Beware of Greek-Themed Cups

The Times reports this morning that Leslie Buck, who designed "Anthora," the Greek-themed paper coffee cup familiar to all New Yorkers, passed away this week at the age of 87. The true Anthora was

blue, with a white meander ringing the top and bottom; down each side was a drawing of the Greek vase known as an amphora. (“Anthora” comes from “amphora,” as filtered through Mr. Buck’s Eastern European accent, his son said.) ...

On front and back, Mr. Buck emblazoned the Anthora with three steaming golden coffee cups. Above them, in lettering that suggests a Classical inscription, was the Anthora’s very soul — the motto. It has appeared in many variant texts since then; Mr. Buck’s original, with its welcome intimations of tenderness, succor and humility, was simply this:

We Are Happy

To Serve You.

The article reports something else New Yorkers are aware of -- like all good things, the Anthora has been widely imitated. The Times notes that "some later imitators depict fluted white columns; others show a discus thrower."
Here's a discus thrower from March 2008, somewhere downtown:


Here's another fake from Broome Street, December 2007:


This is yet another fake, found behind our Seaman Avenue apartment:


RIP, Mr. Buck.