Audio-Visual Materials
Here there is an especially rich harvest of materials. Can you find Boris Karloff, the Smothers Brothers, Thomas Edison, and Fr. Greg Carlson in here?
Bruguière Stereocartes
1960? Bruguière Stereocartes. Les Fables de La Fontaine (1) and (2). #3861 and #3862.Paris: Bruguière Stéréofilms. Made in France. $5.88 from marcb8421 on Ebay, August, '20.
Here are two cards from the fourth format of three dimensional viewers, represented already by stereopticon slides, Lestrade Stéréoscopes, and View Master. I tried in all sorts of ways to view the illustrations themselves, but mostly failed. I was able to establish that they are cartoon-like. I wonder how many La Fontaine Fable stereocartes there were. I learned that Bruguière went through a number of viewing devices. Either their "stereoclic" or these cards were popular in the late 1950's to the late 1960's.
Cylindrical Audio Recordings
Edison Blue Amberol Cylinder: " Fables Roberts" #1632 G-324
1913 An Edison Blue Amberol " cylindrical record, "Fables Roberts" (#1632 G-324). Lyrics by Jeff Branen. Music by J. Fred Helf. Sung by Bob Roberts. With the lower part of its cylindrical cardboard storage chamber. $9.99 from YSI Antiques & Collectibles, Youngwood, PA, through Ebay, Oct., '18.
Now here is a surprising find! One might expect, as I did, a telling of some fables. What is actually here is a song just short of four minutes in length that makes fun of "stories meant to deceive," the kinds of things husbands and wives tell each other. The repeated refrain is "In the olden days they called them fables, but they're nothing but doggone lies." This Youtube video presents the full lyrics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEiBPWIS7LU&feature=youtu.be. This theme is of course not original. It goes all the way back to the most curious element in the description of a fable by the Sophist Theon: a fable is a "lying story that images the truth." Bob Roberts had a long career of making recordings for various companies. This was apparently his last recording for Edison. I appreciate the research work of Susan Carlson in finding helpful information about this specific cylinder, and I appreciate Sonja Carlson's good advice about handling this extremely fragile object. Click on any image to see it enlarged.
Film Animation Cells
I have come across two sets of animation cells. There is some chance that they are in fact from the same film, though they were identified as I list them by those selling them.
1971 Running Hare for TH
1971? Background and three cells for an animation of TH. $15 from 1vegaseller through Ebay, March, '21.
The seller identified this scene with Bill Cosby's Aesop, but I am unsure of that identification. As someone unacquainted with animation techniques, I find the working together of the various cell layers fascinating! The background here is so similar to that in my other group of cells that I wonder if they may not have come from the same film.
1985 Filmation TH
1985? 6 hand-painted animation cells from Filmation for “The Tortoise and the Hare.” $30 from beachparking through Ebay, July, ’21.
I have searched but not yet found the Filmation cartoon in which these cells were included. There is a researcher’s project for the future! It is sometimes hard to picture how this single “cell” picture would be included in a motion-picture cartoon. If you look closely, you can see the movable overlay on the colored background. There is very nice work with color here!
Films
16mm Films
1930? "Jungle Fool." Black-and-white Pathegram Home Movie. 635. Aesop's Fable cartoon. $8 from James Kelly, Panama, NY, through Ebay, Oct., '99.
I am surprised that 16 MM was once considered the medium for home movies.
1940? "Barnyard Olympics." Black-and-white Aesop's Fable Hollywood cartoon. $10 from Glenn Hershberger, Ocala, FL, through Ebay, March, '99.
Though I have not watched this, I think it is a Paul Terry film that I have seen on a VHS collection of Terry material.
1965? "The Ant and the Dove (An Aesop Fable)." 8 minutes, ¾ reel. Black and white. #1473. Produced by Gakken Film Company, Tokyo. Chicago: Coronet Films. $11.50 from Bonnie Bellmer, Chillicothe, OH, through Ebay, May, '99.
The zip code on the address for Coronet films helps to date this film, which I would otherwise have guessed came from much earlier.
1965? Three Fox Fables. Color ("stunning color," writes the seller). Animation by Roy Toy. EBC films. $9.01 from Don Stier, Brick, NJ, through Ebay, Oct., '99.
This film belonged formerly to the Memphis City Schools.
1967 Aesop's Fables I. No author, illustrator, or reader acknowledged. Sixteen-millimeter. Living Prose Series. In collaboration with Lumin Films. McGraw-Hill, Inc. Gift of John Carlson, Dec., '95. Also on a metal master tape and two videotape copies.
This film of about twelve minutes starts with a song: "Long ago in ancient Greece/stories didn't grow on trees./Good ol' Aesop was most able/when he'd fabricate a fable./Look and listen and you'll see/Aesop's Fables one-two-three." The visual technique involves camera sweeps and zooms on still watercolors (?). Many of the character-animals in the three fables are given classical proper names. The stories are told rather expansively. In LM, Miklos the mouse runs across Oedipus the lion. The morals include "When you step on somebody's nose, apologize right away and keep talking" and "When somebody says he wants to be friends, believe him." The moral for FC, which uses bleu cheese, warns that "you're better off if you keep your mouth shut." In GA, Aristotle the ant, who uses a pulley to move a peach-pit, has Zeus the grasshopper dance now for one crumb.
1967 Aesop's Fables II. No author, illustrator, or reader acknowledged. Sixteen-millimeter. Living Prose Series. In collaboration with Lumin Films. McGraw-Hill, Inc. Gift of John Carlson, Dec., '95. Also on a metal master tape and two videotape copies.
See my comments on the first film in the three-film series. In TMCM, the two mice manage to stuff themselves before the two dogs come. The film does a particularly good job of presenting FG, especially in its incremental development of Alexander's getting thirstier and angrier and wearier. AL brings back the earlier face-licking illustration effectively in the arena.
1967 Aesop's Fables III. No author, illustrator, or reader acknowledged. Sixteen-millimeter. Living Prose Series. In collaboration with Lumin Films. McGraw-Hill, Inc. Gift of John Carlson, Dec., '95. Also on a metal master tape and two videotape copies.
See my comments on the first film in the three-film series. This film skips the beginning song. The approach to BW is creative and sensitive. Many boring days of watching sheep without encountering any threat to them lead Paul to hope that a wolf will come. He cries out to test whether his voice actually gets to the villagers--but then says it was a joke when they arrive. His second bogus cry comes out of his love for excitement. The real attack of the wolf comes the same day. In WS, the wind goes around looking for trouble by asking everything that he meets if it would like to match strength with him. Near the end of the story, the wind aptly says to the sun "I still don't know how you did it!" In CP, the crow himself tells much of the story, using a bit of a brogue. The moral includes "Little by little will bring you what you want."
8mm Films
1940? "Barnyard Olympics." An Aesop Fable. 8 MM Home Movies. Lodi, NJ: Carnival Films AF6. $2 from Steve Haynes, Columbus, OH, through Ebay, April, '00.
I also have this film in a 16 MM version. I wonder if this one might be abridged. The box's cover shows an elephant watching a small animal emerge from the sole of a giant shoe. Is that image related to this specific film?
