1960? Plastic statuette of Jean de La Fontaine. 2½" high. Mokarex deposé. $5 from Karolewski Yannick through Ebay, Dec., '02.
This unpainted statuette has a small piece chipped out of the front right corner of its base. Mokarex is a well known producer of many small plastic statues. Online resources indicated the date of this production of La Fontaine, with name and date and his beloved Renard at his feet.
1940? Plastic FG charm with inscription “Fox N’ Grapes.” 1" x .5" outside of the ring.
This looks like a cracker jack “toy” or gumball vending prize. Unfortunately, the web offers no help on finding a series to which this might belong. The name on one face tends to obliterate the scene. The other face helps us to see the fox and the grapes. Since the inscription is written at 90 degrees from the scene itself, I offer three different views.
1920? Four colored portrait-format cards with no artist, publisher, or advertiser. 2½" x 4". St. Ouen, August, '15.
UP, "The Angler and the Little Fish"; "The Ass and the Lapdog"; "The Monkey and the Leopard." The most distinguishing feature of these cheaply colored cards lies in the printer's designs flanking both "Fables de La Fontaine" on the top of the card and also a banner at the base of the card. This banner includes the fable's title and one line from the fable. The first three have the French fable text on the verso; "The Monkey and the Leopard" advertises rather Tisane Cisbey for constipation. The picture in UP seems taken from the same design as a single card in the collection.
1955? Place de la Fontaine Quebec City Dinner Menu. 9½" x 14½". $7.71 from thejumpingfrog through Ebay, May, '08.
Despite my best hopes, I believe that this menu has nothing to do with fables but only with a lovely fountain I Quebec City. But since I have it and can never be sure, I will include it here. A steak cost $21 Canadian at that time. I bet that the price has gone up since then.
2000? Pin. Fox Serves Stork Food. U13K. 1" x 1.4". USSR. Unknown source.
Some research online strong suggests that this is one of a set of fairy tale pins and that no other fables belong to the set. FS in Russia became a highly developed folktale. I am curious about what sort of food the fox here is bringing the stork.
1920? Thirteen trade cards 2¾" x 4⅛". Pilules Laxative Lucas. Colored illustrations by (H.) Rougeron-Vignerot and (Ferdinand) Bac. Paris: Imp. Des Arts et Manufactures. Different advertisements for Pilules Lucas on each verso. $71.50 from Bertrand Cocq, Calonne Ricouart, France, Sept., '18. And one DW card with no advertising on the front but on the verso "Baillard-Pasquet" in Pithiviers. "Toiles & Nouveautés. Sacs & Baches. Gros & Détail." $1.29 from Patrick Ruelle, Monaco, through Ebay, June, '20.
For small illustrations apparently done cheaply, the effect is remarkably good here. In DLS, is the young mule-master actually smiling over the mule's antics? The terrified man who has seen a camel for the first time is well done! The scolding schoolmaster is well done. The signature of Rougeron-Vignerot is hard to decipher here. I appreciated help on the web. Both the position and the posture of the wolf looking down on the lamb just emerging from the water are well chosen. This wolf also carries a dagger. The advertisements on the verso carry lively headlines like "Mort Subite"; "Vive la Liberté"; and "Le Secret d'un Centenaire." These cards duplicate a sete of "Bon Point" cards listed elsewhere.
2010? Pillow or cushion cover illustrating “The Mouse, the Frog, and the Hawk.” 28.6” x 19”. Unknown source.
I presume that this is a cushion or pillow cover, since it has an opening for something to be put inside. Illustrating this fable is rather unusual!
2000? Pillow featuring a fox and four sets of grapes. 16" square. Unknown source and date of acquisition.
For me, the great feature of this lovely pillow is the fabric that makes up the body of the fox. Its red material has a floral pattern. The stitching establishing the fox's face is also excellent. I hope to discover where we found this. Might we even know its maker?
2022? Twelve pillow covers illustrating a variety of fable characters. 18” x 18”. Made in China. $7.50 each through Joshua Jacobovitz, Jan., ’25.
