Desktop Items
There are some elegant items that have been fashioned to grace a desktop and remind the person sitting at the desk of fables. They fall into these categories:
Bookmarks
1937? Paper bookmark "Äsop" from Olleschau, "Das Beste von Allem!" Lesezeichen Nr. 601. With verso offering information on his life and work. 5½" x 2¼". €9 from Bartko-Reher, July, '21.
My, a collection of over 600 bookmarks! Olleschau seems to have been a producer of cigarette papers. This series was published apparently between 1936 and 1938. I have guessed therefore at a date of 1937. What a strange thing to find! Aesop gets around!
1980 A turtle jogger bookmark with the saying "Go for it!" Antioch Bookplate Co.
There is no hare here, but even the number given to this runner (2) suggests a head-to-head competition.
1992 Embroidered cloth bookmark by Sheila Janofsky, featuring grapes on an arbor and the saying: "If the fox had a good book to read..."
Sheila's work is an excellent example of the wonderful things I have received from students during and after fable courses. Might Sheila someday visit this site and find her work?
2019 Bookmarks of Erlesenes Bookshop in Vienna. Three bookmarks, gifts of Erlesenes, August, '19.
Visiting this bookshop was one of the most refreshing of my fable-seeking adventures. I noticed online an unusual volume that they were offering: "A Bölcs Esopusnak" in Hungarian from 1943. I found their bookshop -- it was not easy -- and was immediately struck by the FG symbol at the doorway. This bookshop is a search for the exquisite grapes of literature! Their advertising is consistent with their brand, and so I have a business card as well as these three bookmarks. There is also an incident connected with my visit there. The manager could not find the book and at last remembered that it might be in the "Lager," since she had worked on the volume. She found it! Victory! The exquisite possessed!
2020? Page mark with illustration of FC. $14.98 from La Fee Bulleuse, Besancon, France, through Ebay, Dec., '20.
Fine work typical of Etsy craftspersons. This is our first bookmark with a cabochon!
Clocks
1992 Itty-Bitty TH time clock. 3½" wide and 2½" high. Battery operated. United Design Corp. $5 from Ben Huey, McAlester, OK, through Ebay, Nov., '00.
The tortoise and the hare flank the face of the timepiece. One battery seems to last a very long time.
Letter Openers
1910? Bronze (?) letter opener 12" long with a maximum width of almost 1½". The handle is a fox; on the blade are the grapes which the fox seeks. $49.99 from Dyan Wilder-McClure, Newport, OR, through Ebay, Dec., '99.
Exquisite metal work! The fox fits the hand perfectly. Dyan comments correctly that this heavy piece is more like a dagger than a letter opener. The fox seems to be clutching the vine as he tries to climb up toward the grapes. I had never seen something like this! A great find! It will be hard to stop using it on my desk.
Medallions
I have found three series of medallions and some individual pieces.
Jean Vernon 2½ inch
I have found two sets of Jean Vernon medallions, 2½" and 1½" in diameter. They come from a variety of sources and tended to range between $30 and $75 apiece.
For the 2½" medallions, two sources have been John Wiersma in Holland in Sept., '03, and Frances Trachtenberg, Massapequa Park, NY, March, '04.
The workmanship on these medallions is outstanding! The Wiersma medallions have notifications on the verso: "Crepsa - 1950 - I: Dr. M. Van de Wyer"; "Crepsa - 1952 - 2 C. Tr. - I: Le Dr. M. Van de Wyer"; and "Crepsa - 1952 - C.D. Tr. Eprs - I: Le Dr. M. Van de Wyer." Otherwise the verso tends to be blank. From what I gather on the web, our collection is missing only FG in the 2½" medallions.
Jean Vernon 1½ inch
1950? Five bronze medallions depicting fables of La Fontaine. Artist: Jean Vernon. Nothing on the verso. Three came for $31 or $32 each from James Johnson, Tucker, GA, through eBay, August, '05. Two-sided medallion of La Fontaine and his muse for $25 from numest, Talinn, Estonia, through Ebay, August, '21. "Fox and Goat in the Well" for $4.99 from T. Lantz, Isle of Palms, SC, through Ebay, May, '22.