1940? "The Enchanted Fiddle." Aesop's Fables. 8 MM Home Movies. Lodi, NJ: Carnival Films AF1. $2 from Steve Haynes, Columbus, OH, through Ebay, April, '00.
I am sorry that I have not been able to watch each of these films. I am glad that my two Carnival Films have ID numbers. The collector in me wants to know how many there might be in the series.
1940? "The Mouse Catcher." Aesop's Fables. 8 MM Home Movies. Lodi, NJ: Carnival Films AF2. Unknown source.
The package here, except for the title stamped in two places, is identical with that for "The Enchanted Fiddle."
1950? "Aesop's Fox and Crane." Encyclopaedia Britannica. $5 from Historic-Arts, Hornell, NY, through Ebay, Feb., '00.
The bottom of EB's box says that this film joins TH and FG in the Encyclopaedia Britannica Films series of the world's most famous fables.
1960? "Punchey de Leon: Fox & Crow." Silent edition. Columbia Alltime Favorites. 8 MM home movie. FC-4253. Unknown source.
I need to wait until I can see this film to learn if there is anything related to fables in it. Stay tuned!
1960? "The Mouse and the Lion." A Fairy Fable Cartoon. Castle Films. Produced by United World Films, Inc. No. 532. 8 MM Complete Edition. $5.99 from Chris Sundblad, Bay Point, CA, through Ebay, Feb., '00.
This film is torn. Its box announces "Television and Theatrical Rights Reserved." I imagine that the reference to television helps to date it. This film comes in a box about 5¼" square. I also have a version, with the same title and number, in a box about 3¼" square.
1960? "The Mouse and the Lion." A Fairy Fable Cartoon. Castle Films. Produced by United World Films, Inc. No. 532. $9.99 from Baron Diamond Importers, Union, NJ, through Ebay, Jan., '00.
I cannot see the difference between this film, in its 3¼" box, and the adjacent one in its 5¼" box. This box has a seal reading "Headline Super 8 Black/White," but I do not know what that means. And its box does not say "Complete edition."
1960? "The Tortoise and the Hare." Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Cartoons. Walt Disney Home Movies. Super 8 Color. Unknown source.
The bottom of the box proudly proclaims "The old adage 'slow and steady wins the race' is clever adapted to Walt Disney's Academy Award Winner—The Tortoise and the Hare! I look forward to viewing the cartoon to see if it is the same presentation that I am aware of from the 1934 cartoon and books.
1960? "The Tortoise and the Hare." Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Cartoons. Walt Disney Home Movies. Super 8 Silent BW. Unknown source.
Do not be surprised: the bottom of this box says that the film is Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree, but some painstaking investigation convinced me that it really is a black-and-white print of The Tortoise and the Hare, and the early frames seem to be exactly the same as in the 1934 version. Banners proclaim "The Big Race." It is of course curious that without trying I have found both a colored and a black-and-white version of the Disney classic.
Filmstrips with Cassettes
1974 Aesop's Fables. Group I. Six captioned filmstrips with six cassettes. Distributed by Encyclopaedia Britannica Educational Corporation. Pomfret Center, CT: Pomfret House. Previously in the Omaha Public Library. $6.90 at Antiquarium, May, '94. Extra copy of the filmstrip and cassette of DS for $3 from R. Korenich, North Port, FL, through Ebay, May, '00.
The two sides of the tapes are for manual and automatic slide forwarding. Good sound effects and music. Generally a bit scratched up from wear. The stories tend to be elaborated.
FC: 4:30. 27 illustrations. Well told.
BW: 4:42. 29 illustrations. The first time, the men did not realize that the boy had been fooling them. The second time they did. In the end, all the sheep were killed. "Don't ask for help when you don't need it."
LM: 4:43. 27 illustrations. The mouse is climbing the biggest stone he has ever seen; it turns out to be the lion's nose. The mouse later just happens to come to where the lion is trapped. "No one is too small to be able to help a friend."
DS: 3:36. 22 illustrations. This dog has no name or home. He has to find his own food. He finds a piece of meat behind a meat market and takes it to a pond, at the shores of which he has his problems. One extra copy for $3 from R. Korenich, North Port, FL, through Ebay, May, '00.
TH: 4:17. 28 illustrations. Bad art work on the hare here.
TMCM: 3:32. 26 illustrations. In the city, they go through a door with a key. A dog and a cat intrude. The mouse leaves without a word of farewell. "It is better to have a few things and be happy than to have many things and be unhappy."
1974 Aesop's Fables. Group II. Six captioned filmstrips with six cassettes. Distributed by Encyclopaedia Britannica Educational Corporation. Pomfret Center, CT: Pomfret House. Previously in the Omaha Public Library. $6.90 at Antiquarium, May, '94.
"The Monkey and the Camel": 6:20. 33 illustrations. The set's most colorful illustrations. "You must earn praise."
"The Fox and the Goat": 5:45. 32 illustrations. "Look before you leap."
MM: 5:35. 29 illustrations. She did not like her job. Much time and emphasis here on the chickens and eggs. Mom admonishes: "Don't count your chickens before they hatch."
GGE: 5:50. 29 illustrations. The farmer is tempted at first to throw the egg away. The goose produces an egg daily for weeks and weeks. The bad idea comes from the wife. "Never hurt those who help us."
"The Stag at the Pool": 6:17. 32 illustrations. The stag had never seen his antlers before. The stag sees the mountain lion's reflection in the same pool.
GA: 4:46. 26 illustrations. "I'll give you something this time but not again." The grasshopper mends his ways.
1974 Aesop's Fables. Group III. Six captioned filmstrips with six cassettes. Distributed by Encyclopaedia Britannica Educational Corporation. Pomfret Center, CT: Pomfret House. Previously in the Omaha Public Library. $6.90 at Antiquarium, May, '94.
TB: 5:37. 30 illustrations. (Careful: the spool may catch before the tape is fully rewound.) The bear sees both talking; does that not preclude playing dead? The two are introduced as friends, but the author comments at the end that the climber had not been a real friend to the other.
"The Man, His Son, and the Donkey": 5:25. 30 illustrations. People along the way are angry. The man also gets angry along the way. The donkey unties the rope with his teeth. "Never try to please everyone."
AD: 5:45. 30 illustrations. This ant got tired from exploring. A wave got him out into the water as he was drinking. The dove supplied a branch. The hunter set a trap for the dove. The dove did not know that the ant saved her.
"The Wolf in Sheep's Clothing": 5:30. 30 illustrations. For a moment, the disguised wolf sees a "sheep" in the river water that he himself is drinking. The sheep, sheepdog, and shepherd are all fooled. A lamb thinks that the wolf is his mother; the wolf leads him away and eats him.
"The Hares and the Frogs": 5:05. 27 illustrations. A herd of wild horses disturbs the hares' last desperate attempt at a safe home. "Let's get as far away from here as we can." They seek a new home. This fable is especially padded. "There are problems wherever anyone lives."
FWT: 5:20. 25 illustrations. The fox begins his speech to the other foxes by saying "As you can see, I lost my tail in a trap." "Misery loves company."
