1890? An octagonal plate almost 10" in diameter with a 7¼" gray-and-white circular design at its center presenting TT. The back of the plate shows two registry marks and a crown through a circle surrounding a coat of arms with "BWM & Co" across it and "Fables" underneath it. Above it is "Cauldon, England." Hanley, Staffordshire: Brown-Westhead, Moore and Company. $65 from Debra Johnson, Rock Hill, SC, through eBay, May, '06.
There are no chips in this substantial plate. The design, showing the moment just before lift-off, is repeated elsewhere in Brown-Westhead, Moore and Company productions. The design spills over nicely into the ridge connecting the center of this plate with its rim. The specific color here seems to me to be a combination of gray, brown, and black.
2005 An Aesop Adventure. For use with a booklet of the same name, featuring "Fables, Songs and Activities for the Elementary Classroom." By Cristi Cary Miller and Sally Raymond. Hal Leonard Corporation.
Here are lively musical tracks, both vocal and purely instrumental, to accompany each of the booklet's eight fables. For example, the song for "The Farmer and the Stork" stresses that bad company will hurt a person. FG gets the repeated refrain "Hey, what do you say? He didn't want it anyway." This music is certainly upbeat! The purely instrumental version of each would allow the students to sing to musical accompaniment. The musical titles, listed on the CD, help communicate these lessons well. "Nobody Believes a Liar" and "One Step at a Time" are good examples. At first I listened to this disc without reference to its booklet and without seeing these titles, and I sometimes had to wonder which fable might be involved.
Here is a delightful set of cards. They use fables to offer an initial description of romantic moments, apparently always between soldiers-in-uniform and beautifully dressed young women. Then there is a little poem to advise the participants in the fable's scene. If I read these poems correctly, they at least sometimes urge maidens to gather rosebuds while they may.
1980? Eight Amora mustard jars. Usable as drinking glasses. Amora: Le Moutarde de Dijon."
The yellow of the mustard would have brought out the color of at least most of these jars. Amora pushed this series, following up with blotters and dust jackets.
1950? Amora. La Moutarde de Dijon dans son Verre Décoré "La Fontaine." Buvard and Buvard "EFGÉ." 5¼" x 8¼". Opéra Publicité. $5 each for two blotters from Mme Denise Debuigne, Rennes, France, Feb., '02. One extra blotter from the same source, August, '09.
These are among the most colorful blotters I have received. Apparently the glass jar containing Amora mustard is decorated with characters from La Fontaine's fables. One recognizes, e.g., TT on the glass pictured at the forefront of one of the blotters here. Many other characters from the fables appear on the rest of this blotter: tortoise and hare; fox surrounded by crow, grapes, and goat; wolf and lamb; deer, dove, frog, fish, beetle, snail, rat, and butterfly--with a nice bust of La Fontaine in their midst. And the other blotter shows the variety of glasses offered showing various characters from La Fontaine's fables. Might I find the whole set somewhere?
1963 Postcard "Jean de La Fontaine, Amicale Philatelique Chateau-Thierry, "Le Chat, la Belette et le Petit Lapin." The cancellation gives the dates of June 22-23, 1963. The stamp is a French stamp worth 55 centimes. $3 from Topical Paradise, May '12.
The same cancellation is used on the back of the card. I am not used to seeing stamps on both sides of a postcard. I wonder if such celebrations were the start of what became the "Fetes Jean de La Fontaine" at Chateau-Thierry. The image on the card, signed by the artist, R. Munier, shows the weasel and the rabbit before the much larger and very malevolent cat.
1990? Matchbook advertising "Aesops: Riverside's Finest." Unknown source
This matchbook features an image of a fox looking up at Aesop, who holds a staff. The restaurant advertises itself as "Riverside's Finest." A quick check in Google seems to indicate that this restaurant, however fabulous it was, no longer exists.
1840? Alphabet plate. "Aesop's Fables: The Shepherd's Boy." 5" in diameter. $29.99 Canadian from Brian Howell, Rothesay, NB, Canada through Ebay, July, '19.
Three features of this plate are remarkable. First, it is to me unclear whether the fable being pictured here is, as I suspect, BW. A wolf is making off with a sheep as a young shepherd pursues him with a staff. Secondly, this is a smaller plate than other alphabet plates I have seen – and the other alphabet plates in this collection. Thirdly, I have learned that alphabet plates were often given to a family upon the birth of a child. That custom fits with the message written on the verso of this plate: ""Grandma Talin's (?) when she was little. Nov 24, 1842 – June 10, 1924." Thank you to whoever wrote that helpful bit of history!
