1920? Colored cartoon postcard of TH. “Rien de sert de courir il faut partir a point!“ A girl with dog and satchel is late for the train disappearing in the distance. “5Ky.” $6 from Bertrand Cocq, Calonne-Ricouart, France, Sept., ’20.
Despite the clearly printed “5Ky” (or perhaps “SKy”?), the lovely illustration here seems handmade. The checkerboard designs echoing the color of both cap and underskirt are well done! “Attention!” seems handwritten on the picture side of the card. The card’s left and right sides are unusual in being serrated. The only message is, I believe, “affectueuse bonjour.” There are mysteries here!
1903 Colored picture postcard with a humorous take on TH. "The True Story of the Hare and the Tortoise." $14.01 from Marilyn Lamkin, Lexington, MA, through eBay, August, '02.
The picture occupies just over half of the front of this postcard, dated October 30, 1903. The hare sits dressed reading a newspaper while his back is supported by a milestone reading "XIII to London." The tortoise, with a jaunty red cap and a newspaper tied around his shell, quips "I'll read mine when I get home." The text within the picture adds: "He got home first." The fable is localized here. The card was sent to Dorset, perhaps from "Forest Gate S.O." The illustration seems to be signed "Tom B."
2000? TH 10” Hoop Cloth. Contrast. Small Fry #7032. 13” x 12.5”. Unknown source.
The tortoise here is on roller skates and wears an airman’s googles and cap. He is eating an ice-cream cone! The hare sleeps on with a piece of straw in his mouth. There is a matching pattern in the tortoise’s back and cap and the hare’s sweater and shoes.
1998? Terrapin and hare brooches. Terrapin is 2" x 1½". Hare is 3" x 1¾". Fiberboard? Made by Klassic Kreatures, Falls Church, VA. Gift of Margaret and Michael Lytton, Dec., '00.
Delightful creatures with lively eyes. Yes, that is a Maryland "M" on the terrapin's shirt. The brooches are made by Mr. and Mrs. Steve Klass in Falls Church, who were good enough to write to me when they noticed this web listing. Steve is an alumnus of Maryland.
1984? Ten original prints with text by Sarah Chamberlain. Each signed and numbered 26 of 35. $160 from the artist, Oct., '89. Fables: "The Ass in a Lion's Skin"; FS; FK; LM; FC; "The Cock and the Jewel"; GGE; FG; TH, CP.
Beautiful multi-colored work. The best of the set are "The Ass in a Lion's Skin," FK, and LM. A lovely treasure. See now the book of these prints which Ms. Chamberlain published in 1984.
1975 Ten Greek schoolroom scrolls for hanging up in a classroom, each illustrating a fable in four scenes with a title. Wooden endpieces with an almost canvas-like paper for the pictures themselves. Gift of Martin and Ulrike Kölle, August, 2012. The fables pictured include :
1. TH
2. The Rooster, Fox, and Dog
3. MM
4. SS
5. The Wolf-Doctor and the Horse
6. AD
7. Two Rats
8. The Hen and a Seed
9. FS
10. TT
1970 Ten French lottery tickets. "Les Gueules Cassées" ("broken mouths," i.e., wounded WWI veterans). Each with a different tax stamp illustrating a fable of La Fontaine. $5 each from Bertrand Cocq, Calonne Ricouart, France, Sept., '20.
What a fascinating curiosity to add to the collection! Who would have known that the lottery used fables fifty years ago. Good find, Bertrand! Search for "French Lottery Tickets" brings up lots and lots of hits, but none about fables. As with postage stamps, the printing is admirable!
2004 4 China Telecom Telephone Cards featuring the Tortoise and the Hare. 2004-47-(4-1)SX, 2004-47-(4-2)SX, 2004-47-(4-3)SX, and 2004-47-(4-4)SX. £1.49 from Angela Linder, Hants, UK, through eBay, Sept., '06.
Credit card size, these four plastic cards picture a moment before the start of the TH race, the start, the sleeping rabbit, and the tortoise's victory celebration. The first two cards seem to be worth 30 yen and the last two 50 yuan. The ID numbers have been scratched open; the cards have presumably been used! I thought I had exhausted the categories of uses of fables! No way!
1975? Tel est pris qui croyait prendre. Wedding ceremony. Serie Chen. $5 from an unknown source, Feb., '22.
The axiom comes from La Fontaine's fable of the rat who thought to devour an oyster. The oyster clamped down on his attacker. In this colorful scene, the groom thinks he is capturing the bride, but the second scene shows the reverse. As I looked through various translations of the axiom, I settled on this one as the best: "Now the hunted becomes the hunter." But should not the terms be reversed? The hunter has become the hunted!
1955? Tel est pris qui croyait prendre. Fisherman caught by a fish. $5 from an unknown source, Feb., '22.
The axiom comes from La Fontaine's fable of the rat who thought to devour an oyster. The oyster clamped down on his attacker. In this colorful scene, a fish big enough has hold of the fisherman's food and apparently will not let go. I wish I could read the rest of the name of Jean, the artist. As I looked through various translations of the axiom, I settled on this one as the best: "Now the hunted becomes the hunter." But should not the terms be reversed. The hunter has become the hunted!
2000? Tea glass holder. Brass. 3/5" high, 3.25" in diameter. Unknown source.
