Household Items
So far I have found several kinds of household items:
- Bottles
- Candlesticks
- Champagne Muselet Caps
- Christmas Tree Light Covers
- Clothes Hooks
- Coasters
- Cookie Jars
- Gift Tags
- Hangers
- Jewelry Dishes
- Keychains
- Lamp Bases
- Pillows
- Pillow Covers
- Refrigerator Magnets
- Rugs
- Scissors
- Scrap Book Albums
- Sugar Cubes
- Sun Catchers
- Thimbles
- Toothbrushes
- Tote Bags
- Towels
- Trivets
- Wallpaper
- Weathervanes
Bottles
1950? Thermos picturing TH. $2 from Sara B. Jones, Sarasota, FL, through Ebay, Sept., '00.
Pink rims at the top and bottom frame a white-background picture of the tortoise crossing the finish-line while a blue bunny runs to catch up. What will I find next?!
1999 Tortoise and Hare baby's bottle. Nine-ounce, boilable, plastic, with a pure latex nipple. Oyster Bay, NY: Baby's 'n Things. With a matching bib $4 from C-N-C Treasures through Ebay, Jan., '01.
This bottle came with one exemplar of a cotton bib for children and features a similar design. On the bottle's design the hare not only sleeps in the middle of the road, but he blocks the way for anyone going by. I never would have thought that a fable-related baby bottle exists! Click on the image to see it enlarged.
Candlesticks
1970? Pillar candlestick based on Krylov's fable "Quartet." 9" high. $35 from svetlykms through Ebay, May, '22.
This is a substantial candlestick. It may be the first in our collection. The fable is a great one to put onto a pillar. The four "musicians" keep blaming their positions for their poor music. They do not recognize the real reason they are poor musicians!
Champagne Muselet Caps
1980? Nine champagne muselet caps from Veuve Cheurlin, picturing each a fable of La Fontaine. $35 for the set of nine from Bertrand Cocq, Calonne-Ricouart, France, Sept., ‘20
Now here is something new – and a new group of collectors, known in France as “placomusophiles.” A muselet is the wire cage that fits over the cork of a bottle of champagne, sparking wine, or beer. The quality of illustration here in a small curved surface is quite high!
2021 Capsules de champagne “Fables de La Fontaine.” Série Générique. Six champagne muselets picturing fables and Jean de La Fontaine. €2 from jeremyd8891 on Ebay, July, ’21.
Here is our third set of muselets. This series seems tied not to a particular vineyard but to the territory of Champagne.
2021 Capsules de champagne “Fables de La Fontaine.” Série Générique. Six champagne muselets picturing fables and Jean de La Fontaine. €2 from jeremyd8891 on Ebay, July, ’21.
Here is our third set of muselets. This series seems tied not to a particular vineyard but to the territory of Champagne.
Christmas Tree Light Cover
1950? TH Noma Christmas Tree Light Cover. $9.99 from Marilyn Waters, Portland, OR, through eBay, April, '03.
Wow! Who would have thought it! Here is a plastic cone-like Christmas light cover shaped to fit a Noma candle. I cannot do better than to offer the seller's eBay description: "It is a white plastic, with a decal on it of the tortoise and the hare. The tortoise is actually pushing a huge snowball behind the hare, who's running like crazy! The decal is marked Noma and Walt Disney Enterprises, and is in amazingly great shape! The height of the cover is 1⅝" and the bottom diameter is 1½"." This has to be one of the more unexpected items in this whole collection!
Clothes Hooks
1980? Three pair of brass wall hooks showing the fox looking down into the stork's vase. His raised tail forms the hook protruding more than an inch from the metal fixture. 3¼" x 4¼" high. Through Ebay. Further particulars seem lost!
Here is another great example of Aesop showing up in unexpected places. How many people know what a fox is doing looking down into a vase? Click on the image to see it enlarged.
Coasters
Establishing this category has raised an issue and a memory for me as I open it in July, 2020. The memory is this: long ago I bid on and won a set of IBM fable coasters but never received them. I truly believe that the seller died sometime during the auction. I have kept my eye peeled for IBM fable coasters but never found them! The issue is this: do coasters belong as "tableware" or "household objects"? I have opted for the latter, now that I have found a lovely set of coasters to include in the collection.
