Chances are good that you've seen a lot of Russel Wright's work without necessarily noticing it. You may even have eaten off of it.

Wright introduced his popular American Modern Dinnerware in 1939, and over the course of 20 years, more than 250 million pieces of it were sold. No other line of American ceramic dinnerware has sold better.

In addition to other dinnerware lines, Wright also designed inexpensive furniture, textiles, and appliances, and his wide-ranging work helped to bring the modern aesthetic into middle-class homes. With "Guide to Easier Living," the book he wrote with his wife, Mary, Wright helped middle-class families understand how to make that aesthetic theirs.

Teapot, carafe, pitcher, creamer, and sugar bowl are from Russel Wright's American Modern dinnerware line, introduced in 1939 by Steubenville Pottery. The ashtray is a Wright piece manufactured by Sterling China and is rare.

"A new way of living, informal, relaxed, and actually more gracious than any strained imitation of another day could be, is in fact growing up, despite the etiquette despots and the die-hards," the couple wrote. "There is evidence all around that the hard shell of snobbish convention is cracking."

Hear, hear.

In the process of designing and advising, Wright became a brand-name lifestyle personality similar to the way Martha Stewart and Ralph Lauren have built brand recognition around their well-publicized lifestyle personas.

Wright's work remains highly collectible. A recent eBay search turned up 367 items for sale, ranging from $10 serving bowls and salt and pepper shakers to a delicate Queen Anne's Lace teapot with an opening bid of $150. Last year, one of his Oceana wooden trays sold on eBay for $2,325.

Sometimes, though, collectors stumble onto Wright unwittingly.

Gray Wyatt, owner of Perly's restaurant, happened upon an example of Wright's curvaceous ceramic designs 24 years ago in an antiques store, and he immediately bought it.

He's been collecting Wright ever since.

While he appreciates antiques and paintings, Wyatt focuses his collecting almost exclusively on Wright's designs. "When I learn about something, I immerse myself in it," he says. "I've come to appreciate the subtleties in his work."

After a fire required him to remodel his restaurant in 1997, Wyatt found a way to share Wright's subtleties with others. The shelves behind the counter were empty for months after the remodel until Wyatt - "On a lark," he says - put some Wright pieces on them.

The display, which complements the restaurant's Art Deco-themed décor as well as the 1932 building's Deco style, was an instant hit with customers, he says. "A handful have known it is Wright. But a lot of them talk about the shapes and the wide variety of colors. Some of them say, 'I grew up with that - we had it at the breakfast table.'"

Currently, he has about 50 pieces of Wright's work on display, including glassware and pieces from the American Modern, Sterling Pottery, and Iroquois Casual lines.

Among his favorites in the restaurant's display are a covered butter dish from Wright's American Modern line and a creamer from his Wright Shape line.

"The creamer is fairly rare," Wyatt says.

Which leads us to an intriguing question: Will a deli sport Martha Stewart's designs 50 years from now?

"Only time will tell," Wyatt says. "Russel Wright's designs have stood the test of time. Will Martha Stewart's last? Who knows?"

Find books on Russel Wright and his designs by visiting amazon.com or alibris.com. Online auctions such as eBay frequently offer Wright objects for sale.