I have found many tea glass holders online but none quite like this. Might it be Russian, paired with the "Sarajevo" plate that is found much more regularly on the web? Clear FS story at the outside center of the rim. There is a clear maker's mark on the bottom of the rim, pictured below.
1924 Aesop's Fables A Series of 25. TyPhoo Tea. £57.50 from Murray Cards International, Cecil Court, London, August, '97.
2 5/8" x 1 7/16". Excellent color in ovals with a different slogan for the tea under each oval, e.g. "TyPhoo" Tea goes just half as far again. The back has "A Series of 25," "Aesop's Fables," and a number on top; a title, fable, and moral in the center; and "TyPhoo" Tea Cures Indigestion at the bottom. In the illustration for "The Horse and Groom" (#4), there is good work to show how poorly fed this horse is. The artist takes a good perspective (knee-high looking down) for illustrating TMCM (#15). "The Fox and the Wolf" (#8) seems to me to be especially well done. Two illustrations leap out to me as taken from Bewick: MSA (#20) and MM (#25). Excellent condition. These cards are so beautiful that I show them here in almost their size. Click on any image to see it in larger-than-life size.
2024 Tapestry of Ernest Griset's MSA. 61" x 50". $38.25 from Granger Historical Picture Archive - Fine Art America through Etsy, Nov., '24.
A reduced price sale on Etsy had me looking in unusual corners when I found this old friend in big format. Might I use this large tapestry in presenting this favorite fable? The seller mentions that the material is lightweight microfiber.
2004 Tales of Magic. EastwestDVD video. Five classic tales identified by country. $10 from Susan Carlough, Easton, PA, through Ebay, June, '10.
Primitive colored cartoons from Russia, Germany, Czechoslovakia, and Italy, besides GA from Greece. The dvd dives right into the first story without introductory material like a T of C. This extended version of GA offers some different elements not usually found in the classic fable. the fun-loving grasshopper in spring makes a violin and plays with a whole orchestra of insects, while animals love his frequent dance parties. During one of their parties, ants make noise by working. The grasshopper and other animals mock them this time and often in the future. The grasshopper's sister feels sorry for the ants and invites one into the party. The grasshopper makes fun of the ant and trips him. As the weather turns, other animals leave the grasshopper's party to prepare for winter. The grasshopper never does any chores. When he runs out of food and shelter in winter, the grasshopper carries his sister and his violin. When they come upon the ants' home, he trusts that the ants will take them in. His sister says "They won't help us now." Soon the grasshopper realizes "I deserve to be left out." The two walk away from the ant home without even knocking on the door, and the ant is never even aware of their plight. The two grasshoppers spend the winter cold and hungry.
2023 T-shirt with image and lines from "The Scorpion and the Frog." $17.44 from strtwr at redbubble.com, Nov., '23.
This shirt image represents a surprising choice. Most people do not know this fable of a frog who offers a ride to a scorpion. The scorpion stings and kills him along the way. "Why?" the dying frog asks. "Because I am a scorpion!" It is typical fable wisdom: learn or get destroyed; or never trust a killer. This design-artist adds "Laugh out loud!" and "In my arrogant opinion."
2019 T-shirt with Harrison Weir's illustration of TH and "Aesop's Fables The Tortoise and the Hare." Gift. Christmas, 2018.
What a treat to see an old classic illustration like this still alive land well! The bunny sleeps as the turtle trudges
2020 T-shirt featuring "Quid rides? De te fabula narratur" from Horace. Short sleeves. $22.99 from Goathead Tees, Brown City, MI, through Etsy.
This has been a favorite line of mine from Horace's Satire I 1, verse 69. He has just been retelling the story of Tantalus as part of his satirical attack on people's wayward desires. "Why do you laugh? Just change the name and the story is about you!"
2020? 6 Colored fable cards: original art by Susana Cereja. FC; GA; OF; LS; AD; and DW. $20.87 through Etsy, March, ‘21. One extra set.
What a delightful set of illustrations! Though they are listed as postcards, they do not have the usual verso of a postcard. For now, I treat them as fable cards. My favorites are FC, where the fox is playing a violin for the willing crow, and DW, which features the dog tightening his formal necktie. Well done, Susana! In GA, what is on the monochromatic egg’s side besides a broom: ant eggs or unlimited food for the future?
2015 Sun Catcher Featuring TH. Chinese. Orcara. Unknown source.
It takes very little sunshine to get this tortoise to move his oversized head! According to web resources, Orcara is a Chinese toy manufacturer that produces a diverse range of high quality miniatures. This TH sun catcher seems no longer to be available. This bunny sleeps while the tortoise wobbles proudly on the victor's stand.
2007? Package of "Erstein Sucre enveloppé." Les Fables de La Fontaine. 192 packets of two sugar cubes, each packet wrapped in a paper illustrating a fable. I kilogram package, 5¾" x 4" x 3". Unknown source.
I remember marveling over this find. Our images may not be the best: we have wrapped the heavy cube in cellophane packaging to try to preserve it, even though that it means I have never seen the little packages. A little research shows that Erstein had this label copyrighted from 2004 to 2014. Why did I not find another brick when I could?! I find no reference to it on the web other than from the French copyright office. That copyright is #3298163.
