1930? 7" white plate from Sarreguemines, France. Inside a 1.5" rim there is a representation of Grandville's "The Cat and the Monkey" (IX 17). The front carries two inscriptions: "Fables de la Fontaine" and "5. Le Singe et le Chat." The back has a smudged "Digoin" stamp. One extra exemplar.
With GA, this is the closest following of Grandville. It is also perhaps the best executed design of all the plates I have seen thus far. My only question concerns Grandville's interpretation of what was going on in the scene. I think the monkey needs to be behind the cat's back--in any case not eating the nuts in front of him! There is a slight hiatus between a fallen "DE" and a high "LA" on the top front of the plate. Also, the "5" is not clear. I had thought it might be a "4."
1930? 7¼" white bowl from Sarreguemines, France. 1.5" deep. Inside the bowl there is a brown adaptation of Grandville's "The Cat and the Fox." The front carries two inscriptions: "Fables de la Fontaine" and "1. Le Chat et le Renard." The back has the usual Digoin stamp. From an unknown source before 2006.
The two characters are in the outdoor setting that will test their evasive "tricks." Each raises a paw in their contention with each other about the effectiveness of their manoeuvres. Hats, vests, and trousers humanize both. The fox is carrying prey he has captured. The cat has a walking stick. Was Royce an adapter of Grandville's work?
2010 The Boy Who Cried Wolf and more children's fables: 5 stories. Scholastic Storybook Treasures. A Read-Along DVD. 74 minutes. Illustrations by Boris Kulikov, Marcia Brown and others. $10 from Richard Nelson Auctions, Arnold, MO, through Ebay, Nov., '10.
Two of the five stories here seem to me to be fables. There are extras, including an interview with Boris Kulikov on his development of the classic fable, including architecture and costumes from various periods and introducing a fly who appears several times during the fable. The shepherd boy is bored with the sheep's "munch, munch, munch." They do not want to play. For the first day's trick, he reports one wolf, which people seek but do not find. The second day he reports two wolves. On the third day there are three wolves, and they are thinking "lunch, lunch, lunch." There is no report of losses after the third incident. In fact, one can see most of the sheep up in the tree! There is also Marcia Brown's classic "Stone Soup," mistakenly reported on the clamshell as narrated by her. As in her book, there are three soldiers and they convert selfish townfolk who at first hide their food from them. This fable has distinctly French settings and names. The disk advertises having been done with Russian resources and help.
1962 "The Boy Who Cried Wolf." #16. Kenner-Color Slides for use with Kenner's Give-A-Show Projector. Made and printed in U.S.A. Kenner Products Co.
7 four-colored panels. There is less text here. Panels 2, 4, and 6 have none, each showing the blowing of the boy's horn. In the first panel he had been told to blow it if he saw a wolf. The final image shows the wolf licking his chops and saying "Even bad boys taste good!"
1900? Brass button with black background. A bird and her young? 1” in diameter. Unknown source.
This button is a mystery to me. We have found it among our buttons in 2025 and have no record of how it came to us. I cannot think of what fable it might represent, if it represents a fable at all. A bird on a branch looks down on young below. Attempts to find a similar button online have yielded wild and unhelpful results.
1984 The Best of Aesop & Other Classic Fables. Marshall Cavendish Ltd. London: Barge Studios. For use with book (1985) of same title.
Great readers, great sound effects. This tape follows the booklet verbatim. The only drawback for use in a presentation lies in the readers' British accents.