1980? Two each of two Nutella "visiomatic" coasters presenting one of La Fontaine's fables, specifically TH and FC. 1½" square. €15.80 for the group of four from eugtara-20 on Ebay, Feb., '23.
First, I am unsure if these are really coasters. I am not sure what their other use would be. Secondly, the verso says that this is a series of 6 fables. I would love to find the other four! Thirdly, it is hard to show the character of these "visiomatic" scenes, especially because, in these instances, the makers are not completely successful in bringing the whole scope of movement into the normal visual field. Adjusting the angle of vision from up to down reveals the whole scene, for example, of the cheese moving from the crow's beak to the fox's mouth, who eagerly consumes the cheese. Similarly, the tortoise passes by the hare while he is awake, but soon reaches the goal while he sleeps and then awakes with a start. After several attempts, I will here show, quite imperfectly, what the "before" and "after" of each is like in a still photograph. These are better seen in action!
2020 Three ceramic coasters showing three scenes from Walter Crane's Aesop's Fables. Almost 4" square. $29 from The Painted Lily through Etsy, June, '20.
How nice to see someone picking up Crane's beautiful work! And dealing with Etsy is so personal! These are well done!
Cookie Jars
1960? Tortoise and Hare Cookie Jar. 12" x 11" x 8". $30 from Jody Seibert, Baltimore, MD, through Ebay, April, '00.
My first fable cookie jar! The plodding turtle carries the hare--complete with carrot--on his back! Now where in the world would something like this have come from?
1960? Tortoise and Hare Cookie Jar. 12" x 13" x 8". Marcia Ceramics. $19.99 from Mark and Rhonda Cohen, Walton, OR, through Ebay, June, '00.
The base of this cookie jar is exactly the same as that in the first jar I had found. But here the tortoise on the jar cover is entirely different in conception. He holds up cookies that he is eating, apparently while he lounges on the roadside. Marcia Ceramics of California was established in 1942. The sellers found an ID mark "9.USA" but I have not been able to locate it. Click on the image to see an enlargement.
Gift Tags
2010? Set of 12 gift tags featuring Arthur Rackham's colored illustration for CW. Unknown source and price.
Some years later, this item remains a mystery for me. 1 3/4" x 2 3/4" with a hole for a ribbon, these slick reproductions of CW come in their own little mesh bag with gold ribbons ready for tying them to a gift. One can imagine what CW has to do with gift giving -- or, even more, what this image suggests to a gift's recipient! I could not find anything similar on the web and wonder where I ever found this unusual set of objects!
Hangers
1939? Crow and Pitcher Flower-Pot-Hanger. Wooden, four pieces, painted crème and black. 12" x 10½" x 3". Liberty, Maine: Liberty Giftcrafters. $25 from The Maine Emporium, Bowdoinham, ME, through Ebay, Feb., '00.
Now here is something of whose existence I was simply unaware! A slightly torn slip pasted to the wall side describes this, apparently, as "Crow & Pitcher Flower Vasette for Decorative Hanging Plants & Cut Flowers and Artificial Flowers. Copyright 1939 by Liberty Giftcrafters." There is then a picture of the crow and pitcher above the "Legend of the Crow & Pitcher from Aesop's Fables." The text used here does not come from any version I recognize. Maine Emporium describes it as vintage folk art.
Jewelry Dishes
2000? "Aesop's Fables -- The Fox and the Grapes" ring dish. 3½" in diameter. Pairipoint Glass Company, Sagamore, MA. One extra copy. $15. Source unknown.
I spent a great deal of time trying to photograph this exquisite little plate appropriately. My best efforts only approached revealing the deft image of the dapper fox walking under grapes. As I tried to ascertain where I got either exemplar, I searched on Ebay and found a far better image. It is the one you see here.
2015? Lion and Mouse Fable Tray: Jewelry Dish. Created by Carrie Walker Lesko. $18 from Bird and Bauble, Norwalk, CT, through Etsy, August, '18.
This 7" x 5" jewelry dish features a pleasant illustration of the lion freed from his net by the mouse in the foreground. The verso offers a title and a moral: "It isn't the size of the friend that counts. It's the size of the friendship." Lesko is "an artist in love with animals," as her website declares.
