Six Pieces of Alphonse LaPaglia (1907-1953) Modernist Design Sterling Silver Flatware, mid-20th century, by Georg Jensen USA, New York and International Silver, Meriden, Connecticut, including a pattern #131 salad serving set, l. 9-3/4", and four pieces of pattern #112 ("Scarlet Pimpernel"), including a condiment spoon, l. 5-1/4", a condiment fork, l. 5-1/2", and a pair of demitasse spoons, l. 4", 10.47 total t. oz. Provenance: Harriet K. LaPaglia Prasse (1903-1993), Ocala, Florida, widow of Alphonse LaPaglia, to the consignor's family. Little is known of the early life of noted mid-century modernist silversmith Alphonse F. X. LaPaglia. Immigration and naturalization papers show that he was born on September 11, 1907 in Caltanissetta, Sicily and arrived in the United States in August 1913 with three brothers: Michele, Salvatore and Vittorio. (A fourth brother - Umberto - would arrive in 1915.) Census records show him in 1920 both in the household of his stepfather Frank Nicholson and as a student in the New York State Agricultural and Industrial School, and in 1925 he is recorded a boarder in the household of Dr. John Weinmann in Leicester, New York. By 1930 he is listed in Manhattan as a repairer of musical instruments, a trade practiced by of all his brothers. (The census shows him lodging with 70-year-old Indian emigrant Phofuela Gasbal and his wife Imogene Gasbal, a 24-year-old vaudeville performer!) The first census to show him working as a silversmith is 1940, when he was living in East Orange, New Jersey. In that year Frederick Lunning, American agent for Georg Jensen, secured the exclusive rights to sell Jensen silverware in the United States, but almost immediately the German occupation of Denmark prevented all exports to America. To meet the demand for Danish Modern designs, Lunning hired LaPaglia and other American silversmiths to create jewelry and silverware under the brand "Georg Jensen USA". (During this time, it is also reported that LaPaglia was engaged as an intelligence agent for the U.S. in his native Italy.) After the war, the Jensen firm in Copenhagen, which had been completely unaware of Lunning's activity, sued him for design infringement. The suit was finally settled in 1950, and in 1952 LaPaglia was invited by International Silversmiths of Meriden, Connecticut to form International Sterling Craft Associates, expanding LaPaglia's Summit, New Jersey garage workshop into a prestige design and craft shop. Shortly after the move to Connecticut, however, LaPaglia fell from the roof of his house while cleaning the gutters, and the injuries he sustained led directly to a fatal heart attack on November 19, 1953. International purchased his workshop from his widow, Harriet (later Mrs. Arthur Prasse), and continued to produce LaPaglia's designs throughout the 1950s in a popular and quite extensive line. (Included were some of his Jensen USA designs, as exemplified by the salad set here, with one piece from Jensen USA and the other from International.) References: Nancy Schiffer and Janet Drucker, The American Designs: Jensen Silver (Atglen, PA: Schiffer, 2007); Dorothy T. Rainwater, "Alphonse LaPaglia: Silversmith and Designer", in Silver Magazine, May/June 1995; Ginger Moro, "The Mystery Designer for Georg Jensen USA", in Jeweler's Circular Keystone, June 1996.

Overall Condition: Good. Allover light surface wear (scratches, nicks, etc.) consistent with age and use - most notably on the salad servers - but otherwise no condition issues noted. The salad serving spoon marked "International / Sterling / LaPaglia"; the other pieces marked "Georg Jensen Inc. / U.S.A. L.P. / Sterling".