Pappythesailor did a little poking around the U.S. Patent Office website, and found a series of patents filed by Victor Bergeron (a.k.a. Trader Vic) and other tiki golden-age entrepreneurs. Above is the early skull mug, manufactured for Vic by Tepco — the filing is from 1939! The patent filing also includes a diagram of the interior structure of the mug, revealing how the vacant space behind the face is constructed to allow for the eerie hollow eyes. Pappythesailor also found patents for the Mai Kai decanter, the Suffering Bastard decanter, and the legendary and lovely Trader Vic’s stemmed tiki cocktail glass. The artist’s renderings of the pieces are great. Fantastic work, pappythesailor!

• Tiki Mug Patents [Tiki Central]
• Skull Mug Patent Filing [telechron.net]
• Trader Vic’s Pointed Jaw Skull Mug [Ooga-Mooga]
• Tiki Cocktail Glass Patent Filing [telechron.net]
• Trader Vic’s Champagne Tiki Stemware [Ooga-Mooga]
• Mai Kai Decanter Patent Filing [telechron.net]
• Mai Kai Decanter Vintage [Ooga-Mooga]
• Suffering Bastard Decanter Patent Filing [telechron.net]
• Suffering Bastard Decanter [Ooga-Mooga]