Orange Crush Fables from Aesop. Pamphlet. Text and image from The Aesop for Children. Inside: "The Fox and the Goat." On the back is a page of advertising for Orange Crush from the Orange Crush Bottling Company of Cleveland, OH.
1935? Orange and blue dust-jacket provided by "la Neige de Savoie" illustrating FC, in which the cheese that the fox has acquired is "la Neige de Savoie" in its usual round cheese-container. $5 from Mme Denise Debuigne, Rennes, France, Feb., '05.
The back cover of this dust-jacket shows the portions of France. Inside flaps explain that if you want to grow up to have strong teeth, you will eat "la Neige de Savoie". The fox here seems particularly eager to get what the crow does not want to give up!
1935? Two handbills, executed in mostly orange and black, depicting LM and "Fortune and the Young Child." $6 each from Bertrand Cocq, Calonne-Ricouart, France, Sept., '20.
The artist here has the usual difficulty in depicting a lion. This lion ends up to be more like a human being in his face as well as his body. Elements of these two apparently monochrome handbills may have also had colors that have faded.
1880? One white-colored plate with a multi-colored illustration of TT in the indented center of the plate. Around the outside of the plate run four vines; their stalks are at about 1:30, 4:30, 7:30, and 10:30.
The central picture is just before take-off. The two birds and the tortoise all grip the long stick. Besides the greens of the grass around and the browns of the three animals, there is blue mixed with green in the birds' heads and wing tips. There are also lovely little blue flowers on the top of the nearby stalks. One of the manufacturer's marks on the base seems to be "2I."
1880? One white-colored plate with a multi-colored illustration of TH in the indented center of the plate. Around the outside of the plate run four vines; their stalks are at about 1:30, 4:30, 7:30, and 10:30.
The central picture has the tortoise apparently reaching the finish line, where a bird sits on a branch. There are greens of several shades, browns, and some lovely blue in the bird. One of the manufacturer's marks on the base seems to be "2I."
1972 One uncancelled La Fontaine stamp. Mint. Never hinged. $1 from Kevin Lo, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, through eBay. Sept., '03.
Monaco is a new source for a fable stamp. The stamp itself is green and black and includes FC, FS, TH, and perhaps "The Lion and the Ass." The verso of the card proclaims "La Fontaine: 350 ème Anniversaire de sa naissance.
1885? One two-color TH card advertising the "New Remington Sewing Machine #3." 2¾" x 4¾".
The tortoise is carrying the Remington sewing machine on its back. It is hard for me to tell what the hare is doing! The card lists both a Broadway address in New York City and a factory in Ilion, NY. The verso has a stamped message from J. Ernest Hammond, Bauneg-Beg, Maine. The message invites, in part, the submittal of "names and addresses of 20 ladies that you believe would be interested in our goods or act as agents, and The Monitor will be sent you 6 months free." We also read "Ladies desiring to make money easily should send for wholesale lists" of items like sewing machine needles, spooler rubbers, and bobbins.
1911 One two-color folded 1911 calendar card advertising Pastilles Poncelet. 3½" x almost 4½" folded and 3½" x a little more than 7" unfolded.
This is a delightful, well-preserved card. The folded view is a traditional one of FC. Open the fold and you will find that the crow has not a cheese in his claw but a box of Poncelet cough drops. "I let go of the cheese the other day, but I am hanging on to my Poncelet cough drops!" The well-dressed fox weeps. This piece of ephemera has lasted wonderfully for almost one hundred years!
1880? One tile, "The Sow and the Wolf," produced by Minton, Hollins and Company. Stoke on Trent. Slight fritting on the edges. 6" x 6". $82 from Chris Hawkins Antiques, UK, through Ebay, Feb., '02.
The design for this tile is apparently taken from the engraving done by Samuel Howitt—in fact page 14 of my copy of his 1811 A New Work of Animals Principally Designed from the Fables of Aesop, Gay, and Phaedrus. Though the piglets may not be clear, the sow's udder is. The wolf's pose is a surprisingly good mix of non-chalance and eagerness.
1880? One tile, "The Foxes and the Grapes," produced by Minton, Hollins and Company. Stoke on Trent. 6" x 6". $29.95 from Steward Hoins, Nordland, WA, through eBay, Oct., '03.
This particular illustration has long been a fascination for me. Is it likely that three foxes together would jump for grapes that they could not get? And would they concoct the same explanation of why they did not achieve what they wanted? And would they put up with each other's stories?
1972 One three-holed landscape album page, almost 8½" x slightly over 12", containing stamps of Charles Baudelaire (1,30), Camille Saint-Saens (0,90), and Jean de La Fontaine (0,50). Besides the stamps, there are a large illustration and some explanatory text in French. The three stamps are all postmarked "18 - 1 - 72 Monaco A, Jour d'Emission." No. 35 du catalogue CEF. No. 1549 of 5,000 offset exemplars. Imprimé par Editions CEF à Nice. $7 from Topical Paradise Limited through eBay, Dec., '08.
