Milan Guanko was a tiki carver in the 1950s and 1960s in southern California.

He learned carving from his father as a child in the Philippines and emigrated to the United States in 1928.

He was at the height of his carving career during the golden era of Pop Polynesia in the United States and his carvings graced the halls of tiki temples far and wide, including Ren Clark's Polynesian Village in Texas, The Mauna Loa in Mexico, and the Royal Hawaiian in Long Beach just to name a few.

He also sold his carvings through other venues, like Gray's Nursery on Beach Boulevard in Westminster.

The largest surviving number of his carvings are at the Kon Tiki in Tucson, Arizona where they have at least a dozen still intact.

Sven Kirsten discusses him on pages 248-249 of The Book of Tiki.

Location

United States

Tiki Mugs

43

Swizzle Sticks

0