Clothing & Accessories
I have found all sorts of clothing and accessories. Among them the range of buttons I have found is the most surprising. I earlier wrote on this page that I was still searching for my first "Fox and the Grapes" necktie. I turned out to be a prophet!
Baseball Caps
1999 A baseball cap in Creighton Bluejay blue, with the title across the brow: "The Fable Guy." A gift of Jim and Karen Ehrle and their family, June, '99.
Now there is a gift I never expected! They are urging me to wear it to France later this summer....
Bracelets
Thus far I have found two bracelets:
Three-part Iron Bracelet
1900? Iron bracelet with clasp featuring three identical parts. TH and FC on each third. Unknown source and time of acquisition.
This is a gorgeous piece. I have tried to render its detail but fear that I have failed. The bracelet is heavy. Its serious clasp bears, in English, "Made in France." Similar bracelets on the web seem to be in the $200+ range.
Contemporary Fox and Grapes Bracelet
2020? Fox & grapes bracelet. Autumn gold woodland fox with orange amber beadings. $19.60 from LycheeKiss through Etsy, Dec., ’20.
The collection’s first bracelet! This fox will be just short of those grapes forever!
Brooches
1910? Hand painted solid brass brooch of fox and grapes. $13.50 from "casajewelry" on Ebay, June, '00.
Soldered joint and catch pin assembly. "Stamped by tooling from the early 1900's," according to the Ebay seller's description. An "old gold" finish has apparently been applied to a 14kt gold plating.
1980? White metal FG casting ready to be made into a brooch. 85 exemplars. 1¾" from top to bottom. $10.49 from Joseph Cairo, Johnston, RI, through Ebay, August, '00.
I thought I was bidding on one item made up of 88 parts. Imagine my surprise when a heavy box came with eighty-eight such pieces. I gather that each is waiting for a hand to paint it and for a pin to be laid across the support mounted on the back. Click on the image to see a larger version.
1992 Engraved copper brooch of a dancing camel after Lisbeth Zwerger by Brigit Viksnins. 1¾" x 2¾". On verso: "Seeking popularity is the fastest way to lose friends."
Brigit told me after class one day that she did not understand one text we had read that day: "The Dancing Camel." The next class I brought along for her Zwerger's wonderful illustration of the gangly-looking camel so contented with himself as he dances. She not only "got" the fable; she went to work producing this lasting memory of it. I recognized Zwerger's illustration in Brigit's brooch immediately.
1995? Tortoise and hare storytime pin. Goldtone with two figures connected by a bar, 4 inches across. Hand enameled with genuine Austrian rhinestones for eyes. $3.99 from Deja Vu Jewelry, Coral Springs, FL, through Ebay, July, '00.
This piece is charming, colorful, and heavy. The tortoise has the lead. Click on the image to enlarge it.
1998? Terrapin and hare brooches. Terrapin is 2" x 1½". Hare is 3" x 1¾". Fiberboard? Made by Klassic Kreatures, Falls Church, VA. Gift of Margaret and Michael Lytton, Dec., '00.
Delightful creatures with lively eyes. Yes, that is a Maryland "M" on the terrapin's shirt. The brooches are made by Mr. and Mrs. Steve Klass in Falls Church, who were good enough to write to me when they noticed this web listing. Steve is an alumnus of Maryland.
1999 Fox and grapes pin. Made in China. Topanga, CA: Zarah Company. $30 from Suzanne Katzen, Delray Beach, FL, through Ebay, Oct., '01.
A 1½" double circle of gold wire supports leaves, grapes, and a fox. Beautiful colors!
Charms
2020 TH charms by Nancy Schön representing her two statues in Boston's Copley Square. $50 from Nancy herself, Sept., '20. They arrived with a lovely photographic note from Nancy.
The charms can be shoe tie or sweater charms. Charming
1993 Alcara Set of 4 La Fontaine Fable Pairs
1993 2 pairs and one singlet of Alcara Set of 4 La Fontaine Fable Pairs of Characters. 1993p2 dv544 fables de la fontaine dores aff1993 alcara. 3.99 each from genealogos through Ebay, Dec., '23.
To my surprise these charms tend to be listed by the French under "fèves" I am of course eager to find the other three individuals. The group reproduces in metal the form of figures found in a set of fèves that we already possess.
