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The Anthora is a polyethylene-coated paper coffee cup design that has become iconic of New York City daily life.

Its name is an Eastern European-accented pronunciation of the word amphora.

History

The cup was originally designed by Leslie Buck of the Sherri Cup Company in 1963, to appeal to Greek-owned coffee shops in New York City, and was later much copied by other companies.

Sales of the cup reached 500 million in 1994 at its peak, and fell to about 200 million cups annually by 2005. At its peak, up to 15 million cups were used monthly. One New York Times writer in 1995 called the Anthora "perhaps the most successful cup in history". The trademark was acquired by the Solo Cup Company, which licenses sales of the cup. Solo halted its own production of the design in 2006, although it did license it to others. By 2007, it was mentioned in passing in a New York Times television review as "one of those endangered artifacts". Production restarted in 2015.

Buck never received royalties from his design, but as a salesman he was well-remunerated for the product's success. When he retired from Sherri Cup Company in 1992, he was presented with 10,000 Anthoras printed with a testimonial inscription. After Buck's death in 2010, a New York Times writer described the motto on the cup as having "welcome intimations of tenderness, succor and humility".

Design

The original Anthora depicts an image of an Ancient Greek amphora, a Greek key design on the top and bottom rim, and the words "WE ARE HAPPY TO SERVE YOU" in angular script intended to evoke ancient Greek epigraphy and using Σ to represent the letter E. The blue and white colors were inspired by the flag of Greece. The original capacity was 10 fluid ounces; 8 ounce versions are also made.

There are also variant knock-offs; a popular one produced by Premier Cup portrays a discus-thrower; others depict the Parthenon, a harpist, and so on, and have variant slogans such as "We Are Pleased To Serve You".

Culture

The Anthora has been displayed in the Design Department of the Museum of Modern Art, in an exhibition at the Clark Art Institute on "The Persistence of Classicism", and in an article on "A History of New York in 50 Objects". It has been featured in various movies and television to "evoke Gotham at a glance".In 2003, Graham Hill of the environmentally minded design group Exceptionlab designed a ceramic replica, which is sold at the Museum of Modern Art shop. In 2004, NBC commissioned a special edition for the 2004 Summer Olympics, including its peacock logo and the Olympic rings.

Environment

Paper coffee cups are often considered less environmentally friendly than polystyrene cups, but in fact the polyethylene coating that makes paper cups impermeable also renders them difficult to recycle.

See also

• Dixie Cup

References

1. ^ Fox, Margalit (April 29, 2010). "Leslie Buck, Designer of Iconic Coffee Cup, Dies at 87". The New York Times. Retrieved December 13, 2022.
2. ^ Gill, John Freeman (June 26, 2005). "Urban History to Go: Black, No Sugar". The New York Times. Retrieved December 13, 2022.
3. ^ McKinley, Jesse (October 15, 1995). "F.Y.I. – A Cup of Inspiration". The New York Times. Retrieved December 13, 2022.
4. "The New York First Company". Archived from the original on May 2, 2010. Retrieved May 2, 2010.
5. Heffernan, Virginia (May 27, 2007). "To Sleep, Nay, Perchance to Stay Wide Awake". The New York Times. Retrieved December 13, 2022.
6. ^ LaMarche, Una. "How to start a panic over coffee cups". The Outline. Retrieved December 19, 2022.
7. Popik, Barry. "Barry Popik". www.barrypopik.com. Retrieved December 19, 2022.
8. Puşcaşiu, Voica (February 15, 2015). "Design, It's Not What It Looks Like!" (PDF). International Review of Social Research. 5 (2): 117. doi:10.1515/irsr-2015-0010.
9. Roberts, Sam (September 2, 2012). "A History of New York in 50 Objects". The New York Times. Retrieved December 19, 2022.
10. Lokker, Brian (June 18, 2020). "New York's Iconic Anthora Coffee Cup on TV". Coffee Crossroads. Retrieved December 19, 2022.
11. "The Legend – We Are Happy To Serve You". Retrieved December 19, 2022.
12. "New York Coffee Cup". MoMA Design Store. Retrieved December 19, 2022.
13. Martinez, Jose (July 8, 2004). "Playing Games with a cup we love". New York Daily News. p. 2. Retrieved December 19, 2022.
14. "The story behind the Greek "New York's Coffee Cup"". Hellenic News of America. October 19, 2017. Retrieved December 19, 2022.

Further reading

• Obituary of Leslie Buck, the designer of the Anthora

• Coffee culture
• Drinkware
• Culture of New York City