1890? 2 circular FC buttons, stamped brass, one silvered, both decorated with a border of facetted steels. $40 from Lenore Monleón, Chelsea Antiques, NY, April, '97.
One image is silver in color, the other bronze. Ms. Monleón had lots of animal figurines, and so I came up with a challenge that she must have some fable figurines. She countered that she had buttons of FG but may not be able to find them. Why? She had hid them because she did not want to sell them! After fifteen minutes of searching she found them! This was the start of my fable button collecting! BBB Plate 152 #12 shows the same sort of facetted steels; the design, though distinct, comes closest to that in BBB Plate 152 #10.
1890? 1 circular FC button, brass surrounded by metal studs, 1¼" in diameter. $31 from Resa Truslow, Boise, Idaho, through Ebay, July, '99.
The pattern is the same as that on the Wiedeman button of similar proportions, but the button comes from a different mold; that is, two artists worked from the same visual pattern to make two different metal casts. The central circle containing the scene is slightly loose and off-center. Two-piece construction, with a metal eyelet welded onto the back. These studs do not have the luster of the Monleón buttons.
1890? 1 circular FC button, red tinted brass, 1 1/16" in diameter. $25 from Onie Wiedeman, Minot, ND, May, '99.
Though the image seems very famliar, I cannot place the button in BBB. The scene is basically the same as that on my two Monleón buttons. The button itself is of one-piece construction, with a metal eyelet welded onto the back.
1930? 7" white plate from Sarreguemines, France. Inside a 1.5" rim there is a portrayal of "The Fox and the Cat." The front carries two inscriptions: "Fables de la Fontaine" and "Le Chat et le Renard." The back has, in sketchy form, "Fables de la Fontaine" and "Digoin/Sarreguemines/France." $23.49 from Lea Belew, Beeville, TX, through Ebay, Oct., '00.
The scene here makes a fascinating contrast with Grandville's original. This scene is busier, filling in all the gaps. That scene left room for picturing in the background the differing escape methods and their results. That is, one can see the cat run up the tree while dogs catch the fox. There is a small nick in the black rim line at about 8 o'clock.