1890? 5 colored French cards, with golden sky and block letters, picturing scenes from La Fontaine's fables. Just under 2¾" x just under 4". One card ("Le Loup, la Mère et l'Enfant") was printed by "Alph. Barbotte, 23, rue de Cherche-Midi, Paris." For an average of 50 Francs each from Bertrand Cocq, Calonne-Ricouart, France, March, '01, and Annick Tilly, Clignancourt, August, '01.
These five cards all have a gold background, whether sky or wall in the individual scene. On CJ the gold has deteriorated. Two (CJ and TB) have a stamp on the picture advertising Chocolat Poulain (see my Chocolat Poulain Orange cards). The images belong to a series that appear in this collection in several places: Maison Salmon, Alcide Picard, and Verger-Haquet. The most animated and engaging of the scenes here may be that of the mother stealing her child away from the wolf, while the father prepares to shoot the animal. The backs of these cards are quite varied. TB and CJ are again alike in presenting only the fable's text, though in different formatting. TB's formatting fits with that of " L'Ours et l'Amateur des Jardin," and here again only the fable's text is offered. "Le Vieillard et les trois jeunes Hommes" has a blank verso. "Le Loup, la Mère et l'Enfant" presents a page of advertising for J. Vigreux, a hosiery dealer in Amiens. The fables in this series thus include:
Here are thirty audio cassettes packaged with the booklets shown above. See the page of booklets and the page of workbooks packaged with each. Since the cassettes are uniform in their approach, I will give one description and then list the thirty specific cassettes.
The set of materials Won includes the twenty-eight page colored booklet, a monochrome workbook, and an audio cassette. There are thirty such sets in the series. I can remember being overwhelmed when I saw them all on the wall in Kyobo; there were dozens of little kids sitting nearby dutifully reading books. The workbook has a number of activities based upon the story. Some of those activities involve the cassette. Each tape has lively musical background and good sound effects. Its first side is all in English. It first reads through the text in the colored booklet, with various native-speaker voices, and then takes up a number of the activities described in the workbook. It tells the story again completely at the end of the tape. The reverse side of the tape seems to be in Korean with a few pronunciations and spellings in English. The tapes follow the book exactly as their script. I have tried only Tapes 3 and 5 as tests.
2000 The Country Mouse and the City Mouse Work-Book. Retold by Kang Yoon-Chung. Illustrated by Kim Bok-Tae. Paperbound. Seoul: The Aesop's Fables for Children 1: Tyranno English Program: Alific Language Plus.
2000 The Fox and the Goat Work-Book. Retold by Kang Yoon-Chung. Illustrated by Lee Han-Joong. Paperbound. Seoul: The Aesop's Fables for Children 2: Tyranno English Program: Alific Language Plus.
2000 The Flying Turtle Work-Book. Retold by Kang Yoon-Chung. Illustrated by Kim Chun-Jung. Paperbound. Seoul: The Aesop's Fables for Children 3: Tyranno English Program: Alific Language Plus.
2000 The Fox and the Crane Work-Book. Retold by Kang Yoon-Chung. Illustrated by Kim Bak. Paperbound. Seoul: The Aesop's Fables for Children 4: Tyranno English Program: Alific Language Plus.
2000 The Foolish Donkey Work-Book. Retold by Kang Yoon-Chung. Illustrated by Kim Chun-Jung. Paperbound. Seoul: The Aesop's Fables for Children 5: Tyranno English Program: Alific Language Plus.
2000 The Goose with the Golden Eggs Work-Book. Retold by Kang Yoon-Chung. Illustrated by Kim Min-Jung. Paperbound. Seoul: The Aesop's Fables for Children 6: Tyranno English Program: Alific Language Plus.
2000 The Grasshopper and the Ants Work-Book. Retold by Kang Yoon-Chung. Illustrated by Lee Han-Joong. Paperbound. Seoul: The Aesop's Fables for Children 7: Tyranno English Program: Alific Language Plus.
2000 The Wind and the Sun Work-Book. Retold by Kang Yoon-Chung. Illustrated by Kim Bok-Tae. Paperbound. Seoul: The Aesop's Fables for Children 8: Tyranno English Program: Alific Language Plus.
