2010? Aesop and Son DVD Video Disc. World Wide Unique Media. $6.99 from Joe Gibson, Meriden CT, through Ebay, Dec., '11. One extra copy for $6.99 from the same source, Feb., '14.
Good presentation of 23 of the "Aesop and Son" episodes. To my surprise, nothing similar is offered now in 2020 on the web. In fact, I had to purchase a whole set of "Rocky and Bullwinkle" to get the complete set of "Aesop and Son," which numbers some 39 episodes over five years. In this offering, I enjoyed stories parodying FS, BF, DS, and LM. The general pattern includes the wise-ass son actually telling the fable and then the father making up something different. The fable is regularly a springboard. There are many typical cartoon surprises. The dog needs to buy back his shadow. The fox only wanted to be accepted socially. The mouse becomes king, only to get "crowned" – hammered – by a female mouse. The crow with borrowed feathers gets rejected by both a female peacock and a female crow.
1960? Aesop & Son wall plaque. 8" x 11" sheer plastic.
I have enjoyed the "Aesop and Son" cartoons. I would never have expected to find an item like this. Click on the image to see an enlarged version.
1885 Advertising Stamp "Äsop, Langenscheidt’s Abriss der Geschichte der Antiken Literatur von Dr. Erwin Rex," Serie 9 (12 Bilder), Bild 11. €5 from Bartko-Reher, Feb., '25.
"Erwin Rex" is a pen-name for Paul Langenscheidt, son of a publisher and eventual founder of his own publishing house. This "stamp" with a full account of Aesop on its verso seems to be an advertisement for the volume "Langenscheidt's Abriss." Or is it part of an album that is somehow part of "Langenscheidt's Abriss"? My, the ephemeral left-behinds of civilization!
I have long sought after a copy of the 1962 Film "Three Fables of Love." Now I have found four advertising materials ranging from 12” x 19” to 8½" x 11". $9.99, August, '05.
This Franco-Italian production starred Leslie Caron, Rossano Brazzi, Monica Vitti, Sylva Koscina, Charles Aznavour, and Anna Karina. It was produced by Janus Films. It is described as “3 witty and wonderful tales of marriage and what comes before… and after!” The advertisements, describing how wonderful the movie is, seem meant for newspapers and motion picture theaters. My search for a copy of the film itself goes on…
I have found twelve cards done, perhaps in several different series, by Achille Mauzan. They are clever cards! Click on any card to see it enlarged and read a comment.
2000? Photograph of a section of an exhibit of Abraham Lincoln as a young man. Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, Springfield, IL. 8.5” x 11”. Unknown source.
I was delighted when I first saw this picture that Abe is holding a copy of Aesop’s fables. Good for you, Abe! I will show below a view of the whole scene from which this portion is selected.
1996? Two cards in a series of Jean de la Fontaine's fables. TMCM and FC. Abeille-Cartes. Paris: Editions Lyna. Postmarked from Fresnes en Woevre, Meuse, in October of 1996 and from Presles, Val d'Oise, in June of 1997, respectively. €1.50 apiece from Gérard Crucy at the Paris Post Card Exhibit, Jan., '05.
The verso of these two postcards presents a number (2244/1 and 2244/2, respectively), a title, and a boxed version of La Fontaine's fable text at the upper left. The lively images on the picture side of the card are heavy on pastels, flowers, dressed animals, and block-letter titles. In FC the rapidly falling cheese leaves a visible trail; a mouse in an open portion of the tree trunk holds his ears against the crow's bad music, while the fox laughs below. In TMCM, the country mouse offers a cheese wrapped with a bow to his coverall-clad friend in a rustic hammock. Both pictures seem devoted to making their fables cute.
1880? One ABC plate 7¼" in diameter. Various patterns encircle the alphabet displayed on the plate's rim. On its inner circle in capitals are "Æsop's Fables" above and "The Travellers and the Bear" below a pleasing design of a bear sniffing at the head of man on the ground while his mate climbs a nearby tree. $42.50 from Fletcher Art and Antiques, Warren, Maine, through eBay, Oct., '10.