1977 Aesop's Fables. Group IV. Six captioned filmstrips with six cassettes. Distributed by Encyclopaedia Britannica Educational Corporation. Pomfret Center, CT: Pomfret House. Previously in the Omaha Public Library. $6.90 at Antiquarium, May, '94.
With the change in date, the format of these last six filmstrips changes slightly. No longer are the strips paginated. Each strip credits both script and art. Don Roberts does all the scripting. Rex Duden is responsible for the art of the first strip, while Gloriana (or "G." or "Glory") Gill does the rest. The art becomes slightly more sophisticated in this series.
WC: 4:48. The wolf has a good choking voice. Others try to help; the beaver thumps the wolf's back and the back of his head. The crow recommends Dr. Crane. The wolf promises "I'll pay you any amount of money you'll ask."
"The Honest Woodman": 5:26. Three different spirits accost the man here. The first forbids him to touch a particular tree and complains of the damage he has already done. Next the spirit queen throws his axe into the lake. A third comes up three times from the lake. "Honesty is always the best policy."
"The Owl and the Grasshopper": 4:25. The male grasshopper tells the female owl "You should be out hunting for food, like everyone else." The owl flatters the grasshopper on his voice and says at the end "Talking to him just didn't do any good."
"The Farmer and the Barrel" : 6:25. New to me. Anything in the barrel multiplies. The farmer, wife, and grandfather get rich and greedy. After grandfather falls into the barrel and starts multiplying, the barrel breaks and they are returned to their original poor state. "Money just made us selfish and greedy. We should be thankful for each other."
DM: 4:26. Long on the oxen's hard work and the dog's laziness. "A person who keeps things he doesn't need just so others can't have them is called a `dog in the manger.'"
"The Ant and the Butterfly": 3:13. New to me. The ant finds a dull brown thing (a chrysalis). When it starts moving, the ant says that whatever is inside must be stupid and ugly. The butterfly later recalls the ant's words when the ant praises the butterfly's beauty. "Never judge a book by its cover."
Filmstrips with Records
1970? Aesop's Fables. Boxed set of six filmstrips and six 33 RPM records. Narrators: Barbara Wells and Roy Rutanen. Chicago: Singer Education Division: Society for Visual Education, Inc. $12.50 from Lynn Swisher, Junction City, OR, through Ebay, Dec., '00.
Formerly the possession of the Laurel Library, wherever that is. There is just one story to a record and accompanying filmstrip: FC, BW, LM, DS, TH, and TMCM.
1972 Children's Folk Tales: Aesop's Fables. Series 6. 6 filmstrips, 3 records, 12 duplicating masters, and teacher's guide. St. Louis, MO: Milliken Publishing Company. $10.50 through Ebay, May, '00.
Perhaps the most unusual thing about this set lies in the old purple mimeograph masters. They treat of good topics like proverbs, morals, similes, and illustrations. The records devote one side to each filmstrip, and the filmstrips in turn handle three fables each:
- #1: LM, TH, BW
- #2: "Fox and Goat," MM, BC
- #3: TMCM, MSA, OF
- #4: GA, "Hare with Friends," FG
- #5: WSC, GGE, DM
- #6: "Trumpeter-Prisoner," DS, "Lion and Statue"
Filmstrips Alone
1986 Aesop's Fables. Look Listen 'N Play audio and visual set. Rectangular film strip cassette for use with a specific audio/visual machine. Playtime. Usborne Publishing. (Illustrations of Nick Price from Aesop's Fables and Animal Stories, 1982, unacknowledged.) For use with audio cassette. About 15 minutes. $.77 at Kay-Bee, Council Bluffs, March, '91. One extra.
Six fables of the ten in the printed version (TH, "The Crow and the Jug," AD, TMCM, LM, GA).
Kenner Give-A-Show
1961 "Aesop's Fable of the Lion and the Mouse." #22. Kenner-Color Slides for use with Kenner's Give-A-Show Projector. Made and printed in U.S.A. Kenner Products Co. $5 from James Smith, Cocoa, FL, through Ebay, August, '99.
7 four-colored panels, each with two lines of text underneath. I now know the source of the set of pictures that I had found years ago at a flea market. Bob Engel had then put these little treasures into a beautiful glass-and-copper frame for me. Since seeing it frontwards shows the sequence in reverse, I offer two views here.
1962 "The Boy Who Cried Wolf." #16. Kenner-Color Slides for use with Kenner's Give-A-Show Projector. Made and printed in U.S.A. Kenner Products Co. $3 from John Anway, Redford, MI, Feb., '00.
7 four-colored panels. There is less text here. Panels 2, 4, and 6 have none, each showing the blowing of the boy's horn. In the first panel he had been told to blow it if he saw a wolf. The final image shows the wolf licking his chops and saying "Even bad boys taste good!"
Laminated Illustrations
1981 The Hare and the Tortoise. By Aesop. Illustrated by Arthur Friedman. Paperbound. Mahwah, NJ: Troll Associates. $4.49 from Cathy Jefferson, Mobile, AL, through eBay, Sept., '08.
I have had this book for twenty-three years, but there was a new addition in this eBay advertisement: story cards for a literary center. I was curious. The book remains the same, and I will include my earlier remarks on it below. In addition to the book, I received eight laminated pictures. They include a tortoise, hare, start arrow, finish arrow, sun, tree, bush, and a collection of four smaller animals, the latter presumably as spectators. I will list this item both here as a book and under audio-visual materials. I suppose that these very light pictures might stick to a felt background. Unfortunately, these illustrations are not particularly adapted to this booklet. Aesop keeps provoking new things! As I wrote then, this is a lively book. The two animals live together. The tortoise has great facial expressions. A great deal of time is spent before we ever get to the idea of a race. Perhaps the best illustration is the centerfold of the angry tortoise.
Movie Publicity Stills
1995? Animated publicity still from Aesop's Fables: A Whodunit Musical: An Animated Special from the "Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child" Series. HBO. July 18, 7:30-8 p.m., ET. $9.99 from Baby Jane of Hollywood, West Hollywood, CA, through Ebay, Oct., '00.
I presume from the information that I can find that this particular episode was in 1995, since that it when the show debuted. Angie Dickenson and Diahann Carroll were among the voices in the special. I think I can make out a tortoise and a fox on the left of this black-and-white still. If Aesop could only know all the things that are laid at his doorstep!
Paper Cartoon Movies
1950? NIC Ancien Dessin Animé. La Cigale et la Fourmi. Paper Cartoon Movie. €2 from cartapapier on Ebay, August, '23.
Here is a fascinating surprise! I had no idea how this little offering worked. It came as a spindle containing a roll of paper inside a broken sheath in an old box with a hand-written title. A little work reveals that there is some beautiful artwork and good storytelling on this product itself. And the product is a fascinating, if timebound, product of ingenuity.
I found a website explaining the NIC system: https://www.jouetsanciens.fr/jouets-doptique-6/ The unusual thing about the paper film is that it has upper and lower images. Viewed quickly alternatively, the paired images create a quick repeated action, like walking or working. A rather large and complex projector had a crank for moving this paper movie through. I cannot tell how long the projector would linger on a given pair of alternating images. I scanned the paper in two halves and provide also an image of what a better box and sheath look like. Fascinating! And all of this for €2!