Keychains
1950? Keychain by Cronenbourg Beers CORSO FLEURI 65. The keychain contains a plastic triangle showing the fable La Fontaine “Le Corbeau & Le Renard.” The verso shows the brewery’s coat of arms, as established in 1664. €5 from Rougemaisonuser on Ebay, Nov., ’20.
Our first keychain!
1950? Keychain advertising Café Jean-Pierre and illustrating GA. 1¼" in diameter. €2.90 from Librairie_retrorepro through Ebay, Sept., '21.
Here is another surprising keychain. The colored circular picture echoes Grandville. We might wonder whether it was printed and how.
Lamp Bases
1880? Cast iron & brass oil lamp base. Each of four faces with a fable illustration. 15" diameter. £200 from lampman78 through Ebay, May, '23.
I found this heavy piece of artistry so unusual that I splurged and went after it. We are not much into lantern bases anymore! I am surprised at the inclusion of "Swan and Stork" among the fables pictured on the four faces. I presume that it is the story about the difference between looks and power: only one of these two birds can fly!
Pillows
2000? Pillow featuring a fox and four sets of grapes. 16" square. Unknown source and date of acquisition.
For me, the great feature of this lovely pillow is the fabric that makes up the body of the fox. Its red material has a floral pattern. The stitching establishing the fox's face is also excellent. I hope to discover where we found this. Might we even know its maker?
2020? Pillow cover with pillow material illustrating FC. Sharon Turner. 16" x 16". $17.75 from redbubble.com, Nov., '23.
This is ebullient art at its best! Only the crow is slightly understated, while everything else in the scene is richly developed! Well done!
Pillow Covers
1950? Embroidered Pillow Top of FC. 19" x 15". $30 from geodecsis through Ebay, May, '20.
As the seller notes, there is a yellow background layer that is only pinned at the moment to this delicate representation of FC. If it really was used as a pillow covering, the cords attaching the figures to each other must have been put under great strain! Aesop shows up in many places!
Rugs
1935? Tortoise and hare rug. 25½" x 58". $19.99 from PAW Enterprises, Monroe, MI, through Ebay, June, '00.
The rug pictures the hare showing off as a hitter while a female hare looks on. The tortoise is presumably pitching to the hare. The motif is vintage Disney, as checking The Tortoise and the Hare<//u> or Toby Tortoise and the Hare<//u> (both 1935) will show. The reverse side shows the attempt to repair a tear or hole near the center of the rug. I never thought I would be listing a rug in this catalogue! Click on either image for an enlargement.
Scissors
1900? Scissors with one serrated edge showing foxes straining upward for grapes on each handle. 5¾" long and 2" wide. $15.50 from Richard Smith, Jr., Oak Ridge, NJ, through Ebay, Sept., '00.
Am I correct in presuming that this is a grape scissors for cutting bunches of grapes from the larger bunch or vine? Is that silver plating that is tarnished? Click on the image to see it enlarged.
Scrap Book Albums
1885? Large Children's Scrap Book Album with FC cover.
So far, I have found one large (11¼" x 14") scrap book album with a golden, grape, and black cover depicting FC. It came with some nice old scraps inside. $25 from Tim Smith, Clinton, MA, through eBay, Sept., '00. Click on this smaller image to see a larger image.
Sugar Cubes
2007? Package of "Erstein Sucre enveloppé." Les Fables de La Fontaine. 192 packets of two sugar cubes, each packet wrapped in a paper illustrating a fable. I kilogram package, 5¾" x 4" x 3". Unknown source.
I remember marveling over this find. Our images may not be the best: we have wrapped the heavy cube in cellophane packaging to try to preserve it, even though that it means I have never seen the little packages. A little research shows that Erstein had this label copyrighted from 2004 to 2014. Why did I not find another brick when I could?! I find no reference to it on the web other than from the French copyright office. That copyright is #3298163.
Sun Catchers
2015 Sun Catcher Featuring TH. Chinese. Orcara. Unknown source.
It takes very little sunshine to get this tortoise to move his oversized head! According to web resources, Orcara is a Chinese toy manufacturer that produces a diverse range of high quality miniatures. This TH sun catcher seems no longer to be available. This bunny sleeps while the tortoise wobbles proudly on the victor's stand.
