Tide is Rising in Popularity of Surf Memorabilia by Linda Rosenkrantz on Creators.com

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Tide is Rising in Popularity of Surf Memorabilia

Surf's up! And so is interest in surfing collectibles. More and more of the sport's enthusiasts are seeking out relics from the various periods of its modern history, everything from surfboards to movie and music memorabilia.

No one knows, of course, when the first person stood up on a board and rode the waves, but it has been recorded that people of the Sandwich Isles were practicing it as far back as the 15th century.

The first documented appearance of surfing in Western art is an engraved "View of Karakakooa, in Owyee," based on a 1779 watercolor depicting a man paddling a surfboard to greet Captain James Cook as he sailed into Hawaiian waters. Cook was one of the first Westerners to record the sight of Hawaiians surfing on long, narrow boards. Today, Hawaiian solid redwood boards from the early 20th century are prized collectibles, fetching thousands of dollars at auction

These boards look very much as surfboards were described in the liner notes for the Beach Boys album "Surfin' U.S.A." as a floating slab of wood resembling an ironing board. There were three basic early Hawaiian types defined primarily by size — the large "olo," the "paipo," or bellyboard, and the "alaia."

In 1907, a man of Hawaiian-Irish parentage, George Freeth, was brought to Redondo Beach, Calif., to demonstrate surfboard riding as a publicity stunt to promote the opening of Henry Huntington's Redondo-Los Angeles railroad. Freeth stayed on, becoming a prime disseminator of the art of surfing.

By the 1920s, surfing was well established in both Hawaii and California, with Waikiki the main center of activity. In the 1930s, American surfer Tom Blake pioneered the lighter hollow board, as well as introducing the sailboard. Surfing's explosion in the popular culture came in the 1950s with the advent of the Gidget movies (based on a real surfer girl), followed by the music of Dick Dale, then Jan & Dean, the Beach Boys and a whole flotilla of surfing movies — all rich sources of surfing memorabilia.

The age of the classic surfboard is referred to as "the longboard era." In time, some boards were embellished with advertising and promotional material, painting and inlays, while others began to be constructed of Styrofoam and fiberglass and to employ concave shapes to add to their aerodynamic power; and, as in the automobiles of the period, some even had fins.

The most macho of the surfboards are the specially designed "Big Wave Guns," which are highly collectible, as are resin-coated balsawood boards. The later boards are more affordable than the classics — a 1959 Hobie foam and balsa "Easter Board" might be found in the $1,500 range.

Beyond the boards, there is a great deal of peripheral surfing material on the market. Jack London was one of the most celebrated of the early American enthusiasts, spending a good deal of time surfing in Hawaii, and visual material relating to him riding the waves is in great demand, as is anything pertaining to surfing god Duke Kahanamoku, the man credited with popularizing the sport worldwide during the 1920s (following his 1912 and 1920 Olympic swimming triumphs). This includes hood ornaments made in his image, posters, photos, medals, trophies, and movie memorabilia from the 1948 film "The Wake of the Red Witch," in which he appeared with the other "Duke," John Wayne. Surfing themes also appear in any number of souvenir products — from ukuleles to statuettes to cigarette lighters to spoons to Hawaiian print shirts; of graphic interest are colorful Hawaii airline posters.

If you're interested in seeing these items in person, check out The California Surf Museum, located on the Coast Highway in Oceanside, Calif., which was founded in 1986 to celebrate surfing memorabilia — including the racks of classic boards in its permanent collection.

Linda Rosenkrantz has edited Auction magazine and authored 18 books, including "Cool Names for Babies" and "The Baby Name Bible" (St. Martin's Press). Visit her baby names website at http://nameberry.com. She cannot answer letters personally. To find out more about Linda Rosenkrantz and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.