ripples and no webbing. It's not nearly as cool looking as the mid-century ones, but it may be the closest I'm going to find in this lifetime.

Any advice on what the original lanterns were actually called and where one might find them would be greatly appreciated.

Also, does anyone have a good source for classic metal tiki torches?

Much thanks in advance,

Fred

Man, those things have been around forever. I never knew they had a name.

You might want to look up "Candle Lamp Company" it looks like the specific model is **"Victory". **
It looks like a lot of restaurant supply houses carry them. I can't tell if they're exclusive to CLC or if other manufacturers source them.

I wouldn't consider them very "Tiki" but a quick GOOGLE search turned up these:
http://www.discountcandleshop.com/product_info.php?products_id=63

My parents had loads of them during the 60's & 70's crazy patio living at our brick ranch in NOVA. They were Citronella candles and always had the plastic webbing...oh I can smell the grill,,,,and the Citronella....and the tiki torches....memories.

We had those at our house and had plastic nets around them.

Thanks everyone. I know they are not considered to be "tiki" exclusively, more mid-century outdoor party, but I've had a jones for them just the same.

growing up we always called them hurricane candles.... try looking them up under that.

Go to the restaurant supply houses You can buy them by the case for not much money.
But if you leave them outside on your tables in the sun/rain they will get messed up. (the paint on glass comes off)
Just an FYI.

Here's some.
They have others colors on page 5&6.
No nets, but $28.00 bucks for 15 that's not bad.

http://www.wasserstrom.com/restaurant-supplies-equipment/GCSearchCmd?storeId=10051&maxResults=&search_field=candles&rankBy=&pageDisplay=grid&langId=-1&catalogId=1000148&pageNumber=1

[ Edited by: tikiskip 2012-06-12 13:13 ]

Looks like the ones with the nets are called "Euro Lowboys" (whatever that means?) Some of this links are out of stock right now
FoodServiceDirect
Candle Corp of America
Overstock

Mike found em for you, These were common in a lot of resturants in the 60s & 70s
but Tiki resturants used more custom & Tiki designs,(like the Tapa or Taffeta wrapped ones at The Tonga Room for example)
not really mid-century, but post.

Thanks, Mike! Those are exactly what I was looking for!