For several years I was fascinated with mid-century dinnerware design, most notably those patterns that exemplified the optimism of futuristic, abstract style. It’s almost exclusively American. The Euros just didn’t share our enthusiasm for abstract dinnerware, or our talent for making it look great. The concept of an entire industry working hard to express a uniquely American art movement through the creation of utterly utilitarian products is very intriguing to me. I wound up with place settings for hundreds. I’ve stopped adding to this collection, mostly because I know what was made and I have excellent representative pieces of everything I like. For the sake of space, I sold off a lot of my collection, but I’m still left with about 12 very complete sets and enormous quantities of individual pieces of other patterns.

Some of my fascinations began with a deep nostalgic tug. A Melmac cereal bowl struck a nerve, reminding me of what I’d had as a child. The pattern was Boonton, known for its swirling side handles. The Boonton encounter led to an exploration of all things Melmac. My collection of sunspoke clocks had a similar launch.

This selection of items is only the beginning. I’ll be adding many more topics and individual items with great regularity.