There are three areas of green leaves on trees and an area of blue flowers on the ground. The absentee friend climbing the tree is also colored blue. Is it surprising that neither the bear nor the prostrate man has color? The bear suffers from the regular problem of having a human face imposed onto an animal frame. The word "Bear" in the title is clipped in its last two letters.
1900? One ABC plate 6¾" in diameter. The alphabet is embossed on the plate's rim. In its inner circle is a presentation of MSA in brown and white. A seal on the back of the plate is illegible except for its ending: "Sons, England." $55 from Sally Gilbert, Rochester, NY, through eBay, Sept., '02.
The plate presents the phase in this story in which both father and son ride on the ass. Clouds, trees, fields, rocks, and a path are visible. I am surprised that this motif would be taken up on a child's alphabet plate.
1880? One ABC plate 7⅜" in diameter. Various patterns encircle the alphabet displayed on the plate's rim. On its inner circle in capitals are "Æsop's Fables" above and "The Leopard and the Fox" below a simple design of a fox looking back at a leopard away from whom he walks. $15 from Robin Jorgensen, Greeley, Co, Sept., '10.
A curious feature of this ABC plate is that there are three areas of green leaves and an area of blue flowers, but otherwise there is no color. Neither animal has any color. The leopard suffers from the regular problem of having a human face imposed onto an animal frame.
1880? One ABC plate 8" in diameter. Various patterns encircle the alphabet displayed on the plate's rim. On its inner circle in capitals are "Æsop's Fables" above and "The Dog in the Manger." $19.99 from stepback-n-thyme through Ebay, Oct., '22.
The plate features a strong design of a steer coming through a barn door and finding an aggressive dog ready to defend his place on the hay. Green and brown coloring. There may have been a trademark on the verso. If so, it has been almost all rubbed off. There is one clear crack and one small chip.
1910? Complete set of 5 colored photographic postcards of the story of Perrette and the pot of milk. A&S editions #541. $60 from Bertrand Cocq, Calonne Ricouart, France, Sept., '18.
This is an unusual set in that it takes its own tangent off of La Fontaine's famous fable. As I understand the text, Perrette – first named in the fourth of five cards -- a "fermière, séduisante et coquette," is on her way to market with a large pot of milk on her head. On the way she dreams of a "corsage" that will be paid for by the milk she will sell. Alas, a false step destroys her charming projects! Perrette is weeping when a young, good looking man comes up and consoles her. As they sit close together in his wheelbarrow, she hears her heart tremor and follows a new dream of happiness. The cards do a good job of highlighting her pink apron and his blue-and-white striped shirt.
1890? 3 cards with a picture side showing a small animal scene and a larger parallel human scene. Almost 3" x just over 4¼". 30 Francs each from Annick Tilly, August, '01. TMCM for €2.50 from Albert van den Bosch, Antwerp, June, '23.
These are smaller-scale reproductions of four of the cards I have labeled as from Bouillon, Rivoyre et Cie. As there, the human scenes are provocative, as when a man of the road speaks with a well-dressed man in DW. One of the more suggestive fable cards I have seen is FC, in which a well dressed man is no doubt flattering a lovely shepherdess. I cannot construe what is happening in "Le Cheval & le Loup" beyond that a smirking young man is kicking a kneeling older man in the face. The verso of FC is blank. DW has "Aux Grand Marchés de Russie" on its picture side, and so it has advertising for the same firm on its verso. "Le Cheval & le Loup" advertises François Gianella in Dijon: "Spécialité de Chaussures in tous Genres." The printer of the latter card is A. Pitron, while L. Michel printed DW. Both are on the Boulevard des Italiens in Paris. "Le Cheval et le Loup" has been slightly cropped. TMCM has been cleverly transposed to the home of an aristocrat as he is about to be visited by armed soldiers.
1890? 2 French cards of La Fontaine's fable "Le Savetier et le Financier." 2½" x slightly more than 4". Imp. A. Norgeu, Paris. $8 from Bertrand Cocq, Calonne-Ricouart, France, March, '01.