There is something strange about almost every member of this unusual set of pillow covers. Almost each cover illustrates characters from standard Aesop’s fables, but few get the relationship of the characters right. The fox sits in the midst of grapes here while the fable has him unable and even trying in vain to get them. The fable has the cheese in the crow's beak, and the fox cleverly gets the crow to sing. Here they share cheese or -- perhaps in a deliberate parody -- the fox offers the crow a piece of cheese! Further, what is the fox doing with rooster's claws rather than fox's paws?
2020? Pillow cover with pillow material illustrating FC. Sharon Turner. 16" x 16". $17.75 from redbubble.com, Nov., '23.
This is ebullient art at its best! Only the crow is slightly understated, while everything else in the scene is richly developed! Well done!
1970? Pillar candlestick based on Krylov's fable "Quartet." 9" high. $35 from svetlykms through Ebay, May, '22.
This is a substantial candlestick. It may be the first in our collection. The fable is a great one to put onto a pillar. The four "musicians" keep blaming their positions for their poor music. They do not recognize the real reason they are poor musicians!
2015? Pill Box. Cover features colored detail from Arthur Rackham's "The Owl and the Birds." Perhaps from che655 on Etsy for $9.99, who is selling it for that price now in Dec., '24.
I had to do a little online checking to find out that this is in fact a pill box. Might I have bought this through Ebay rather than Etsy? Rackham's work went out of copyright in 1989. It is a fruitful source of designs for work like this.
1990? Pig puppet with attached Aesop's fable "The Pig and the Sheep." Puppets with a Tale: Folktails: Folkmanis, Inc., Emeryville, CA. Made in Korea. Gift of John and Susan Carlson, Christmas, 1991.
The tale on the card attached to this puppet tells of the pig who happened among sheep and was upbraided for all his squealing when the shepherd caught him. The pig answers the sheep: “He nly wants you for your wool, but he wants me for bacon.” A clever manipulator can get fingers into all four legs and the face.
1902 Photograph of Louis Galliac’s “Homme Courant après la Fortune.” 8” x 11.4”. Braun, Clément et Cie. Unknown source.
This is a touching scene of La Fontaine’s Fable (Book 7, Fable 12). One of a pair needs to seek his fortune; the other prefers to stay home. The former has a tough time of it and comes home to find his fortune. One can ask in this depiction whether the wandering partner is leaving or returning. In either case, the stay-at-home partner is eager for his return. Was this a colored painting? I cannot locate an original on the web.
2000? Photo Print Reproduction of Aesop's Fable of the Fox and Crow. Wallpaper? £2.50 from J. Williams, Essex, UK, through BidStart, Nov., '17.
This is a curious image of FC in the midst of a pleasing geometric design. The arrangement reminds me of walls in Pompeii. I wonder where this segment (?) might be.
2000? Photo Print Reproduction of Adriaan Van Stalbemt, "Landscape with Fables," 1620. Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp: oil on panel. Photo £2.50 from J. Williams, Essex, UK, through BidStart, Nov., '17.
This detailed landscape invites a search for known fables. I can identify the eagle who has flown off with a lamb in the upper left and the frogs desiring a king in the right foreground. I am not sure what animal is biting into an object in the left foreground. I am surprised not to find more fables. Are there more hidden here?
1910? Twelve 7½" x 5¼" cards engraved by Devambez in Paris, picturing and presenting Florian's fables but not in full color, as in an otherwise almost identical set, but rather in monochrome. "Édité par la Phosphatine Falières." Gift of Bertrand Cocq, Calonne-Ricouart, France, August, '15. Now six further cards for $6 each from Bertrand, Sept., '21.
The pictures used are identical with those used in the colored set, and the same texts and printer's designs are also used, but the setup of each card, front and verso, is slightly different. These cards are not numbered as are those in the colored series. What a curious repetition! And how strange that I have not come across it until now! Each verso contains its fable text bordered on three sides by a floral display.
1910? Phosphatine Falières Trade Cards. Maurice Leloir. Handmade. Hardbound. Edite par la Phosphatine Falières. $112 from Broli, Miami, FL, through abe, Dec., '13.