By the way, I found a list of NIC movies and checked to see if our GA is the only fable movie. It turns out that there is a paper movie of FC. Now to find it!
To help offer a sense of the lovely detail in this movie, I offer two detail sections: the ants playing pool and smoking in winter and the grasshopper dying.
Records
1947? Bugs Bunny and the Tortoise. Mel Blanc. Canvas-bound. Warner Brothers. $20 from A Time Treasured Antiques, Duluth, Sept., '18.
I found this album during a chance visit to an antiques store as I walked back to the hotel from a lovely train ride in Duluth. I have remarked in several cases, including Disney and Random House presentations of TH, that the rabbit resembles Bugs Bunny. Well, here is Bugs Bunny himself in Capitol Records and Warner Brothers' "Looney Tunes and Merry Melodies" presenting the famous race. Elmer Fudd is, both visually and on the 78 rpm records, our host and narrator. The book, pasted into the cardboard jacket, has 20 double-sided pages, numbered to allow viewers to see a pair of facing pages with every portion of the two records. Bugs trips over a book of TH. Bugs goes directly to the end of the book to see by how much the hare beat the tortoise. He is angered by the result, even more when a tortoise offers to bet him on a race together. Daffy Duck serves as announcer for the race out and back again. After establishing an early lead, Bugs opines that the hare in the book probably knocked himself out. Bugs tries to avoid that by taking a rest. In the meantime, he puts a young duck into the water even though that duck does not want to get wet. Fun goes further when Bugs passes the tortoise, and the tortoise asks a taxi to follow Bugs. Only the taxi does not take the tortoise with him! Bugs walks into a trap, set for chickens by Henery the Hawk. A carrot farm proves to be Bugs' undoing. His stomach bulges as he sleeps against a tree. When the tortoise comes by, Bugs surprises him with the alarm clock he has set. The tortoise air mails himself by having a couple of air mail stamps slapped onto himself. Bugs wins by an ear. After a close finish, Elmer declares that "Bugs Bunny won by a hare!" Apparently first done in 1947 and republished in 1975. I cannot find any date information on either the printed material or the record. Researching this lovely find led me to finding better preserved copies online, and I have ordered one for the collection.
1948? Merry-Go-Sound: Aesop's Fables in Song Sides 3 and 4 of 4. For use with an electric phonograph for children. Tone Products Corporation of America. Unknown source.
The verso of the dust-jacket presents a strong illustration of WS, apparently by R. Feldstein. It is curious to find the dust-jacket presenting an advertisement for a phonograph and an illustration for a fable -- without mentioning the record of fables inside the package. This might have been a part of a set with further packaging that would have offered better orientation.
1949 Walt Disney's The Grasshopper and the Ants. Paperbound. Walt Disney Productions. $15 from Second Story Books, Georgetown, Dec., '10.
This is a genuine find! I was finishing up in Second Story when I noticed this combination of a booklet and a 45 rpm record in the window. I had just given an extensive lecture two months earlier on "The Grasshopper and the Ant," including some criticism of Disney. This booklet may be the best illustrated Disney GA that I now have. There are two records along with the booklet; the records are produced by Capitol. The narrator is Don Wilson, who is joined by the original cast. Adaptor is Alan Livingston. The booklet itself starts with the telling but surprising image of the grasshopper spitting! I am delighted to have found this combination. I have not yet been able to play the records. 45 rpm record players are hard to find these days!
1955 Fables de La Fontaine, No. 1. Paperbound. Livre-Disque: Philips. $4.99 from T.J. Novak, St. Paul, through eBay, April, '12.
I already have one copy of this book and record, acquired from Francine Juneau through eBay in October of 2002. Now I have found a fresher copy with a separate record jacket and a different set of advertisements on its back cover. This back cover, for example, features not the fourth but the third member of this series of La Fontaine's fables. As I mention there, here ten fables are shown and read by Yves-Gérard le Dantec. A 45 rpm record is part of the package. Monochrome and polychrome pages alternate. The illustrations are lively if nothing else. I will keep the book and record together among the books.
1955 Fables de La Fontaine, No. 1. Pamphlet. Livre-Disque: Philips. $9 from Francine Juneau, Montreal, through eBay, Oct. '02.
Here ten fables are shown and read by Yves-Gérard le Dantec. A 45 rpm record is part of the book; it has its own little envelope inside the front cover. Monochrome and polychrome pages alternate. The illustrations are lively if nothing else. I see by the back cover that there are four volumes of La Fontaine. Now I have to find the other three! I will keep this specimen, including its record, with the books.
1960 Fables de La Fontaine, No. 1. Paperbound. Livre-Disque: Philips. $12 from Jean-Claude Côté, Remouald, Quebec, Canada, May, '15.
I already have two copies of this book and record, Now I have found an earlier copy. Two clues lead me to believe that it is earlier, and then there is a strange anomaly I need to mention. The two clues are that the paper used in the fable booklet is not the shiny paper used in the other two versions. The second clue is that those other versions advertised Volumes 3 and 4 in this series. This copy advertises Volume 2. The anomaly is that this early copy appeals to a publishing law of 1960. Those other copies appeal to an earlier publishing law in 1955. I have put down 1960 as the date for this copy, since it is a firm terminus post quem. Probably the date of those other two copies needs to be adjusted to be sometime after 1960. As I wrote of them, here ten fables are shown and read by Yves-Gérard le Dantec. A 45 rpm record is part of the package. Monochrome and polychrome pages alternate. The illustrations are lively if nothing else. I will keep the book and record together among the books,
1955? Walt Disney's The Tortoise and the Hare. Unbreakable 78 rpm Little Golden Record RD 150. Gil Mack, the Sandpipers, Mitchell Miller and Orchestra. Record by Bestway. Jacket by Simon and Schuster, New York. Gift of Wendy Wright, Nov., '11.
Here is a short sung rendition of the story of Toby the Tortoise and Max the Hare. Max's problem is that he wastes time with a pretty female rabbit along the way. One website lists a copy as "50's." The record is certainly pre-1963 because Simon and Schuster's address in New York has a code but not a zip code. The record jacket is worn, but not badly for having lasted over fifty years! Click on the small illustration above to see a larger version of the record-jacket.
1956 Fables de la Fontaine 1. Jean A. Mercier. Hardbound. Monaco: Pathé Disques-Albums: S.A.M. Editions Les Flots Bleus. $5 from Luc Gauvreau, Montreal, March, '03.
This is a combination book that includes a 45 rpm record, with eight fables narrated by Gerard Philipe. Its first gift to me is that it shows the source for the illustrations used on the lovely menus produced for La Compagnie Générale Transatlantique in 1957. These are lovely watercolors! Each of the eight fables has a full-page (7¼" x 7¼") colored illustration: MM, "L'Ane et le petit Chien," WL, "Le Singe et le Dauphin," FC, "Le Petit Poisson et le Pêcheur," "Le Coche et la Mouche," and "Le Loup devenu Berger." My prize goes to the milkmaid! She is also on the cover. I do not know if the "1" on the cover and title-page suggests that there are other books of La Fontaine in the series, or merely that La Fontaine is the first in the disque-album series. The hunt continues!