Thimbles
1970? Seven French sterling "Fables of La Fontaine" thimbles, likely produced by Lenain in the 1970's. Six for $360 from Industrial-Blonde, Houston, TX, through Ebay, May, '19. Bertrand (monkey) and Raton (cat) thimble for $52.51 from Alpha Gold Exchange, Baltimore, MD, through Ebay, Nov., '19.
I am delighted at last to get a group of fable thimbles. Thimbles appear from time to time on Ebay, but apparently there are so many thimble collectors that they drive the price up. I was happy to get these as a group: MM; WL; FS; TH; "The Wolf Turned Shepherd"; and "Two Pigeons." Photographing such small things proves to be a challenge! My sense is that these are imitations of the 1900 originals produced by Maison Lorillon. Photos on the web suggest that, while the Lorillon series may have been large – perhaps twenty? – the later Lenain series may have included only about eight Since "Red Riding Hood" is not a fable, the fable set here includes seven. A few months later, I was lucky to find the only one not found in that purchase, "Bertrand (monkey) and Raton (cat)." I believe that this completes the fable portion of the 1970's set. Comparison of the Lorillon and Lenain productions on the web suggests that the Lenain imitations, like these, follow the patterns of the Lorillon originals but are less distinct. Several of these have distinct Lenain signs (crossed L's that come out looking like an "X") and a size number, here '10.'
Thimble Wolf Turned Shepherd
Thimble Two Pigeons
Thimble Tortoise and Hare
Thimble Wolf and Lamb
Thimble Milkmaid
Thimble Fox and Stork
Thimble Bertrand and Raton
Toothbrushes
1980? Tortoise and Hare Toothbrushes. NY: Avon Products. Source and date unknown.
Who would have thought of it?! The two simple plastic toothbrushes match one another well. The tortoise gets a unicycle and the hare a carrot to fill out their brushes.
Tote Bags
2000? Tote bag from the Herzog August Bibliothek in Wolfenbüttel. DEM 5 from the library, July, '01.
The reproduction on this tote bag features the same image used on the cover of the library's publication Fabula Docet<//u>, namely the illustration for "The Wolves, Shepherds, and Dogs" in Ulrich Boner's Der Edelstein (1461). Click on the image to see an enlargement.
Towels
1990? Irish linen hand towel featuring the hare riding the tortoise across the finish line. 19" x 30". "Irish Linen, Made in Ireland" says one sticker, and another marking notes "Pure Irish Linen." Another marking reads "Dunmoy, Reg." $5.99 from Dawn Friesen, Coaldale, Alberta, Canada, through Ebay, Sept., '00.
In this whimsical version, the hare has become a jockey and is riding the tortoise instead of racing him. My, the things I never knew existed! Click on the image to see a larger version.
1990? French aluminum trivet portraying FC. 8" in diameter. 40 Francs from Nelly Skutecki, Monflanquin, France, through Ebay, Nov., '01.
Now, who would ever have thought that a fable would present the motif for a trivet?! I was surprised to see this "Dessous de plat alu" up for auction on Ebay, and very pleasantly surprised when I won it! There is even some nice detailing on the tree.
Wallpaper
1950? Aesop's Fable Wallpaper. Pink and white. Four rolls 22" wide. $60 from Charles Luther, Mohawk, NY, through Ebay, April, '00.
I never would have suspected that there is Aesopic wallpaper! The paper here features a repetition of two scenes from FS. In each of the scenes, one antagonist enjoys the food while the other looks on.
Click on the wallpaper to see the image enlarged.
Weathervanes
1990? Copper, brass, and wood weathervane artpiece. The rabbit is copper, 14" x 5½". The turtle is brass, 5" x 2½". They are mounted on a wooden peg, and the peg is mounted on a wooden base. A brass plate on the base is marked "Tortoise and the Hare, Aesop, Circa 600 B.C." $16.50 from Donna Peterson, Puta Gorda, FL, March, '01.
Here is a contender for the most surprising find in this collection! It is not really a weathervane, but an art-object after the fashion of a weathervane. Future critics should ponder why one piece is copper and the other brass. Click on the image to see an enlarged version.