2000 The Lion in Love Work-Book. Retold by Kang Yoon-Chung. Illustrated by Kim Bak. Paperbound. Seoul: The Aesop's Fables for Children 9: Tyranno English Program: Alific Language Plus.
2000 The Shepherd Boy and the Wolf Work-Book. Retold by Kang Yoon-Chung. Illustrated by Kim Chun-Jung. Paperbound. Seoul: The Aesop's Fables for Children 10: Tyranno English Program: Alific Language Plus.
2000 The Monkey King Work-Book. Retold by Kang Yoon-Chung. Illustrated by Kim Bak. Paperbound. Seoul: The Aesop's Fables for Children 11: Tyranno English Program: Alific Language Plus.
2000 The Old Lion Work-Book. Retold by Kang Yoon-Chung. Illustrated by Kim Min-Jung. Paperbound. Seoul: The Aesop's Fables for Children 12: Tyranno English Program: Alific Language Plus.
2000 The Lion and the Mouse Work-Book. Retold by Kang Yoon-Chung. Illustrated by Kim Min-Jung. Paperbound. Seoul: The Aesop's Fables for Children 13: Tyranno English Program: Alific Language Plus.
2000 The Father, His Son, and Their Donkey Work-Book. Retold by Kang Yoon-Chung. Illustrated by Lee Han-Joong. Paperbound. Seoul: The Aesop's Fables for Children 14: Tyranno English Program: Alific Language Plus.
2000 The Wolf and the House Dog Work-Book. Retold by Kang Yoon-Chung. Illustrated by Kim Bok-Tae. Paperbound. Seoul: The Aesop's Fables for Children 15: Tyranno English Program: Alific Language Plus.
2000 Belling the Cat Work-Book. Retold by Kang Yoon-Chung. Illustrated by Kim Bok-Tae. Paperbound. Seoul: The Aesop's Fables for Children 16: Tyranno English Program: Alific Language Plus.
2000 The Bear's Whisper Work-Book. Retold by Kang Yoon-Chung. Illustrated by Lee Han-Joong. Paperbound. Seoul: The Aesop's Fables for Children 17: Tyranno English Program: Alific Language Plus.
2000 The Fashionable Crow Work-Book. Retold by Kang Yoon-Chung. Illustrated by Kim Chun-Jung. Paperbound. Seoul: The Aesop's Fables for Children 18: Tyranno English Program: Alific Language Plus.
2000 The Golden Ax Work-Book. Retold by Kang Yoon-Chung. Illustrated by Kim Bak. Paperbound. Seoul: The Aesop's Fables for Children 19: Tyranno English Program: Alific Language Plus.
2000 The Frog and the Ox Work-Book. Retold by Kang Yoon-Chung. Illustrated by Kim Chun-Jung. Paperbound. Seoul: The Aesop's Fables for Children 20: Tyranno English Program: Alific Language Plus.
2000 The Son and His Mother Work-Book. Retold by Kang Yoon-Chung. Illustrated by Lee Woo-Bum. Paperbound. Seoul: The Aesop's Fables for Children 21: Tyranno English Program: Alific Language Plus.
2000 The Farmer and the Eagle Work-Book. Retold by Kang Yoon-Chung. Illustrated by Lee Han-Joong. Paperbound. Seoul: The Aesop's Fables for Children 22: Tyranno English Program: Alific Language Plus.
2000 The Frog and the Mouse Work-Book. Retold by Kang Yoon-Chung. Illustrated by Kim Bok-Tae. Paperbound. Seoul: The Aesop's Fables for Children 23: Tyranno English Program: Alific Language Plus.
2000 The Mosquito and the Lion Work-Book. Retold by Kang Yoon-Chung. Illustrated by Kim Bak. Paperbound. Seoul: The Aesop's Fables for Children 24: Tyranno English Program: Alific Language Plus.
2000 The Rabbit and the Tortoise Work-Book. Retold by Kang Yoon-Chung. Illustrated by Kim Chun-Jung. Paperbound. Seoul: The Aesop's Fables for Children 25: Tyranno English Program: Alific Language Plus.
2000 The Donkey in the Lion's Skin Work-Book. Retold by Kang Yoon-Chung. Illustrated by Kim Bak. Paperbound. Seoul: The Aesop's Fables for Children 26: Tyranno English Program: Alific Language Plus.
2000 The Farmer and His Sons Work-Book. Retold by Kang Yoon-Chung. Illustrated by Lee Woo-Bum. Paperbound. Seoul: The Aesop's Fables for Children 27: Tyranno English Program: Alific Language Plus.