1956 Les plus belles Fables de La Fontaine en relief et en musique. Editions Lucos. Pop-up. Paperbound. Mulhouse: Lucos: Le Petit Ménestral: Editions Lucien Adés. $19.98 from Claude Bru Valois, through eBay, Feb., '11.
This is a worthy combination of a 33 rpm record and six excellent pop-up scenes. The La Fontaine scenes, presented in landscape format with the fable on the flat surface closest to the reader, are about 90% intact. In several, one character or element is unhinged or otherwise defective. The scenes are GA; MM; OF; WL; FC; and TH. The best of them is WL, both for its artistic vigor and for its present condition. FC is also strong and well preserved. This is a heavy book. The small 33 rpm record is in a wrapper attached to the inside of the front cover. Its music is by Hubert Rostaing and the fables are read by François Perier. I will keep the record with the book. A lovely find!
1957 Fables de La Fontaine, No. 2. Jean Davy et Michel Bouquet. Paperbound. Livre-Disque: Philips. $9.95 from endingsandbeginnings, through eBay, August, '05.
Here is Volume Two, found three years after I found Volume One, published in 1955. This "Livre-Disque" contains eight fables. It is not clear what role Jean Davy et Michel Bouquet play. A 45 rpm record is part of the book; it has its own little envelope inside the front cover. Be careful! The record jacket is open on the bottom. Monochrome and polychrome pages alternate. The illustrations are lively if nothing else. The back cover of Volume One seemed to indicate four volumes in the set. This back cover shows only two. I will keep this specimen, including its record, with the books.
1957 Fables de La Fontaine par Fernandel. Cover art: Rosenberg. Decca. €5 from an unknown source, July, '09.
This is a combination book and 45 rpm record. Fernandel, who died in 1971, seems to be the narrator of seven fables on the record. The fables are WL, FC, GA, DW, TH, "The Lion and the Mosquito," and "The Financier and the Cobbler." The last story has a wonderfully relaxed cobbler in its image. Alternating page-pairs are done in duochrome with a heavy sepia look. The cover presents the animals from many fables together. It surprises me by seating the hare on top of the tortoise's shell. Where does that image or understanding come from? I will keep record and book together in the book collection.
1958 Fables de La Fontaine, No. 2. Paperbound. Livre-Disque: Philips. $4.99 from T.J. Novak, St. Paul, through eBay, April, '12.
I already have one copy of this book and record, acquired from endingsandbeginnings through eBay in August of 2005. Now I have found a fresher copy with a separate record jacket and different book covers. This front cover, for example, no longer features a picture of a 45 rpm record. The back cover shows not the first two volumes of this series but the third. The date on that version was 1957. Here it is 1958. This "Livre-Disque" contains eight fables. I still presume that Jean Davy et Michel Bouquet read the fables. Monochrome and polychrome pages alternate. The illustrations are lively if nothing else. I will keep the book and record together among the books.
1959 Fables de La Fontaine, No. 4. Paperbound. Livre-Disque: Philips. €5 from St. Ouen flea market, Paris, June, '09.
Here is Volume Four, found four years after I found Volume Two, published in 1957. Apparently I have one more livre-disque to find to have the set of four complete. This "Livre-Disque" contains six fables, pictured on the cover: DW, "The Heron"; "The Daughter"; "The Stalled Carter"; "The Merchant, the Gentleman, the Shepherd, and the King's Son"; and "The Ass Carrying Relics." Jean Davy, Michel Bouquet, Renée Faure, and Robert Manuel are readers of various of the six fables. A 45 rpm record is part of the book; it has its own little envelope inside the front cover. The booklet of fables is attached inside the overall jacket. Be careful! The record sleeve is open on the bottom. Some pages are monochrome and some polychrome. The illustrations are lively if nothing else. I enjoy particularly the disdainful pose of the young woman and then the contrasting pose of the man she ends up marrying. I will keep this specimen, including its record, with the books.
1960? Fables de la Fontaine, Volume IV. Read by members of Comédie Française. Microgroove Records FRL 1525. Bernard Lebow: Dust jacket printed in the USA. $4 from Stephane St-Arnaud, Montreal, Canada, through Ebay, Nov., '99.
There are eight favorite La Fontaine fables on the Side A and six on Side B. This record seems to have been produced in this country. The dust jacket is in English.
1961 Animal Stories of Aesop. Narrated by Sterling Holloway. Disneyland Record DQ 1221. Walt Disney Productions. $2, Summer, '89. Extra copy for $2 from Coin Corner and Hobbies, Oregon City, OR, through Ebay, March, '99. Third copy from an unknown source.
One reader with occasional interruptions from kids and a bit of music. Versions are on the sentimental side. AL (six minutes), AD (four minutes), OF (six minutes), "The Lion and the Goat" (three minutes), and FG (four minutes). The countercultural ant likes to sing, and so gets thirsty. The best fable features the (father) frog and the ox. "The Lion and the Goat" has a scratch and repeats on the original '89 copy. The fox passes up many grapes to get the best; the story runs to too much length.
1961 Fables de La Fontaine, No. 3. Paperbound. Livre-Disque: Philips. $4.99 from T.J. Novak, St. Paul, through eBay, April, '12.
At last I have found Number 3 in a series of four combinations of book and record. There is a slight anomaly, since the only date I can find here is 1961 on the back cover of the booklet, and my copy of Number 3 is dated 1959. This "Livre-Disque" contains eight fables, pictured and mentioned on the cover: FK, "The Lion and the Mosquito"; BF, "The Ass and the Little Dog"; "The Eye of the Master"; "The Cock, the Cat, and the Mouse"; 2P; and "The Little Fish and the Angler." Renée Faure and Jean Davy are readers of various of the fables. A 45 rpm record is part of the book; it has its own little envelope inside the front cover. The booklet of fables is attached inside the overall jacket. As in other volumes, some pages are monochrome and some polychrome. The illustrations are lively if nothing else. I enjoy particularly the vested gentleman holding a lapdog and being accosted by the ass! I will keep this specimen, including its record, with the books.
1961 Robert Rocca Presénte 6 Fables de Jean de La Fontaine. Vinyl record 7" x 7". $5, March, '03.
The back cover of this vinyl disc states, in French, “A songwriter that is tired of the fables actually recited aloud.” Presumably, Robert Rocco is a songwriter who adapted the classic Jean de la Fontaine fables that were popular in France and set them to music. The fables include “Le savetier et le financier”, “L’alouette et ses petits”, “ Le Renard et les Raisins”, “Les animaux maladies de la peste”, La vielle et les deux servants”, and “Le petit poisson et le pecheur”.
1962? The Fox and the Grapes/The City Mouse and the Country Mouse. 78 RPM record 6" in diameter. Narrated by June Winters and the Speartones. Lionel 49730-114, Fairy Tales 3. $4.99 from Anthony Testa, Le Roy, NY, through Ebay, Jan., '01.
