The Anthora is a design for a disposable paper cup for coffee. The design is known for its association with New York City.

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. The name is said to come from Buck's Eastern European-accented pronunciation of the word amphora. and fell to about 200 million cups annually by 2005. One New York Times writer in 1995 called the Anthora "perhaps the most successful cup in history". but continued to license the design. 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".

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", It has been featured in various movies and television, where it is used to "evoke Gotham at a glance".<!--Do not list specific shows, it's not necessary.-->

In 2003, Graham Hill of the design group ExceptionLab designed a ceramic replica reproducing the construction of the paper cup as a skeuomorph, converting it from disposable to permanent; it is sold at the Museum of Modern Art shop.

In 2004, NBC commissioned a special edition of the Anthora for the 2004 Summer Olympics, including its peacock logo and the Olympic rings.

  • Official site by manufacturer<!--see Wikipedia:External_links#Official_links-->
  • Instagram collection of Greek cup variants<!-- WP:ELNO normally doesn't allow Instagram accounts, but this is "a unique resource beyond what the article would contain if it became a featured article"-->
  • Instagram collection of Greek-style cups found in media and merchandise

References