This is a handmade book containing 22 of 24 trade cards issued by Phosphatine Falières presenting Florian's fables. Cards 1 and 10 are missing. As it happens, I have twenty-two of the cards of this series; all twenty-two are pictured in the Phosphatine Falières section of non-stock fable cards. Those twenty-two fortunately include the missing #1 and #10. There is one mistake in the order of the cards; the sequence at the middle of this book follows the order 8, 9, 12, 11, 13, 14. A hand put a date of mcmxxxix and some notes on the bottom of each page. The front and back green leather covers present a curious inlaid geometric design. The book is boxed. I have put copies of the two missing cards into the front of the book. The book of course supplies the two missing cards, #11 -- "L'Avare et son Fils" -- and #19 -- "Les deux Chats." I will include the Broli description: "Preciosa colección de tarjetones editados por Phosphatine Falieres c/1910. Son 22 fábulas de Florian (de un total de 24) bellamente ilustradas a color por Maurice Leloir al frente, y al dorso el texto de las mismas en francés. Cada una tiene al pie una pequeña dedicatoria manuscrita en español y fechadas todas 1939. Encuadernadas en cuero verde con diseños geométricos combinados y labrados (c/1940). Con caja. Muy curioso. Castellano Hardcover Leather Bound (Cuero Pleno) Very good condition (Muy buen estado)." "Muy curioso" is right!
1910? Ten 7½" x 5¼" cards engraved by Devambez in Paris, picturing and presenting Florian's fables. The pictures are numbered "1" through "10." Each illustration is signed by Maurice Leloir. $35 for the set from Jalilstamps through eBay, April, '07. Several more cards, including the missing #11, from Caveron Devey, Paris, August, '14. Extra copy of "La Mère, l'Enfant et les Sarigues" for $7 from Bertrand Cocq, Calonne-Ricouart, France, Sept., '21. Seven extra copies for €20 from Aux Vieux Papier, Anchenoncourt, Oct., '25.
How fortunate to find twelve more -- and perhaps to complete the set! My comments on the first set apply to these cards. "Le Grillon," "La Jeune Poule et le Vieux Renard," and "Le Danseur de Corde et le Balancier" have perhaps the strongest colored illustrations. The last of these wonderfully pictures the falling balancier in mid-air! The floral displays on the versos are here all in red, while they were all in something like a silvery green on the other cards. A good sample of the strong verso illustrations is "Le Danseur de Corde et le Balancier": the fallen artist scratches his perhaps wounded head. The cards are again in very good condition.
1910? Twenty-six 7" x 4¾" cards printed by Typogravure Goupil, Paris, picturing and presenting La Fontaine fables. Each card is signed by J. Shalon or Chalon. Group A: Seven for 80 Francs each from Annick Tilly at the Clignancourt flea market, August, '99. Group B: Eleven for $8 each from Bertrand Cocq, Calonne-Ricouart, France, March, '01. Four cropped cards for $18.05 from Andrea Evans, Red Bank, NJ, through eBay, Oct., '02. Further cards for €7-€10 at St. Ouen, August, '15. Three further Group A cards and an extra of LM for $7 each from Bertrand Cocq, Calonne-Ricoouart, France, Sept., '21. 2P for €15 from Albert van den Bosch, Antwerp, June, '23.
The front of each of the cards has "Édité par la Phosphatine Falières" at the top. Beneath that is a large rectangular section. In all of Group A and the first two of Group B, this rectangle is bordered with straight lines enclosing a gray background. In the rest of Group B, there are no lines and no gray background. In either case, a delightful and varied floral border frames a large, delicately colored human scene. The lower portion of the framed section includes a moral, a title, and sometimes the first lines of the fable. Beneath the rectangle is the indication of Goupil and "Phosphatine Falières, Aliment des Enfants." The backs continue the fable. Many of the Group A cards are severely damaged by scrapbook glue, but all in Group B are in very good condition. On the back, those with a gray background on the front have a red floral border surrounding the text of the fable and a detailed blue-and-white rendition of the animal scene. Those without the gray have a blue floral border and a rendition of the animal scene in the same color. In each case for both groups the framing border is again unique, as it was on the front. Beneath it all is the same closing text as on the front: "Phosphatine Falières, Aliment des Enfants."