Lionel made recordings for kids?! In fact they made at least fourteen of them for 45 RPM, one of which offered fables, and twenty-five in 78 RPM, two of which presented fables. Now to look for those other two!
1964? the tortoise and the hare/the little white duck. 45 rpm Mr. Pickwick Extended Play Record. No singers or composer acknowledged. Woodbury, NY: Pickwick International. $.05 at flea market, 1991.
TH lasts 3:21. It seems like vintage "Hit Paraders" music: cute, silly, bubbly, harmless. If there were not a zip code on the jacket, I would have guessed the date of production to be 10 years earlier. The rabbit in this version keeps thinking he can always catch up, and he enjoys many diversions.
1965 Aesop's Fables the Smothers Brothers Way. Words and Music by John McCarthy. Arranged and Produced by David Carroll. The Smothers Brothers. Mercury Records SR 60989. MG 20989. $12 at Yesterday's Memories Book & Record Store, Feb., 1987. Extra copy for $7.50 from Martin D. McKay, Cambridge, OH, through Ebay, Feb., '99.
Clever working of songs into a typical Smothers Brothers routine, with lots of nonsense included. The fables are respected by and large. Tommy howls and gets into it, and sometimes the moral comes through. See the same material on a compact disk.
1965? Aesop's Best Known Fables. Featuring the Regency Players. Talespinners for Children. UAC 11068. Los Angeles, CA: Liberty/UA, Inc. Sunset Records. Entertainment from Transamerica Corporation. $4.99 from Robert Beckley Newton, MS, through Ebay, May, '00.
From the jacket, it appears that each side presents three groupings of three fables each. Each grouping lasts between three and about five minutes.
1965? Aesop's Fables. Narrated by Burgess Meredith. Arranged and Conducted by Reg Owen and Wally Stott. NY: Golden Records LP 152. $5 from Robin Chaney, Schoolcraft, MI, through Ebay, Oct., '99.
Side One is devoted to TH, and Side Two to FC. This record originally cost only $1.98.
1967 Aesop's Fables. Read by Boris Karloff. Directed by Howard Sackler. NY: Caedmon. Gift of Pat Donnelly from the Milwaukee Public Library, June, '93.
Twenty-one fables on each side. Karloff's reading is sensitive but surprisingly low-keyed. The texts, whose author I cannot identify, seem classic, pithy, well expressed. This record is not as clear as the audio cassette of the same production.
1967? Aesop's Fables. "The Rabbit and the Turtle" plus 32 other fables for the delight and development of children. Sung by Judy Stewart and Bob Ragaini. Mercury Playcraft PLP-1303. $7 from JLO West/Special Records, Universal City, CA, through Ebay, Nov., '99.
The Ebay seller writes that these fables are set into modern verse and provided with lively contemporary musical backgrounds.
1968 The Grasshopper and the Ants. 33 rpm long-playing record enclosed in the back flap of a booklet with the same title. Walt Disney Presents the Story (Side A, read by Robie Lester) and a Song (Side B, by L. Morey and L. Harline). Walt Disney Productions LLP-331. Included in the booklet price of $4.50 at Old Bank Antiques, Hastings, March, '94. This record is kept with the book.
The last few minutes of the story's side are especially scratchy. This version differs slightly from the tape version I have under 1971/77. The song, "The World Owes Me a Living," does not follow the lyrics of Margaret Wise Brown's version (1939, reprinted in 1962 and 1993).
1969? In Due Time: Aesop's Fables. 33 rpm long-playing record. Chicago: Cadet Concept Records. LPS 323. $5 from Jads Jams, Safford, AZ, through Ebay, August, '99.
The back of the jacket calls this "Stereo Storybook" a "collection of latter day fables…musical tales that light upon life, love, loneliness…."
1970? Fables de La Fontaine. Read in French by Gerard Philipe, Julien Bertheau, Berthe Bovy, Georges Chamarat, Jacques Charon, and Yvonne Gaudeau. French and English bilingual text included. Caedmon TC 1211. $1 from Mel Grimes, Pacific Grove, CA, through Ebay, May, '00.
Though the fables are read in French, the extensive commentary on the jacket's back is in English. The French and English face each other in the accompanying large translation booklet.
1970? Fables of India. Told by Zia Mohyeddin. Music by Deben Bhattacharya. Directed by Howard Sackler. Caedmon TC 1168. Formerly property of the Johnson Camden Library, Morehead State University, Morehead, KY. $15 from Judy Lewis, Morehead, KY, through Ebay, June, '99.
Side One features "The Brahmin and the Villain," "The Long-Eared Cat and the Vulture," "The Restless Pigeon and his Wife," and "The Camel and his Neighbor." Side Two has "The Adder and the Fox," "The Twin Parrots," "The Blue Jackal," "Good-Speed and the Elephant King," and "The Monkey's Heart." There is some commentary on the back of the jacket. This recording seems to be in a series with Caedmon's other recordings that I have found, including La Fontaine, Tolstoy, and Aesop as read by Boris Karloff.
1971 Les Plus Belles Fables de La Fontaine. Dites par Francois Perier, Jacques Fabbri, Pierre Bertin. Livre-Disque. ALB-6034. Le Petit Menestrel. Disques de Adès. $20 from Robin Michel, Santa Clarita, CA, through eBay, March, '11.
Here are fifteen fables recorded on a 33 rpm, accompanied by a book. With music from Rameau and Couperin. I will keep the record with the book among the books rather than among the audio-visual materials.
1972 Disneyland Double Feature: Walt Disney Presents The Best Stories of Aesop and Animal Stories of Aesop. Both narrated by Sterling Holloway, with music composed and conducted by Camarata. Walt Disney Productions. Disneyland DDF-1. $4.99 from Teresa Vanwye, Indianapolis, IN, through Ebay, June, '00.
The second of the two records here is identical with the one produced by Disney in 1961. See my copies above. The first seems to follow the same format as the second, offering five fables: GGE, FC, and "The Hare and the Hound" on Side 1, with DM and TH on Side 2.
1972? Aesop's Fables. Book and Record Set. NY: Children's Records of America T 23552. $4 from Jean Lexington, El Dorado, AR, through Ebay, Sept., '00. Extra copy for $2 from Daryl Adkins, Dry Fork, VA, through Ebay, May, '99.
I had found the book half of this set twice earlier, and was surprised to find a book published by CBS records. Now I find the records, and they are not done by CBS! I will keep these books with the records and leave those two copies of the books with their respective collections. The presence of the book with the record in this set has one result, namely that the record jacket has almost no information about what is on the record!
1974 Leo Tolstoy: Fables and Fairy Tales. Read by Ian Richardson. Caedmon TC 1435. Formerly property of the Johnson Camden Library, Morehead State University, Morehead, KY. $6.01 from Judy Lewis, Morehead, KY, through Ebay, June, '99. Extra copy for $7 from Eric Maloney, W. Peterborough, NH, through Ebay, June, '00.
Side One features twelve short fables, while Side Two seems to be given to two fairy tales. Paul Kresh offers an introduction on the back of the jacket. Both copies seem to be in excellent condition.