These small portrait-formatted cards seem identical with those from Chocolat Poulain Orange except for the omission of all advertising and the change of background color from green to blue. Thus there is near the top of the card a circular illustration in full color. Beneath that is a brown-on-blue design. Two elements finish the downward movement of the card: ten and fourteen lines of the fable, respectively, and, in the bottom right, the numbers 4 and 5. Note that I have numbers 3 and 6 from this set in the Chocolat Poulain Orange series. The illustrations show the cobbler receiving the money from the financier and digging a hole in his cellar. The backs of the cards are blank .
1904? Two French GA photographic postcards, perhaps from a series of six. A. Gonin. $20 from Bertrand Cocq, Calonne Ricouart, France, Sept., '18. Extra of #3 for €7 from Dominique Chapelon, Yronde et Buron, at Paris Post Card Exhibition, Jan., '05. Full set of 4 cards sent in August of 1904 to the same addressee for $6 each from Bertrand Cocq, Calonne Ricouart, France, Sept., '20.
#6 is a remarkable card! I take it that her mode of dress marks the musical girl as a gypsy, while the mother wears a cross around her neck. The photographer caught one of the children at a great moment of crying! Otherwise, if there ever were posed scenes, here they are! Postmarked and dated in handwriting 1905 and 1904, respectively. The Cocq cards are all in very good condition. I am wondering if there are two cards filling in the text between our 3rd card here and the last.
1890? 13 colored French cards (and one extra) picturing scenes from Florian's fables. 2½ " x slightly more than 4". A Billon, Paris. $70 from Bertrand Cocq, Calonne-Ricouart, France, March, '01. "La Guenon, le Singe et la Noix" and extras of "Roi Alfonse" and "L'Avare et son Fils" for €15 in St. Ouen, June, '19. $5 additional cards, presented here at the top of the table, for $5 each from Bertrand Cocq, Calonne Ricouart, France, Sept., '20. Three more cards from Albert van den Bosch for €20 each, Jan., '23.
In these portrait-formatted small cards, a gold border surrounds the full-color picture in the upper three quarters of the card and the five or six lines quoted from Florian below. The title of the fable itself, with Florian's name in parentheses, is written across the golden bar separating the two portions of the picture side of the card. The monkey giving the laterna magica show cuts a vivid figure. Another striking image is presented by the two bald men grappling with each other. If one exchanges gold borders for blue, these cards are almost identical with those which I have listed under "Florian Blue Border." Four cards advertise "Chicorée Boulangère/Paguetage Croissant" on their picture side, while one advertises "Chocolat Ibled". All five of those cards have consistent advertising on their text sides. Four cards advertise Moka Beriot from Lille. One advertises Maison Salmon L. Tual-Salmon as a maker of chocolates and "conserves alimentaires." Two cards present short fable texts and advertise "Chicorée Extra a 'L'Écolière.'" Two cards simply present the fable text and refer to a second printer, A. Picard et Kaan. The most recent cards from Bertrand all advertise Beriot of Lille on the verso, two for their "Moka" and three for their "Chicorée Orientale."
1880? A white-colored platter 13" x almost 10½". Inside of a surrounding pattern of branches and grapes on the platter's ledge is an image featuring a fox and a stag, with other deer and trees in the background. The back of the platter shows a number of registry marks, the clearest an ink stamp working down from a crown through a circle surrounding a coat of arms with "BWM & Co" across it and "Fables" underneath it. Other marks include a diamond surrounding a large "R" with various letters and numbers, and an indented name, apparently Brown-Westhead, Moore to 1904). $65 from Shirley Perry, May, '00.
This is a large, heavy, and even formidable platter! I was baffled about which fable is presented here, but Cristel Aarts has made an excellent suggestion: this fable has the fox trying to talk the stag to come along to visit the lion. Shirley dates this and the smaller platter above to 1858-82. There are chip repairs at both "carrying" ends.