The composite picture of the three men includes a crow with cheese, a tortoise, and perhaps both an oak and a reed near the portrait of La Fontaine. The common feature of the three men seems to be the year 21, since La Fontaine was born in 1621 and Baudelaire in 1821, while Saint-Saens died in 1921. Each of the three stamps includes the appropriate "21" date along with 1971. Did something perhaps go wrong with publication of the stamps, so that the first day turned out to happen in 1972? French-speaking stamp-collectors seem indefatigable! Click on the sheet to see a larger version of it.
1885? One three-color card advertising the New Home sewing machine. The card is titled "The Monkey and the Cat's Paw." 3" x 5". Unknown source and cost.
As in the other card with this design, the monkey works the foot-treadle with "New Home" clearly stated in its metal-work. The cat sits atop the sewing machine. Is his paw caught in the machine? A Victorian woman enters the room with an arm upraised; her small son is behind her. Blank back; no text. Perhaps three inks were used: blue, brown, and red. By contrast with the other card, this card lacks mention of a specific retail outlet. The reds in this copy are much stronger, for example, on the wallpaper. The floor coloring extends through the title at the bottom of the card.
1885? One three-color card advertising the New Home sewing machine available at Leavitt & Brant in Boston. 3" x 5". The card is titled "The Monkey and the Cat's Paw."
The monkey works the foot-treadle with "New Home" clearly stated in its metal-work. The cat sits atop the sewing machine. Is his paw caught in the machine? A Victorian woman enters the room with an arm upraised; her small son is behind her. Blank back; no text. Perhaps three inks were used: blue, brown, and red. For a French trade card for New Home sewing machines, click the link!
1885? One three-color card advertising the New Home sewing machine. The card is titled "The Monkey and the Cat's Paw." 3" x 5". Unknown source and cost.
As in the other cards with this design, the monkey works the foot-treadle with "New Home" clearly stated in its metal-work. The cat sits atop the sewing machine. Is his paw caught in the machine? A Victorian woman enters the room with an arm upraised; her small son is behind her. Surprisingly, the manufacturing company is now located not in Union Square in New York but rather in Orange, MA. The verso advertises L.W. THompson of Cherry Valley, NY as a seller of the New Home Sewing Machine. Again in this card as in the Union Square card, the reds of the wallpaper and the floor stand out.
1900? One TH card advertising Colyer and Co. of Newark and Blue Front, Somerville, NJ, sellers of fine clothing. Just over 2" x 3½.
Here, as elsewhere, the hare rides the tortoise as a rider rides a horse. Grasshoppers look on. Is this kind of representation supposed to recall Aesop's TH?
1960 One stamp marked "Magyar Posta," "Zombory Éva" and "40" with a simple picture of MSA. $.09 from Julie Collins of Valparaiso, IN, through Ebay, Nov., '99.
The ass seems contented enough as he is carried uphill by one older and one younger man in native costume.
One pink plate, with the same dimensions and designs but in pink. Its back reads as the others with one change in the first phrase: "The Spode Archive Collection" (emphasis mine). $15 from Walter Fisette at the Craftsmen's Gallery, Manchester, CT, through Ebay, Oct., '99.
1990 One Olympians FDC Envelope with original Tortoise and Hare art by GreenLee. Postmarked Minneapolis, MN, July 6, 1990. $8.50 from Linda Roberts, Jordanville, NY, through eBay, May, '03.
The five different $.25 stamps present American Olympics winners: Hazel Wightman, Eddie Eagan, Helene Madison, Jesse Owens, and Ray Ewry. The envelope itself has a hare in gray and reddish-brown and a tortoise in two shades of green. The logo is "I accept the challenge." On the back is marked "8/35 Paw Prints #5." May there be other Olympic themes from GreenLee that use fables?
1910? One multi-colored card featuring two women as the dismissing ant and the dismissed grasshopper. Café Joseph Pineau, Chartres.
Lively presentation of the two women. In this case, the ant personage is as attractive and young as the grasshopper figure. Snow is visible around the two characters. "Specialitè de cafès."
1910? One multi-colored card featuring a cow and a bull in a swamp with a farmer watching them. 3⅜" x 5⅛".
This card was billed as a fable on eBay, and it may be that, but I do not yet recognize which fable. It cannot be "The Frogs and the Bulls," since there is only one bull here, and he is not fighting. I will keep it in the collection in the hope that something will turn up to clarify whether this card represents a fable.
1972 One Maximum-Card (Monaco #818) depicting the head of La Fontaine and a large tortoise. Postmarked Monaco, Jan. 18, 1972. Éditions CEF, Nice. A stamp is pasted onto the lower right corner of the picture, and the "Jour d'Emission" stamp is positioned to cover part of both the stamp and the picture. $3.50 from Ausdenmoore-McFarlane, Midland, MI.
Monaco is a new source for a fable stamp. The stamp itself is green and black and includes FC, FS, TH, and perhaps "The Lion and the Ass." The verso of the card proclaims "La Fontaine: 350ème Anniversaire de sa naissance.
One green plate, with the same dimensions and designs as the pink and blue. Its back reads, as does the pink plate's, "The Spode Archive Collection." $9.99 from KeyStrokes, Lebanon, CT, through Ebay, August, '00.