1975? Aesop Fables. Art Director Tory Wolfe. Cover Illustration Marlyn Romero. Hollywood, FL: Kid Stuff Records KS053. $1 from Karen Podschun, Winfield, KS, through Ebay, Feb., '00.
Seven fables on each side. This approach to the record, including the jacket and its art, suggests that this may be among the simplest of the fable records I have found.
1975? Aesop's Fables in song. George Mysels. Sung by Patricia DeLoughry and Clyde Sechler with Betty Ann McCall, Cordovox. Omni Sound N-194. Delaware Water Gap, PA: Shawnee Press, Inc. $9.99 from Paul Neil Anderson, Bellevue, NE, through Ebay, May, '01.
There are eleven and thirteen bands, respectively, on the two sides of this record. "Recommended for listening and singing in elementary schools and for family enjoyment by children of all ages."
1977 Fables and Fun, Vol. 1. Paperbound. Minneapolis: Marketing Ventures. $6.48 from spittinunagecards through eBay, Nov., '13.
Here is one of two volumes in one of three sets. This landscape volume 9" x 8¼" contains fourteen fables with a T of C on the back cover. The following are illustrated: TH; "The Mischievous Dog"; AL; "Two Frogs"; "The Ape and the Fox"; "The Wolf, Lamb, and Goat"; "The Fox, the Hare, and Jupiter"; LM; FWT; WC; "Oz and the Herdsman"; and FC. Oz refers to a great wizard in Oz who replaces what would have been a god in the ancient fable. The herdsman prays to Oz to show who has stolen his calf and then offers a bigger sacrifice in prayer to get away from the lion who stole it. The narrations tend to the colloquial. Several morals are either catchy or unusual. Thus "The Two Frogs" has this short moral: "Easier in than out." "The Ape and the Fox" leads to this moral: "Don't try to borrow. Then you won't be disappointed if you're refused." WC admonishes "Do not run silly risks." The book is accompanied by a flexible 33 rpm record containing all fourteen fables. The line drawings would be suitable for crayoning. AL's full-page drawing may be the best of this lot. The two volumes are enclosed in a sleeve. I will leave the records with their volumes. It would be a miracle to find those other two sets!
1977 Fables and Fun, Vol. 2. Paperbound. Minneapolis: Marketing Ventures. $6.47 from spittinunagecards through eBay, Nov., '13.
Here is one of two volumes in one of three sets. This landscape volume 9" x 8¼" has the same cover picture featuring a monkey, a lion, a mouse, and a boy removing a thorn. The pamphlet contains nineteen fables with a T of C on the back cover. The following are illustrated: "The Eagle and the Arrow"; WSC; The Fox and the Lion"; 2P; "The Old Hound"; "The Viper and the File"; DS; "The Snake and the Crab"; "The Monkey and the Camel"; and "The Fowler and the Ringdove." The narrations tend to the colloquial. Several morals are either catchy or unusual. Thus WSC moralizes "The advantage gained by lying only lasts until the truth is found out." DS has this rather strange moral: "All that glitters is not meat in the water." "The Monkey and the Camel" is followed by "Wanting applause and winning it are two different things." "The Fowler and the Ringdove" is particularly pithy: "If you make trouble you will get into trouble." The book is accompanied by a flexible 33 rpm record containing all nineteen fables. The line drawings would be suitable for crayoning. WSC and DS have full-page drawings that may be the best of this lot. The two volumes are enclosed in a sleeve. I will leave the records with their volumes. It would be a miracle to find those other two sets!
1980? Fables in Action. Author: Winifred Howard. Various speakers, musicians, and singers. Oklahoma City, OK: Melody House Recordings MH-21. $6 at Castalia Books in Berkeley, June, '89. Extra copy, formerly property of the Johnson Camden Library, Morehead State University, Morehead, KY, for $2 from Judy Lewis, Morehead, KY, through Ebay, March, '99.
T of C on the back. Various instruments, sound effects, songs, and stories with different voices. The jacket suggests various activities for kids: barking, growling, roaring, gestures. Nice simple songs. Satisfactory for use with very small children. SW gets the bet wrong. "Ricky Rabbit and Tommy Turtle" makes nice use of Brahms' lullaby. The lion saves the man, not in the circus, but from an attacking tiger. The FC reader jumps from "Miss Caw" to "Miss Crow." Moral: "When you're pretending to do something big, you may do something silly." Four fables on each side.
1980? Les Fables de La Fontaine. Illustrées par des enfants et interprétées par l'imitateur Jean Valton à la manière des Grandes Vedettes. Pamphlet with a record. Printed in France. Series: Alors, Raconte… Paris: Dillard et Cie. $4 from Pierre Cantin, Chelsea, Quebec, through Ebay, Feb., '01. Extra copy (2010), which I will keep with the records, while the first copy stays with the books.
This square little presentation 7¼" square offers five delightful illustrations by children, the texts of six fables, and a 45 rpm record. The first of the illustrations is on the cover. La Fontaine writes seated under a tree, while various animals look on. Of the other four illustrations, I recommend especially FC. The other three present TH, GA, and OR. The record was produced by La Discotheque de Paris.
1983? Toucan Sam at the Big Race. Kellogg Company. $4 at a flea market about '95.
This is a paper-based record made to be played at 33 1/3 rpm. It shows a colorful illustration of Toucan Sam waving a checkered flag for the tortoise, who beats the hare to the finish line. I presume that this record came in a box of cereal.
1987? The Untold Fables: Aesop's Apocalypse. Engineer and Assistant Production by David Carey and Jim Dotson. Dionysus Records ID 123312. $5 from Kevin Wells, Seattle, WA, through Ebay, March, '99.
Side B offers "The Man and the Wooden God." Otherwise it may be hard to find the connection with Aesop or fable here. In case it is not clear to readers (as it was not to me), "The Untold Fables" is the name of the group.
Playola Records
1948 Playola Record Album "Famous Fables." Three records presenting LM; SW; TH, and BW. album No. 105. Along with a Playola Record Player for $45 on Ebay, April, '12.
The album's four interior pages present each a rhyming quatrain for one of the fables. "'Wolf! Wolf! Wolf!' I cried. The villagers hastened to my side. But they were angry, everyone, When they found out I'd called for fun." Good condition. I am cataloguing these records, if my research guesses are accurate, nine years after we acquired them.
Sheet Music
1950? Xeroxed musical score for "The Ant and the Grasshopper." From the French Fable of La Fontaine. English adaptaion by Anne G. Molloy. Robert Schumann. #43. Pages 52-55 of an unknown book of music. Unknown source.
The ant has all the longer lines in this rhymed presentation. The grasshopper is left with shorter expressions, more lyrical and often pained. Thus she sings early "A crumb, dame, a crumb, dame!" And her last words are "Have pity, have pity!" repeated several times. Thank you to the thoughtful person who sent me this some years ago!
1970? Xeroxed musical score of Robert Schumann's "Fabel," Op. 12, Number 6 of Fantasiestücke. Wiener Urtext Edition. Gift of Gert Jan van Dyk, Sept., '92.
