"The fable of the pig and the Boxcar." 3¼" x 4½" fold-out brochure by Southern Pacific Railway asking users of their railroad cars to clean them afterwards.
1921 "The Fable of Alf and Pete." K.D. Vanity Fair, September, 1921. 8.5" x 11".
An original fable in the magazine “Vanity Fair”. The author's initials are K.D. The title states “The Fable of Alph and Pete; Showing That There Is Frequently More Than One Way of Getting By.” A print of a picture titled “Geraldine and Pete” accompanies the story. The visual artist’s name is Paul Thevenaz.
1922/80? "The Dissatisfied Cobbler" movie poster. "Fables Pictures, Inc., presents Aesop's Film Fables. Cartoonist: Paul Terry. Pathé Distributors." The original of this poster was released on 2/8/22. Matted and framed. $7.95 from Bob McDaniel, Lima, NY, through Ebay, May, '99.
Cat on treadwheel chases mouse on treadwheel, and that power's a dog-cobbler's rotary machine for working on shoes. Signs on the shop wall say "Shoes left over 10 days belong to me" and "Save your soles -- Walk on your hands." What might this scene have to do with Aesop? There is a signature of "Morgan" in the lower right of the lithograph, though I cannot discern the rest of the logo; I presume Morgan was the printer of the poster.
1980 "The Crow and the Pitcher." Use with the book. Society for Visual Education, Inc. $1.39 from Barb Daniels, Lebanon , OR , through eBay, March, '04.
This tape presents with several voices exactly the words of the book of the same title and year. The tape runs just over five minutes. There are a few sound effects. The tape has been well used. The pitcher answers back when the crow says that she wants the water. In fact, the artist works hard to give the pitcher strong facial expressions. The not-so-swift pitcher opines that tossing pebbles to get water makes no sense. The pitcher is smart enough to notice at the end of the story that he is stuck with all the pebbles! I also have the book.
2015? Signed, numbered linocut block print of Aesop's Fable "The Crab and His Mother" in black and white by Jillian E. Jenkins of jumpjackstudio, Baltimore, MD, on Etsy. "Live by Example." #2 of 10. 8" x 10". $48.16, July, '20.
This is a bold, strong, delightful presentation. It gives the mother a hat secured under her chin by a bow, along with an umbrella in her claw. She dwarfs her little child as the two look straight at each other. The going straight is the issue here! "Live by example" indeed! The artist writes "I love making art that helps other people to see the world a little differently." That happens well here!
1970 "The Belling of the Cat." Water-color and ink panel by Lisa Haderlie. 4" x 7½" on paper set inside oval matting and framed in glass. $25 from William Hayes at the Alameda flea market, Jan., '02.
This is a typical instance of my collecting luck. At this flea market, I asked only a few dealers if they might have anything dealing with fables. Luckily, this was one of the dealers whom I asked! His answer was something like "Well, does Belling the Cat count?" Of course it does! Here is a one-of-a-kind work. The mouse is all ready, with bell in paw, as another mouse looks on from above. Is the cat aware of what is happening and about to make a move? How lucky of me to find this piece! Click on the smaller version just below to see a larger version.
1905 "The Badger and the Earthquake: A Fable for Conceited Folk," , p. 645, Harper's New Monthly Magazine, March 1906. “Editor’s Drawer.” Image by Peter Newell. $3.50 from woods elf through Ebay, May, ’06.
A conceited badger thinks that his chills cause an earthquake. “I never had a chill before That so shook up the valley!” He exemplifies well “It’s all about me.”
1889 "The Aesop Blotter" compliments of Davis & Casey, Druggists. Headquarters for all School Books and School Supplies. Seneca Falls, N.Y. Copyrighted 1889 by Scrantom, Wetmore & Co., Rochester, N.Y. $10 from Dave Cheadle, Englewood, CO, Sept., '99.
This blotter, about 3¾" x 8", shows the evidence of some use on its back. On its front, it has a good classic rendition of TH (I wish I could establish that this pudgy bunny was done by Weir) with James' text and moral verbatim. Nice job of blue and red printing on what might be a difficult medium.
1797?/1980 "Superfine Harry VIII Playing Cards Made by I. Kirk, London. X Pounds." 2½" x 3¾". Reproductions produced especially for the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. Two extras.
The legend on the packet, which shows a crude image of Henry the VIII, reads "For Exportation. Fifty pounds penalty if relanded, and twenty pounds if sold or used in Great Britain." Thomas Kirk did the illustrations for the Croxall edition of 1797; might he be connected with this "I." Kirk? Each card has a title, a fable and moral in verse, a picture, and a playing card face. That is a great deal of information to put into a small space! The verses presume that the player knows the fable. My favorite illustrations in this fifty-two card set are WC on the Jack of Hearts and "The Goat in the Well" on the Eight of Hearts. Many (all?) are signed by Kirk.
1899 "Simple Fable." Dessin de Henri Dangon. Back cover. Le Sourire No. 440, April 4, 1908. 9½" x 12". €10 at Clignancourt, July, '19.
A hungry wolf is here, and someone is seeking adventure. I myself am not too sure who is the wolf and who is the lamb in this attractive sketch. I also have a crazy sense that we have this illustration already somewhere in the collection, but I cannot find it.
1983 "Russian Folk Tales"(?) Set of ten oversized illustrations by E. Rachyov, with a Russian text. Various authors. Moscow: Malvish (?) Publishers. $19 at Fairy Tales & Dreams, DC, Dec., '91.
