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Crypto-Mugs. Do these legends exist and who has them? |
Slacks Ferret
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Oct 02, 2003
Posts: 1178
From: Calgary
|  Posted: 2010-02-25 6:51 pm Permalink
Cool thread! Very interesting to see this stuff.
I immediatley thought of the Sam's Seafood Maori tiki mug when I saw the thread title. I always wondered if it were, in fact, a mug we are seeing in that photo,or if it is simply a carving...
...I'm leaning towards "mug".
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SilverLine
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 02, 2004
Posts: 611
From: Kansas City
| Posted: 2010-02-25 7:47 pm Permalink
Here's one that been bugging me for a couple of years now. The Outrigger Club in Oklahoma City featured the mug seen in the upper right of this menu (from Critiki):
I've found two of this mug over the years; one terribly painted over, and this one, which I think may be a reproduction (although WHY anybody would be reproducing these I can't fathom).
I know there are others, but I've never seen any photos anywhere in anybody's collection. I'd like to know if I have an original, but have never seen any others.
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Sabu The Coconut Boy
Grand Member (8 years) 
Joined: Aug 20, 2002
Posts: 2784
From: Carson, California
| Posted: 2010-02-25 8:31 pm Permalink
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On 2010-02-25 19:47, SilverLine wrote:
I know there are others, but I've never seen any photos anywhere in anybody's collection. I'd like to know if I have an original, but have never seen any others.
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Silverline, I'm stoked that I can help you out in this case. I bid on a set of mugs and a bowl from the Outrigger Club back in 2006, but I believe Kohalacharms won the auction. They were so unique that I saved the pictures. These are the real thing and are marked with the restaurant's name. I never knew about that menu picture. I didn't even know they were from Oklahoma.
Definitely some of the rarest mugs and bowls out there and they belong in this thread.
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leleliz
Grand Member (first year) 
Joined: Sep 02, 2008
Posts: 1981
From: NorCal
| Posted: 2010-02-25 8:49 pm Permalink
I love this thread.
and you know its a shame Kohalacharms won't add to this thread. If anyone has come across these elusive items during their hunts it would have to be him. One can only wonder.
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Sabu The Coconut Boy
Grand Member (8 years)
Joined: Aug 20, 2002
Posts: 2784
From: Carson, California
| Posted: 2010-02-25 8:56 pm Permalink
I'm hoping he might be tempted to post 
He posts every so often and this is a thread where his expertise is definitely called upon.
I'm also curious if that Gremlin bowl he won is actually the 2-person size or the 4-person size. Only he can answer.
Sabu
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TabooDan
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jul 18, 2004
Posts: 641
From: BC, Canada
| Posted: 2010-02-25 9:47 pm Permalink
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On 2010-02-25 09:58, Trader Tom wrote:
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On 2010-02-25 08:20, tikiyaki wrote:
Also, what about the other mug in that photo...the green one ? Not a Tiki mug, but a cool on nonetheless.
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There is a green AND a brown version of this mug with the wood grain concentric whorls. I actually held a brown one in my hand. It was at an antique store and they wanted $25 for it, but it was in pretty bad shape. The glaze is a matte/not a glossy finish and something had stained it. Maybe old engine oil. I wasn't totally convinced it was Tiki related either. So I let it pass. Now I wish I'd bought it, regardless of the condition!
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Awesome idea for a thread Sabu!! It's great to see all these rare birds in one spot. Maybe KC will post a reply with a bit of info. and some photos on here. That would be cool. He would be the man to maybe tie up a few loose ends.
I too, am still waiting to see the Tiki mug from Sam's Seafood. Here is a picture of the brown Fogcutter mug that was made by Spurlin mug as in the photo above:
TabooDan
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midnite
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 25, 2002
Posts: 1230
From: 37? 47' N, 122? 26' W
| Posted: 2010-02-26 12:00 am Permalink
Crypto-mug collecting? Wow, excellent topic, Sabu. Talk about a renewal in faith for these parts. Keep up the great work, please. That Cobra's Fang mug? Interesting. If that is a "real one" I just heard the stock of my OA cobra mug fall through the floor. I will still love it no matter (sort of).
Speaking of OA mugs, my collecting started in earnest many years ago because of, maybe in spite of, Bob and Leroy's "grail" case. I went back and checked it out because of the photos of the Sam's fog cutter. On the second shelf from the bottom, way on the right side, next to the Mahi Mahi mugs (a fun story in their own right). There, way back in the corner, just visible. Is that the green fog cutter? I concur with the theory they were Spurlin product. Love me them Stella Bodey mugs.