Children's Clothes
1999 Cotton baby's bib featuring the tortoise and the hare. 7½" x 8". 100% cotton terry with water-resistant vinyl plastic. Oyster Bay, NY: Baby's 'n Things. With a matching bottle $4 from C-N-C Treasures through Ebay, Jan., '01. Extra exemplar for $9.59 from Pat Zaborowski, Fernandina Beach, FL, through Ebay, Sept., '00.
One of these bibs came with a baby's bottle which has a similar illustration of TH. This design has the tortoise walking right and wearing a hat. Click on the image to see it enlarged.
Coin Purses
1930? Coin purse advertising Luis Knierim Café. "Restaurant and Furnished Rooms for Gentlemen Only." Wheeling, West Virginia. Image of "The Frog and the Mouse." Gift of Susan Carlson, May, '22.
Now here is a first. A coin purse! There is an irony here. "The Frog and the Mouse" is a story of ugly hospitality. After the host mouse shows great hospitality to the guest frog, the host frog drowns the guest mouse -- but pays for it in the end by being supper for a hawk. Not the best advertisement for furnished rooms!
Earrings
1996 Fox and Grape Earrings. Made in China. Topanga, California: Zarah Company. Gift of Margaret Carlson Lytton from Winterthur, Nov., '96.
Leaves and grapes hang down from each of the two foxes. Hand-painted enamel on sterling silver with garnet beads and amethyst Swarovski crystal. What a great find by one of the great power-shoppers!
1997? Tortoise and Hare Earrings. Jade colored stone with a bead for each character. Made by Maryellen Hains, Kalamazoo, MI. From an unknown source.
Like the Heberts' earrings, this pair gives one character to each ear. The maker varies the two by the arrangement of character and bead.
1998 Tortoise and Hare Earrings. Hand crafted with pride in Oakdale CA by the Heberts. "Mrs. Bear's Woods." Quilted maple and California walnut. $9.95 at the Petaluma crafts fair, Nov., '989.
The rabbit is a darker and larger earring with a long wire fastener. The turtle is smaller and lighter in color. Which should you wear on which ear?
1999 Tortoise and Hare Earrings. Made in China. Topanga, California: Zarah Company. $30 from Suzanne Katzen, Delray Beach, FL, through Ebay, Oct., '01.
On each earring, both a tortoise and a hare hang down from a floral arrangement. Hand-painted enamel on sterling silver.
Handbags
1962 Wooden purse signed by Enid Collins. Titled "Pretty Foxie." 8½" x 11" x 2¾". Cream leather, cream plastic handle, and brass hardware. $37 from Ginny Chenowith, Las Cruces, NM, through Ebay, Sept., '00.
A painted fox with rhinestone eyes sits beneath a bough of purple cabochon grapes. Some of these are missing. Inside the lid is a mirror and "The Original Box Bag by Collins of Texas hand-decorated for You! Copyright 1962 enid collins." The lid has "ec" in the lower right corner. Click on either image for a fuller view of the bag.
Handkerchiefs
1931 Aesop's Fables Hankie Book. Illustrations by Pearl Gilligan (et al?). Paperbound. Los Angeles: N.R. Woodard Co. $38.93 from Giancarlo's Closet, Exton, PA, through eBay, August, '11.
It took twelve years, but this purchase solves a mystery. I had found a copy of this book in 1999 and saw it as a coloring book. "What it has to do with a hankie neither the seller nor I can figure out," I wrote then, adding that it measures slightly larger than 10" x 11" and has seven pages of black-and-white outlines to color in. They were in fact colored in by some youthful hands. Now I find a copy whose spine has given way but whose pictures are uncolored. But this copy contains six of the (probably) eight original handkerchiefs pinned into the booklet! Those missing are "Don Dog" and "Waffles and Countess." Neither copy seems to have a first coloring-page for "Mike," one of the handkerchiefs here. As the seller noted, "the hankies are in great condition and have no distinguishing damage other than some slight color variation/facing and/or creasing due to age." In fact, the handkerchiefs present a fine color version of the coloring book design I admired in that copy. As I mentioned then, the booklet fits with the "Aesop's Fables" pins I have found and with versions of the cartoons associated with this Van Beuren series. Click on a small image below to get a view of the book open to a picture of the "Fables Gang" flying to school on an airplane, of Mike picnicking, or of Countess serving cakes and tea. Click on the book's title above to find the book in the bibliography.
