So recently while watching “Mad Men” and “Smash” I have noticed a very distinguishable disposable coffee cup making an appearance in both shows. At first I thought that the prop people for the shows had messed up as one show is placed in the 1960’s New York and the other  is Modern Day New York. I mean things change and evolve and you would think that a throw away coffee cup would have gone thru the same changes…right? NOPE!

The cup I speak of is the  iconic “We Are Happy To Serve You” paper coffee cup called “Anthora” and it has been around since 1963. Create by  Leslie Buck of the Sherri Cup Co to appeal to Greek Owned coffee shops in New York  The genuine Anthora depicts an image of an Ancient Greek amphora, a meander design on the top and bottom rim, and the words “WE ARE HAPPY TO SERVE YOU” in a font that resembles ancient Greek writing. The blue and white colors were inspired by the flag of Greece (Anthora-Wikipedia).

Today, more than 180 million of the distinctive blue-and-white Grecian-style cups are used in New York City every year and apparently have been used in more than one or two TV shows over the years (who knew!).

So there you have it, the cup is Iconic to New York and not a Prop department mistake. With that said I will now leave you with a picture of last weeks Episode of Mad Men with one of the characters holding the cup.

One last little fact….

When Leslie Buck retired from Sherri Cup Co. in 1992, he was presented with 10,000 Anthoras printed with a testimonial inscription..amazing 🙂

Liz