Some closer looks, one a photo from Al, of same mug. At least part of it. Looks like same design to me, color is just much lighter.
I did not save the ebay auction photos of the oh so rare Kahiki glass sleeve, but I will try and make up for that with my little contribution. My collecting has changed over the years, and many of my mugs are hidden away now. I do, however, keep this one out. The Kahiki Barrelito, a heavy little beast. And yes, inside it is the miracle of The SF Tiki Crawl: Baby Forbidden Island.
The famous Kahiki bar manager postcard
Rum barrels and me do not mix, long story, but his one is a fave and it survives. I had a couple over the years and sold the better one. This Barrelito, even with the chip, will remain mine. I think everything in these menus did exist at one point, even the elusive Luau 400 bowl, if only as a prototype. Frank, I know you're out there. Chime in, amigo.
Good to see the Life Magazine Trader Vic's photo. Are we certain there was a four-person PB2Y Gremlin bowl (always figured just the one sized bowl)? I have seen the tall Samoa Fog Cutter in another TCer's collection. That one is definitely found.
Will be fun to see what people have, get the ole envy juices flowing. Then again, I STILL don't have a Suffering Bastard! Heh heh, a little blast from the Tiki Central past for you old timers.
Kudos, Sabu. Now THIS is a cool & current topic, fukkin' ay!
midnite
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SilverLine
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 02, 2004
Posts: 611
From: Kansas City
| Posted: 2010-02-26 08:02 am Permalink
[quote]
On 2010-02-25 20:31, Sabu The Coconut Boy wrote:
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Definitely some of the rarest mugs and bowls out there and they belong in this thread.
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That's fantastic! Thanks Sabu! That also answers a question I had about the hideously-painted mug I'd found earlier (but didn't buy). The mugs in your photos are clearly marked on the front of the base while this "Farmer Tiki" (as I call him) has no such markings. So I have to conclude that there are other unmarked mugs out there, either home ceramics projects or manufacturer-made mugs sold to the public. Weird.
 
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Dustycajun
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Nov 16, 2007
Posts: 3946
From: Santa Barbara, CA
| Posted: 2010-02-26 08:36 am Permalink
Here is an entry from the Trader Vic's in Hawaii. Some of you may not know that the two Trader Vic's in Honolulu were not owned by Trader Vic. Consequently, the created their own mugs made in Hawaii. Here is the illustrated menu with many of the mugs shown that I clipped from ebay some time back.
Many of the mugs from this menu have been posted on TC but there are still a few that I have not seen documented.
The Catamaran on the upper left of the menu looks to be a variation on the three faced bucket mug.
On the bottom right, there is the Scorpion bowl and the Navy Grog mug with the anchor logo. Have we seen these before?
DC
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Swanky
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Apr 03, 2002
Posts: 4815
From: Hapa Haole Hideaway, TN
| Posted: 2010-02-26 09:13 am Permalink
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On 2010-02-25 09:58, Trader Tom wrote:
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On 2010-02-25 08:20, tikiyaki wrote:
Also, what about the other mug in that photo...the green one ? Not a Tiki mug, but a cool on nonetheless.
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There is a green AND a brown version of this mug with the wood grain concentric whorls. I actually held a brown one in my hand. It was at an antique store and they wanted $25 for it, but it was in pretty bad shape. The glaze is a matte/not a glossy finish and something had stained it. Maybe old engine oil. I wasn't totally convinced it was Tiki related either. So I let it pass. Now I wish I'd bought it, regardless of the condition!
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I have one, the wifey found it on Ebay, and have seen the other color.
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Al-ii
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 24, 2002
Posts: 248
From: Oceanside Ca
| Posted: 2010-02-26 09:27 am Permalink
Swanky??? Randy??? Mid-of-nite????, Silverline??? Slack Ferret?? The Mighty Sabu??? Youngsters, pay attention! This is old school TC at it's Finest!!!!
Mahalo,
Al
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Sabu The Coconut Boy
Grand Member (8 years)
Joined: Aug 20, 2002
Posts: 2784
From: Carson, California
| Posted: 2010-02-26 12:20 pm Permalink
Midnite - thanks for the photo of the green FogCutter in the OA glass case. I think I need to make another trip down there soon and bring my camera. Nice Barrelito mug too. I forgot about that find.