Patches
1983 Embroidered TH patch commemorating the L.A.W. Metric Century Bicycle event in 1983. 3" square. $7.51 from John and Deb Brodahl, Greensburg, PA, through Ebay, Jan., '02.
Here is another first for this collection. I do not know what the "L.A.W." stands for, and I did not know that they had a bicycle race to promote the metrical system, but symbols like TH get around!
Pendants
1950? Pendant 1½" in diameter illustrating WL by Jean de La Fontaine. Artist: Jean Vernon. $20 from an unknown source, July, '16.
This heavy pendant is identical with and perhaps created from WL in the set of 1½" medallions by Vernon. There is nothing on the verso. The pendant, like the medallion, gives not only the title but the moral of this fable. Who wears a pendant showing a scene like this?
Scarves
1980? TH silk scarf. "Echo." 31" square. Where and when?
This large scarf presents a challenge not only to its photographer but to any other viewer, since its three quarters of its lines appear upside-down and 90 degrees from horizontal. I suppose that makes little difference, when a scarf adorns one's neck and is tied in various ways. Click on either image to see more detail.
1990? TH silk scarf. Made in Italy. 11½" x 56". Where and when?
The tortoise and hare can be very hard to make out. I offer an enlarged detail below. Is a scarf this long and narrow usual?
2000? French silk scarf about 33½” square depicting Aesop’s fables with English language quotations around each of nine images. $60 from GravityGoods, Aumsville, OR, through Ebay, August, ’21.
It is surprising to find a French scarf representing Aesop, since La Fontaine is so widely known and loved in France. This sheer scarf surprises also by its size. It has fun with the stories and their images! Click on any portion to see it enlarged.
Ties
1995? Brooks Brothers tie with a fox holding grapes in his mouth. 65% silk, 35% polyester. Woven in England. $9.95 from rseal63441 through Ebay, May, '01.
Many tiny gold foxes carry red grapes in their mouths against a taupe background on this foulard tie. Click on either image to see an enlarged version.
2020 FG tie created by Custom Cravatieur, gift of Anna Sniezek. Nov., '20.
This wonderfully thoughtful gift comes from a student whom I had taught twice. I also served as "talent" in a major psychology project. A little research found the makers on Etsy. I would not be surprised if this was truly a "custom cravat." What a wonderful gift!
T-Shirts
1990 Long-sleeved black "Aesop Lives" t-shirt, with a gray fox. Gift of the Ehrle family, Christmas, '90.
2018 Long-sleeved t-shirt featuring "Everyone wants to steal your cheese" with images of a fox and crow. $27.99 from Amazon, Oct., '18.
The crow in this fable does not really ride the back of the fox, but it is nonetheless wonderful to see the fable's wise lesson take hold broadly in our present culture. Well, maybe not everyone does!
2019 T-shirt with Harrison Weir's illustration of TH and "Aesop's Fables The Tortoise and the Hare." Gift. Christmas, 2018.
What a treat to see an old classic illustration like this still alive land well! The bunny sleeps as the turtle trudges
2020 T-shirt featuring "Quid rides? De te fabula narratur" from Horace. Short sleeves. $22.99 from Goathead Tees, Brown City, MI, through Etsy.
This has been a favorite line of mine from Horace's Satire I 1, verse 69. He has just been retelling the story of Tantalus as part of his satirical attack on people's wayward desires. "Why do you laugh? Just change the name and the story is about you!"
2023 "Mr. Fables" T-shirt. $15 from GRRetroStore on Etsy, March, '23.
The seller quotes "People like Mr. Fables- People like yoooou!" Mr. Fables was a chain of cafeteria-style family restaurants located throughout Western Michigan. If you grew up around the area you probably have rosy memories of their huge onion rings and awesome Mr. Fabulous burgers with their "secret recipes." Alas, they fell victim to the national chains and the last of them vanished in the late 90s." I thought the composite photo on Etsy also too good to miss!
2023 T-shirt with image and lines from "The Scorpion and the Frog." $17.44 from strtwr at redbubble.com, Nov., '23.
This shirt image represents a surprising choice. Most people do not know this fable of a frog who offers a ride to a scorpion. The scorpion stings and kills him along the way. "Why?" the dying frog asks. "Because I am a scorpion!" It is typical fable wisdom: learn or get destroyed; or never trust a killer. This design-artist adds "Laugh out loud!" and "In my arrogant opinion."