Ken Beldin - - More

So I did more research on the most elusive Mr. Beldin - Here is a sample of his work - sometimes referred to as a 'Tiki' - I also posted the back with his engraved signature. Tho I have also seen his pieces STAMPED Beldin (not engraved).


This particular piece is currently available on the 20th Century Obsession website and is listed for $275.









The article n pic noted below showed up in the LA Mirror in 2007. Tho it appeared that the article itself was written in the late 1950's.
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On the matter of Kenneth Beldin, I don't have to check. Years ago I met this man. To the end of my days I will never forget him.

He is tall, very gaunt and not unlike movie character Mischa Auer. His face always had the look of a man tortured or consumed by inner powers telling him to go out into the wilds and look for something.

I first met him around 1939. At the time I was employed by the National Railways of Mexico in Mexico City. Desk and field job interpreting for visiting Americans.

He had been hired by the railway to cook up suitable travel brochures which would help attract more turistas from the Eastern Seaboard, then considered lush territory.

So he was hired. Overnight he disappeared from sight. For days none of his acquaintances or bosses heard anything about Beldin. Police were alerted. The American Consulate as well.

Nearly two weeks later he popped up sporting a beard about the same size as that which now hangs from Ernest Hemingway.



His complexion, originally a pale tan, had turned yellowish. His cheekbones seemed to have increased in bulk and the man's light brown eyes were crisscrossed with countless little red veins.

Kenneth Beldin, the writer-researcher, had done what few brochure writers ever do when amassing material for their travel pitches. He had actually thrown caution to the winds and set up shop in the gosh-darndest villages in the state of Guerrero, where civilization was something the dwellers wanted no part of.

And to complete the job of going native, not only had he picked up Spanish but also a good smattering of Zapotec dialects.

Indians, to Beldin, were the most fascinating thing in life. For hours he would sit on his veranda talking to them, trying to solve their inscrutability and making every effort to be liked by them.

His obsession was to prove, beyond a single scientific doubt, that Mexican Indians had settled in Mexico after centuries of migration from the Orient.

Now married to an Indian maiden named Xochitl, Kenneth Beldin has earned for himself a niche that weighs--and then some. Recently the official organ of the medical profession in Mexico told this:

"Scientists from the U.S. and other countries travel to exchange ideas with him (Beldin). He has the undying gratitude of generations of children in our nation. He will go down in history as "The Apostle of Sesame Meal.' "


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