Gert Jan writes "It seems to me that the mano sinistra continuously imitating the mano destra represents dialogue and that the Lento sections express the exaggeratedly stressed moral. I would like to play it at my quondam graduation ceremony."
Tru-Vue Stereo
1960 Aesop's Fables. Tru-Vue stereo film card. F-14. ©1960 by Sawyer's, Inc. Beaverton, Oregon: Tru-Vue Company. $6 from Jim Watson, San Antonio, on a contact made originally through Ebay, May, '99.
I did not know that there was such a thing as Tru-Vue till I found several items advertised on Ebay. When I lost the auction, I emailed Jim to ask if he might be willing to part with the Aesop portion of what he had bought. He was very gracious. The original package is still unopened! Its price back in 1960 was 35¢ TH receives three pairs of pictures, DS two, and LM two. The pictures seem to be heavy on red tones; perhaps they have faded into that color. Now I will be amazed if I ever find a Tru-Vue viewer!
1950? Tru-Vue Viewer with nine story cards. Beaverton, OR: Tru-Vue Company. $10 from dalton2099 on Ebay, July, ’21.
I had written 22 years ago that I would be amazed if I ever found a Tru-Vue viewer with which to view the fable card I had found. That comment came, I believe, before Ebay. This year I thought to take a look and immediately found a number of viewers, this one even including nine other samples.
Stereopticon Slides
1900? Fables de la Fontaine: Le Renard et les Raisins. Stereopticon slide. From Sawyer Auctions and Antiques, West Fargo, ND, through eBay, Oct., '14.
I presume that there is a significant collection of fable stereopticon slides. Here at least is one! The nobleman shuns the lady (ladies?) he is offered. Hand colored?
Lestrade Stéréoscopes
1950? Fables de la Fontaine 1 and Fables de la Fontaine 3. Lestrade Stéréoscopes #9171 and #9173. Vues sur film Kodak. €5.50 each from Salim Benallag, Chinon, France, through eBay, July, '04.
The existence of this medium was unknown to me until I found these two specimens. Each card provides ten stereoptic views. The first card has two views each of GA, LM, WL, FS, and MM. The second features ";The Cat, the Hare, and the Weasel" (three scenes); FG (one scene); and two scenes each of TT, WC, and FC.
Teaching Aids
2000? "Learning Centers Club: Fables and Tall Tales." Boxed set of teacher's aids for teaching writing and math for grades 4-5. $20 from Judy Butler through Ebay, May, '14.
Cataloguing this set of teacher's aids may set a record in this collection, as it has waited for eight years! What I now find inside the box are three envelopes and two posters, each about 11" x 17". Two of the three envelopes seem to offer helps in math and writing. A third envelope is titled "Presenting the Fable Fella."
It contains eight laminated cards with a traditional fable on one side and "Aesop's Fable Activities" on the other.
A set of six smaller cards has a fable on one side and a task related to particular words on the other, like "Use six of these words in a poem that the foolish, proud crow wrote about himself."
The first poster, "Let the Lion Loose," uses LM to have students compose the picture of the lion by solving a math problem on the back of a card. A correct answer allows that card to become a portion of the poster's picture of the netted lion, only now without the restraining ropes. Luckily for the teacher, there is an answer key!
The second poster -- "Watch Out For The Wolf!" -- has students deciding whether a given card is a statement, command, question, or exclamation. Correct answers have a player advancing through the sheep to get to the finish.
View-Master
1959 Three View-Master Reels. Color 3-D photography of figurines in various styles. Packet No. B 309. Stories and Adventure Series. Portland, OR: Sawyer's Inc. $11 from Tim Wolfe, Myersville, MD, through Ebay, May, '99.
This seems to be the more original packaging of a set whose pictures would remain the same. Notice that the copyright here belongs to Sawyer's in Portland, with no mention of GAF in New York. See my comments on the GAF version.
1959 Three View-Master Reels. Color 3-D photography of figurines in various styles. Learning Is Fun Series. Packet No. B 309. NY: View-Master Stereo Pictures: GAF Corporation. $9.50 from Pat Aikins, Athens, TX, through Ebay, Feb., '99.
At last I have found the View-Master Aesop that I have looked for so long! In GA the grasshopper has slept all summer and then danced in the fall; the former helps set up a rhyme for the fact that he wept in winter. DS gets only two images. There is a great leaping fox in the one image for FG! TMCM features great lighted eyes on the cat, and a fine paw reaching inside the TM's hole-home. TH has a great leaping hare at the race's start. The other fables here are FC, SW, FS, and LM. A sixteen-page color illustrated booklet parcels the story out among the slides. The set comes in a Special View-master outer envelope and inner packet. The reels themselves are in excellent condition. The copyright on the reels has changed from Sawyer's to GAF Corporation.
1959 Three View-Master Reels. Color 3-D photography of figurines in various styles. Learning Is Fun Series. Packet No. B 309. NY: View-Master Stereo Pictures: GAF Corporation. Gift of Jodi Kava, with a View-Master viewer, July, '23.
I take the occasion of this gift to highlight the 16-page pamphlet that comes with the three reels described elsewhere. The booklet walks through the three reels offering the story for each of the strong images. I have also included this booklet among the collection's published books under 1959. What a thoughtful gift!
1959 Extra copy of Reel 2 of View-Master Packet No. B 309: “Aesop’s Fables.” Portland, OR: Sawyer's Inc. $5 from Derek Metzer, Luxemburg, WI, through Ebay, May, ’14.
Stories on this reel include TMCM: four images. FC: one image. SW: two images. I am cataloguing this little piece seven years after we received it! Cataloguing it gives me a chance to show the interior packaging.
1959 Three Italian View-Master Reels. Color 3-D photography of figurines in various styles. B B 3091-3093. Portland, OR: Sawyer's Inc. $2.25 from Rusty, Musty, Dusty Stuff, Columbia, SC, through Ebay, May, '01.
I had no idea that View-Master had marketed its reels in Italian! What a delight to find these. The images seem to be the same as those on the reels with English labels. Now, I have to ask what other languages View-Master may have used!
V-M Talking Reels
1959 Three View-Master Talking Reels. Color 3-D photography of figurines in various styles with sound. AVB 309. Portland, OR: GAF Corporation. $15.99 from Tim Hall-Stith, Portland, OR, through Ebay, Aug., '99.
I knew of this special approach to View-Master that incorporates recorded sound and that Aesop's Fables were offered as one of the sets, but I doubted that I would ever find a set. Surprise! The second surprise is that two months later at an off-beat flea market on the state fair grounds in West Allis, I found a working player and got it immediately for half the asking price! The two actually function together quite well. One needs to experiment with the sound bar on the player to get the needle where it belongs on the recording track. The visuals are the same as those on the regular View-Master reels for this set; see my comments there. The read texts here are taken from the same booklet that came with the regular reels. I am impressed on this round with the mid-air fox on the one image for FG, with the shining eyes of the cat in Scene 3 of TMCM, and with the flying hare at the starting line in TH's first scene. I notice that those were also items that impressed me in the visual experience a year ago!