2000 The Dog and His Shadow Work-Book. Retold by Kang Yoon-Chung. Illustrated by Lee Woo-Bum. Paperbound. Seoul: The Aesop's Fables for Children 28: Tyranno English Program: Alific Language Plus.
2000 The Lion and the Deer Work-Book. Retold by Kang Yoon-Chung. Illustrated by Lee Han-Joong. Paperbound. Seoul: The Aesop's Fables for Children 29: Tyranno English Program: Alific Language Plus.
2000 The Wolf and the Crane Work-Book. Retold by Kang Yoon-Chung. Illustrated by Kim Bok-Tae. Paperbound. Seoul: The Aesop's Fables for Children 30: Tyranno English Program: Alific Language Plus.
1890? Four cards displaying The Alden Fruit Vinegar in scenes at least sometimes reminiscent of fables. Each colored picture has the notation "Bufford, Boston & New York" in the lower left corner. All four advertise The Alden Fruit Vinegar at further length on the back; three further advertise John Dykstra Dry Goods, Pella, Iowa, while the fourth advertises Beecher & Peek Groceries, Allegan, Michigan. $2 or $3 each either in Sacramento, Dec., '96, or Foster City, Feb., '97.
1956? Alcoa Aluminum advertisement “The Goose that made an Asp of itself: A Pilferproof Fable.” 2.7” x 10.9”. No date. Unknown source.
This advertisement for Alcoa Pilferproof Closures features a fable about a goose attempting in vain to secretly open a bottle of Glenmore whiskey. The "Pilferproof Fable" illustrates the security of Alcoa's closures, which prevent tampering. The moral emphasizes that only a "silly goose" would try to secretly open a Pilferproof Closure, the slotted band holding the cap securely on a bottle. A quick search finds two other such Alcoa ads on the web.
1956 Alcoa advertisement: “If you remember, the moral of all these fables was the same.” 8.5” x 11.5”. Unknown source.
The message in all five “fables” is “You can’t open an Alcoa Pilferpoof Closure secretly.” Eight different liquor bottles are displayed to help make the point. The fables themselves are, I would say, intentionally ridiculous.
1930 9 trade cards produced by Alcide Picard or Alcide Picard & fils, Paris. 2¾" x 4⅛".
Several of these designs appear on papers and cards listed under "Leopold Verger-Chicoree Haquet" and, among chocolate and chicoree cards, "Maison Salmon." And two listed there actually are identical cards with this set. Bertrand describes them as "Babotte," but I can see indications only of Picard. It is true that our collection includes several cards from "Alph. Babotte," and the images are those of this group. One of my favorite Paris used bookshops is Librairie Picard. I wonder if there might be some connection. The verso in each card is given only to the text of La Fontaine. There is no further advertising
1950? Series of 12 Aesop's Fables. Five blotters 3¾" x 7⅝" including the text "One of a Series of 12 Aesop's Fables." Albemarle Verigood Blotting. All five advertise the Seaman-Patrick Paper Company in Detroit.
Here is a curiosity: the designs on these blotters include the same images and texts as the parallel set from the same firm, but they have a different size and structure, as can be seen by comparing the two examples on the more general Albemarle page. These blotters predate the area-code era of telephone calling. Now I need to hunt for the other seven in this set! As I mentioned in regard to the other set, these blotters present good evidence that Aesop shows up anywhere and everywhere. Notice the effect of using two colors on blotters like BF and "The Fox and the Ass."
1950? Series of 12 Aesop's Fables. Two blotters 3½" x 5 7/8" including the text "One of a Series of 12 Aesop's Fables." TH, a sample of Albemarle Verigood Blotting, from Bermingham & Prosser Company, Paper Merchants, Kansas City, Missouri. $3 from Connie Burtis, Sedalia, MO, through Ebay, Feb., '01. CP, a sample of Albemarle Halftone Blotting, from John C. Streibich Company, Peoria 2, Illinois. $1 from Joel Cotton, West Monroe, LA, through Ebay, Dec., '00. Three blotters -- CP, "Horse and Stag," and "Bald Knight" -- from Shaugnessy-Kniep-Hawe Paper Company, St. Louis, for $4.95 each Roberta Bull, Murphy, NC, through eBay, Feb., 08.
Here is simply more evidence that Aesop shows up anywhere and everywhere. Of course, the fact that I have found four of the twelve blotters in this series means that I have to look for another ten!