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On 2010-02-26 00:00, midnite wrote:
Good to see the Life Magazine Trader Vic's photo. Are we certain there was a four-person PB2Y Gremlin bowl (always figured just the one sized bowl)? I have seen the tall Samoa Fog Cutter in another TCer's collection. That one is definitely found.
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Here's my explanation on the whole Gremlin-bowl question. I got this info directly from William Shatner at Tiki-Con 1986, just before he told us all to "Get A Life!", so I trust it implicitly.
The complete Time LIFE article from 1944 can be found on a Google Book Search:
http://books.google.com/books?id=Vk8EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA80&dq=%22dennis+king%22&lr=&as_brr=3&as_pt=MAGAZINES&cd=62#v=onepage&q=%22dennis%20king%22&f=false
It's a good read, though very short.
The article states that many of the drinks "are served in two-quart bowls from which four people sip through straws". Exhibit A: Photo of four youngsters drinking from the Scorpion bowl:
Then there's the photo of the bowl described as the "B-17 Gremlin". Note that it is full to the brim and has four straws. I assume it is also two-quarts.
The captions states the Gremlin drinks vary in size. That could either mean that there are three different-sized bowls or they fill the same bowl up to different levels.
In the main view of all the mugs, the bowl is identified as a PB2Y Gremlin. This should be the two-person size:
But this drink is also filled to the top. If it was the same-sized bowl wouldn't they have just called it the B-17 Gremlin? Also, to my untrained eye it looks slightly smaller and shallower than the Scorpion Bowl below it.
This and the fact that other manufacturers made their bowls in three sizes...
... makes me guess that there might have been three sizes to Gremlin Bowl. Please feel free to discuss in geek-like fashion.
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Swanky
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Apr 03, 2002
Posts: 4815
From: Hapa Haole Hideaway, TN
| Posted: 2010-02-26 12:59 pm Permalink
Just judging by the images, I think the PB2Y bowl image and the B-17 are the same bowl. It may be that the image and caption on the B-17 don't match. They took a pic of the PB2Y and captioned it B-17.
My thought is that painting that stuff on a small bowl would be ridiculously hard. May well be that you are right. Same bowl is made half or all full for the PB2Y and the B-17. The single version, who knows?
I've seen 2 Gremlins the same size. Which size that is, dunno.
[ This Message was edited by: swanky 2010-02-27 06:52 ]
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midnite
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 25, 2002
Posts: 1230
From: 37? 47' N, 122? 26' W
| Posted: 2010-02-26 1:34 pm Permalink
Dustycajun wrote:
Here is an entry from the Trader Vic's in Hawaii.
This is fun, it's like rousting Mr. Peabody and taking a trip in the wayback machine. See, that's how old I am. Instead of using the more "current" time travel allusion of Doc Brown and a DeLorean I employ Rocky and Bullwinkle sub-characters. So, keeping things current and topical, let's look at this one:
I don't recall seeing this before and I cannot identify it from the menu. Thought it may be the Tortuga (a fine cocktail btw) but think it is different. One may take a chance on the item as it is currently on eBay:
Flux Capacitor...fluxxing. Engine running. All right!
"makes me guess that there might have been three sizes to Gremlin Bowl. Please feel free to discuss in geek-like fashion."
I don't know, Sabu. I see your point but still lean to one bowl for both drinks. I have only seen photos of the Gremlin and Scorpion bowls. Have never been in their presence. One special night at Vic's I did get to drink a Kava Bowl cocktail from an original Kava Bowl. That was pretty cool, if a bit geeky. Right now, I believe you shall lead the "Two sizes bowl faction" and I will captain the "One size for both" team. Then, if I am proved wrong, I shall call you all "mug weirdoes!"
If my calculations are correct, when this baby hits 88 miles per hour...you're gonna see some serious shit,
doc midnite
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kohalacharms
Grand Member (8 years)
Joined: Jan 29, 2004
Posts: 33 | Posted: 2010-02-26 2:52 pm Permalink
Tim... great topic, however, you've exposed my greatest source of information in discovering and searching for rare and unusual vintage drink ware.... the reason I've been willing to spend a small fortune on drink menus.
I'm a little short on time but I do have two pics I'll offer up for discussion.
First: The Trader Vic's Gremlin bowls (left: the prototype for the gremlin bowl and right: a later version)
The Honolulu Vic's had a number of unusual mugs and bowls other than the ones seen in the posted drink menu. Here's the Tortuga mug as depicted in the menu:
[ This Message was edited by: kohalacharms 2010-02-26 14:55 ]
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