These smaller medallions are in exactly the same style as the 2½" variety. The fiveI have are FC, FG, FS, GA, and WL. FG has something other than the title of the fable and the artist's name: "Ils sont trop verts et bons pour les goujats." Similarly, WL has the opening lines of its fable, and GA the closing line of its. The workmanship is excellent. I continue to pursue the question of whether some medallions were cast only in the smaller format and others only in the larger--or whether there were two complete sets, and how large they were. Are there more out there? I will give the "La Fontaine" medallion its own row, to show both faces.
Charles Virion
1980? Two 2 1/2" medallions by Charles Virion of La Fontaine fables. "The Cat, the Weasel and the Hare" and "The Animals in the Plague." The latter for $60 from herefordius through Ebay, August, '20.
These medallions are very similar in format to the large series done by Jean Vernon. One notices the different artist immediately. These two are the only members of the series that I have found online.
Other Individual Medallions
1960? Bronze medallion of "Le Lion et le Rat," signed by Alber(t) de Jaeger. Slightly over 2¼" diameter. The title of the fable is above an illustration of the netted lion, below which are the first two lines of the poem. The verso contains the fable from lines 5 through the end, with the second moral around the rim of the verso. $20 from numispechincha through Ebay, April 18.
I am surprised not to find this heavy medallion represented somewhere on the web. I feel like I have looked at hundreds of de Jaeger medallions, but not one representation of this one. The stylization of the net as absolutely symmetrical is perhaps the most unusual feature of this medallion. I wonder if it might be rare! Do not miss the tiny rat at work in the upper left corner of the net. Reading the tight presentation of the fable text on the verso is difficult! Might the medallion have come from some series?
1990? Gray medallion of Ivan Krylov as in his famous statue in St. Petersburg. Porcelain? Verso with symbols including a dramatic mask, a lyre, a laurel wreath, and text. $20 from an unknown source, Sept., '18.
The writing on the back includes "I. A. Krylov"; "Sculptor (Peter) Crodt"; and "Leningrad." Other elements seem to include something like "Lamjatnik" and "B. Detnem Sady." Sorry not to comprehend or even transliterate those better! Use of "Leningrad" rather than "St. Petersburg" puts the medallion before 1991, when the name was officially changed to "St. Petersburg." I have sought in vain to find a comparable piece on the web.
Mousepads
2008? Mousepad quoting Aesop: "We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office." $.99 from books4uandotherstuff, Albuquerque, NM, through eBay, Oct., '08.
I quote the eBay blurb: "This 9.25" x 7.75" rectangular mousepad is made of a durable heat-resistant polyester fabric top, will keep your mouse rolling in style. Backed with a neoprene rubber non-slip backing, keeps the mousepad from sliding. The mousepad is 1/8" thick. It will not discolor or fade, machine washable."
Paperweights
1990? Sabino "The Frog and the Ox" opalescent figurine paperweight. 4½" long, slightly less than 1½" high, and less than 1" wide in its base. Mint. Signed. Original box. Paris: Sabino. $60 from R.T. and Carol Brower, Mountain Collectibles, Ridgway, CO, through Ebay, Nov., '99.
Though this work is beautiful for its milk-and-gold coloring, I do not catch the fun of the fable in it. Is there any suggestion of the frog's exploding? The two molded halves may be meant to present different scenes, but so far I can read only that the frog is whispering into the ox's ear. Nothing from the artist--not the work itself nor the box nor the enclosed brochure--identifies this scene as from an Aesopic fable, much less from this particular fable. The Sabino brochure says that his work exemplifies "Art Deco."
1998? Cast pewter paperweight "No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted. Aesop." 2" square. Made in USA. Vilmain + Klinger. $28 from Worldesigns Incorporated through Ebay, Feb., '01.
As the Ebay advertisement says, this solid cast pewter paperweight is elegant and handsome. It is also heavy! I presume that they found this proverbial moral attached to LM.