|
06-018.
|
< · · >
|
 |
|
|
Lately I've been seeing a lot of the Ivory Leaf dinnerware Thomas O'Brien designed for Target in the thrift shops. I always pick it up to turn it over and look for the mark, because O'Brien blatantly ripped off Russel Wright's Queen Anne's Lace decoration for the Esquire shape. I won't mince words ... I am truly disappointed in O'Brien as a designer. His popularity lately has skyrocketed, and while it is true that it is impossible not to be inspired as a designer by earlier artists, it is also true that plagiarism is a crime and I feel that Ivory Leaf borders on a criminal design.
I apologize for stepping up onto that soapbox, but it directly relates to my find today. During my normal Saturday thrift rounds this morning, I was breezing through a store and saw a stack of plates out of the corner of my eye, and almost passed them by. The past two dozen times I turned over a similarly decorated piece that caught my eye, it had the O'Brien mark on it. Something in my brain clicked, however, and made me stop in my tracks. Those plates weren't O'Brien's contemporary ripoff, they were the original Russel Wright design from 60 years earlier! I so infrequently see Esquire in the thrift shops I almost ignored a set of truly great dishes.
Now I own a virtually complete place setting for 4 in this stunning line. I only need cups and bowls, and then I can start searching for serving pieces. I've only seen Esquire twice in thrift stores, so I think i might have a lot of searching to do.
Found on February 25, 2006 in Minneapolis, MN.
|
