The first thing that caught her attention - and mine - was the color of the label. It's gold! After my initial reaction, I compared it to other Thorpe labels; not even close. If you look at the close-up below, you'll see how sloppily this was made. The ink has spread outside of the letters and there is no uniformity of the density of the ink inside of the letters. If one takes into consideration what a perfectionist Thorpe was, and her attention to detail, and then you look at this label, you can immediately see why this is not Thorpe. It has been suggested to me that these pieces might have been experimental. Perhaps. But the label would never meet the high standards that Thorpe set for anything she put her name on. Sorry folks, this has Made in China written all over it in my opinion.

What follows is everything that is wrong with this label.

1. The stylized details of this label are atypical of Thorpe.
2. I've never seen this decoration or the label before and neither has anybody else who knows Thorpe and collects it. Fake Thorpe is hitting the market as demonstrated below. That's not to say that certain items were made intentionally to be listed or sold as Thorpe, but the opportunity to take something like the cake stand and offer it for sale as Thorpe has not been passed up by more than a few people.
3. Many of Thorpe's decorations were very elaborate; in contrast, she kept the marks and labels very simple.
4. Logic would dictate that Thorpe would use the same label she used on her Gold Band which is identical to the Silver Band label but uses gold ink instead of silver.
5. The "H" in THORPE has been stylized to match the DTC logo on her etched glassware which is important because her etched glass was done with sand - but all other labels, including the weird labels on the resin pieces, ALWAYS used lower case letters. This label is all upper case.
6. Thorpe has been changed so the T and the H were part of the same letter. You don't use the same logo for 50 plus years and then change it.
7. The label is on the obverse side of the dish. Thorpe almost always placed her labels, marks and signatures on the reverse or underside of her pieces. While some pieces were hand-signed with a diamond pen on the obverse (front/top), anything with a label would have been labeled on the reverse or bottom/underside of the piece.

The all caps lettering, the attempt to merge the T with the H, the bleeding of the ink out of the letters, the cheap look and placement of the label, when combined, all scream FAKE.

Below is a photo of the pieces that this label was on. By the way, I think the decorations are beautiful, just not Thorpe.

  

NEW "LUCITE TWIST" CAKE PLATE

These started showing up a couple of years ago and popped up on eBay as Dorothy Thorpe. Amazingly, they were also available in retail stores ($29.95). Be very wary when you find something like this online. This is NOT Dorothy Thorpe.

These pieces are brand new, will always be in near mint condition to brand new with no damage, and have never been seen before 2005, long after Thorpe closed. These are pretty in their own right, but they aren't Dorothy Thorpe, don't pay for Thorpe.

SILVER FADE GLASSWARE

Other known pieces of glassware that are not Thorpe, that are consistently advertised as Thorpe are the "Silver Fade" glasses. I don't know why people use "Mad Men" when listing them, the Silver Band line was only in the first two seasons. However, Thorpe did not manufacture "silver fade". That's a term somebody came up with to describe glassware made at one of the bigger names in West Virginia and the region. The "silver" in "Silver Band" is - believe it or not - Silver. On the Silver Band line, Thorpe used Sterling silver. I believe that a Platinum band was used on Allegro. It is safe to polish Silver Band pieces with a cream polish and gentle rubbing. I wouldn't polish Allegro, nor should it ever need polishing. It is jewelry quality, it should not tarnish.

NEW FAKE ON THE SCENE!

I picked this up at a thrift store a few years ago and posted it as a lousy repro of Thorpe's Eucalyptus cladocalyx. What this manufacturer has done to avoid outright infringement, is they have changed the type of species from cladocalyx to globulus. I have now seen 3 of these pop up on eBay, fortunately 2 of these sellers did not use Dorothy Thorpe in the Title. They did use them in the description as a possible maker. I always contact Sellers when I see errors. Most are appreciative, some aren't. Anyway, as these are now showing up sans labels, people who don't know and maybe some people who do, might list these as Oda or Thorpe. Take a good, hard look and remember - NOT THORPE, NOT ODA! (I'm also pretty sure that under the black sharpie, it says "Target".

Today I saw a piece on eBay that purported to be Thorpe. It was just a unique piece but because of the stippled effect on the decoration, and the interesting mark, it was, in my opinion, not Thorpe. I emailed the seller, as I often do, and told her that the signature did not look to be authentic. This is one of those sellers that got defensive rather than curious so she told me it was the same mark that was on all marked Thorpe and that was that. So I thought I'd post an image of her piece's mark, and one of my piece's marks and let you make the call. My mark is on top, her piece's mark is on the bottom. Seller says that her mark is "acid etched". Thorpe's marks are made by sandblast over a stencil. So, is it legit?