This excellent illustrator (named Rachyeva there) is responsible for excellent books of Krilov's fables done in 1965 and 1983. Here we have tales by O. Kapeetsa, M. Boolatov, and A(leksei) Tolstoy. The tales seem to be: "The Fox and the Wolf"; "The Goat and the Wolf"; "The Cat, Ram, Goat, and Bear"; "The Bear and the Little Girl"; "The Fox, the Cat, and the Rooster" (see Harvest [1967/70], 123); "The Bear and the Man"; and on the covers "The Rooster, the Hare, and the Fox." Rachyov's style is distinctive and engaging.
1978 "Russian Folk Tales." Set of ten oversized illustrations by Veniamin Losin, with text. Various translators. 11½" x 16¼".Moscow: Malysh Publishers. $6.48 at The Book Center, SF, Jan., '91.
#8 and #1 illustrate FC. Note that #8 pictures the first phase of the fable, while #1 pictures the second. Large, colorful folk art.
1900? Postcard "The Man Who Chases Fortune." F. A. Gorguet. Braun & Cie 7355. $7 from HipPostcard, Oct., '24.
Here is a surprising French postcard found in Cluj, Romania. La Fontaine's long fable ends up saying that Fortune has been sitting in front of your home while you have been chasing her around the world. Notice the figure chasing off -- after Fortune? -- in the upper right.
1922 "Renouvelé du Loup et de l'Agneau." ("Repeat of WL"). Emile Lapellaro. Les petits bonshommes, No. 29. August 17, 1922. €10 at Clignancourt, July, '23.
"The fat Monsieur, furious: 'Say, when have you finished sticking your feet under mine?" This is the wolf accusing the lamb of muddying his water. It fits perfectly! He has been stepping on her feet the whole time.
1990? “Rabbit at Rest.” Mort Gerberg. New Yorker. Xerox copy. Unknown date and source.
In 1990, John Updike published his fourth novel about "Rabbit" Angstrom, titled Rabbit at Rest. I presume that Gerberg is having fun carrying that book back into the fable. Well done! In fact, this particular cartoon was discussed in a famous retrospective conversation with Gerberg.
1949 Two-page article (from Illustration Magazine?) "Parade des Vitrines" by Amélie Anderson. Pages 662-663. 1949.
Apparently the stores and shops in the Faubourg St. Honore and its adjacent streets at this point in history put on grand shows of coordinated windrow dressing. In June, 1949 that effort focused on the fables of La Fontaine. The pre-title of this article is "La Grande Saison de Paris." This is one of the few objects in the collection that has been harmed since it came to us. There is water damage that hurts the images, but -- happily -- not the text. I have sought for a replacement, but so far in vain. Apparently the shops focused on culture at the time of La Fontaine, including furniture, books. Each window focused on one fable of La Fontaine that had something to do with the objects offered by that vendor. A corset-maker focused on OR! "Bend, do not break!" A specialist in tricots took Perrette from MM. A frame-maker chose "The Lion and Artist" and "A Man and His Image." Photos from the actual windows contribute well to this article. Where is another copy?
1904 "Oh! Ces Auteurs!" Dessin de H. Gerbault. Front cover. Le Rire Nouvelle Serie No. 63, April 16, 1904. 9" x 12". €10 at Clignancourt, July, '19.
I have no idea how "tourte" (meat pie) figures here. I gather he is asking what her costume represents and she is answering first "a La Fontaine fable." Then to his silence she further responds "The Jay with Peacock Feathers." Is she calling him a "dummy"?
1990 “Odds on the TH Race.” James Stevenson. New Yorker. Jan. 29, ‘90. Xerox copy.
It does not look good for the tortoise with these odds announced before the race!
1912 "Number by Caption." The number in the series here appears in the upper left below the banner at the top of the verso. There are larger and more elaborate floral patterns in both upper corners. Within the banner we read not only "100 Designs in Set" but also "Series I." Complete set for £140 by mail from Murray Cards International, Cecil Court, London, Oct., '06. Complete set of 100 missing only card #36 for £32.10 from John Whitehurst, Staffordshire, England, through eBay, August, '03. Card #36 from Murray Cards International, London, for £3, August, '03. Extra copies of #20, #33, #41, #45, #46, and #77.
1942? "No Sour Grapes in This Bunch…they're all honeys!" Advertisement for TruVal shirts, pajamas, and sportswear. Unknown magazine. $10 from an unknown source, Feb., '24.
The black-and-white fox here appears elsewhere and even in color in further TruVal advertisements. Notice the urgent plea for experienced seamen for the Merchant Marine. Does the magazine insert this kind of extra invitation into someone else's advertisement?
1971? "No act of Love, however small, is ever wasted. Aesop." K(athy) Davis: Sweet Nothings. Recycled Paper Greetings. Gift of Mary Pat Ryan, July, '86.
Here are two pages of a card sent to Mary Pat by a friend. Mary Pat framed it for me. I am unsure of how the two pages fit with each other: most probably the "Aesop" and "Thank you" sides were #1 and #3 of the four-sided card. The saying raises a question for me: from where in "Aesop" did this saying come? I presume LM. Even more I am asking "In which version of Aesop in English" did this saying appear? It would make a fascinating but wide-ranging project to track all the sings which people attribute to "Aesop"! I have found Kathy Davis on the web and her signature, but I have not found this dear ephemeral card!
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!
1982? "Mr. Fables Family Restaurants" travel mug. Grand Rapids, MI. Whirley Industries. Suitable for dashboard use. $16 from anythingeverythingandmo through Ebay, Oct., '22.
There is a sticky adhesive patch on the separate red bottom-piece to hold it onto the dashboard of a car or truck, and then one can slide the mug into this holder. The seller emphasizes that "This is an extremely collectible Mr Fables travel mug, and probably quite rare in its unused condition." See also the sets of gift certificates from Mr. Fables restaurants.
