1890? Complete set of twelve magic lantern slides of numbered fables of La Fontaine. Original box. 7½” x 1⅝“. €35 from 123broc through Ebay, March, '23.
Here is yet another surprise in the experience of collecting fables. In 2019, I found, at the Paris shop of Thierry Corcelle, an intact set of 12 glass magic lantern slides, each presenting two La Fontaine fables with title panels. I was delighted to bring them home with me! Four years later I found this set of twelve La Fontaine magic lantern slides on Ebay. Since we have several sets of such slides, I did some checking and comparing. I was amazed to see that the designs were the same as those on the Corcelle slides, but there were also significant differences. The slides were narrower, and so the images were less expansive. The coloring, apparently by hand, was different in case after case, and the typeface used on the panels was different. Since it is fascinating to examine the differences together, I also offer a page not only on each collection but on a page of comparison between the two.
1. GA / 2. FC
3. Schoolmaster & Child / 4. Robbers and Ass
5. SS / 6. Astrologer & Well
7. and 8. MSA
9. and 10. MSA
11. The Master's Eye / 12. The Miser and His Treasure
13. BS / 14. The Angler & the Little Fish
15. TB / 16. The Man and the (Frozen) Snake
17. MM / 18. Women & Secrets
19. Two Friends / 20. The Oyster & the Litigants
21. The Mongolian's Dream / 22. The Old Man & Three Youths
23. Forest & Woodman / 24.The Fool & the Sage
1950? Napkin Ring. WC image repeated on the band. 2" in diameter. With two interior markings. Unknown source.
This is a heavy ring. Is there some irony here? A napkin ring imaging a choking wolf ?
2010? Nancy Schön's Aesop's Fables: Morals to Live By. DVD. Retold by Anita Diamant. Video produced by NKP Media, Inc. Gift of Nancy Schön, Sept., '10.
This set of 24 sculptures is a real labor of love. Through them I have become a good friend of Nancy, and I have come to realize that these sculptures represent some of the humane wisdom by which she has lived and about which she has created. Nancy's career demonstrates a combination of passion and whimsy that fits Aesop perfectly. I have sought to find the benefactor who brings these 24 sculptures to Omaha. They would be a perfect ornament to this collection! I have since come to see the sculptures firsthand. They are an artistic triumph!
1883 Set of 5 trade cards of La Fontaine fables. "Honorée d'une Souscription du Ministère de l'Instruction Publique." Printed by D. Hutinet in Paris. €100 from Albert van den Bosch, Antwerp, through the kindness of Johan Thibaut and the Jesuit office in Antwerp, Feb., '25.
Several things are noteworthy about this set of five cards. First there is the exceptional quality of the printing and even the artwork. FS, for example, manages to get the earlier scene of the fox's meal onto the tablecloth while the fox struggles to make something of the stork's meal. This was perhaps Albert's last sale as he goes into retirement, and the sale was handled in unusual fashion through his kindness and that of John Thibaut and the Jesuits in Antwerp. Several references on the web point to "A la Poire d'Or" in Reims in conjunction with these cards, but I am not sure of the connection. Albert refers to "hand press stone printing"; again I am unsure what that phrase means. The verso of each card contains La Fontaine's title and text.
1920? Musical Score for TMCM. Set against an illustration. Unknown source for $10, 2017.
This seems to be a copy of the page from "Chansons de France pour les Petits Francais" pasted onto a blank white background. I am a little surprised that one can tell the whole tale in such a short song! Could this illustration be by Boutet de Monvel?
1958? Museo del Prado: Velazquez: "Esopo." Apparently with a "First Day of Emission" postmark from March 24, 1959 cancelling a 1.80 Ptas stamp picturing the upper section of this portrait in green. Printed in Spain. Ediciones Artisticas, Madrid. $5 from Laurentiu Cruceanu, Bacau, Romania, through eBay, August, '02.
I had not known that there is a Spanish stamp commemorating Aesop. If anything, the green stamp is clearer in its detail than is the colored reproduction of the painting. Click on the stamp to see a larger illustration of it. I will keep this card with the stamps and other post office materials.
2000? Ten postcards distributed by the Jean de La Fontaine Museum in Chateau-Thierry. Views of La Fontaine and the museum and especially reproductions of works displaying fables. €2 each at the museum, August, '01.
1994 Muppet Classic Theater. Where 6 Fairy Tales Take A Wacky Twist. Jim Henson Productions. 68 minutes. $4.99 from Sandra Gates, Paragould, Arkansas, through Ebay, Feb., '00.
BW, one of the six offerings here, is the only fable. In it the shepherd, played by Gonzo, becomes known for overreacting. During the presentation he has shouted "Earthquake!" and "Tidal Wave!" over small occurrences. When he comes shouting "Wolf!" the townsfolk claim that he is just overreacting again and list many more instances from the past. There is thus none of the usual motif of fooling people or making fun of them. The wolf gives this shepherd one day to get help. The townsfolk (where Kermit is mayor) sing a good song "Who do you think you're fooling?" At the last minute Cousin Norman, a very large sheep, is enlisted to confront and stop the wolf. Typically enjoyable Muppet fun!
2000? Multicolored metal pins of Krylov's fables with character labels. 1¼" high. Varying widths. Safety-pin, logo, and trademark sign on the back. $37.50 for eight pins from vintagejewelryAlvina through Etsy, April, '23. Seventeen earlier from unknown sources.
Are there twelve in this set? I keep finding more! Three are circular in shape: Quartet; "Elephant and Pug"; "Two Dogs and a Bone". Two are not circular but are broader than the others: "Sow and Oak" and CJ. Lovely work! I note the quantity we have of each pin below its image.
2015? Aesop's Fables Watercolor Print Set, Nursery & Classroom Decor (Digital Download). Created by MuggersKnowBest.
Each of 6 prints tells the story well and adds watercolors of the creatures involved. "The Young Crab & His Mother" adds a pleasant last turn of events as the mother crab tries to "turn her toes out," she trips and falls on her nose. The crow in FC is female. The hare wants to "make the tortoise feel very deeply how ridiculous it was for him to try a race with a Hare," and so he lies down to nap until the tortoise catches up. The laughing lion in LM may be the best of the animal pictures.
1950? Mr. Fables Beef-burgs Air Popper Gun. Grand Rapids. $4.99 from Lee Whiteley Wills Point, TX, through eBay, March, '03.
By moving one's arm down rapidly, one catches the paper folded under the barrel of this gun. As this paper breaks out, it makes a "pop." The motto given here for Mr. Fables Beef-burgs is "To [sic] good to be true." On the back is a marker indicating that this is a sample of the Spotco G-Man Bang Gun, No. S 21. It is left to our imagination to figure out what fables have to do with beefburgers.
2008? Mousepad quoting Aesop: "We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office." $.99 from books4uandotherstuff, Albuquerque, NM, through eBay, Oct., '08.
I quote the eBay blurb: "This 9.25" x 7.75" rectangular mousepad is made of a durable heat-resistant polyester fabric top, will keep your mouse rolling in style. Backed with a neoprene rubber non-slip backing, keeps the mousepad from sliding. The mousepad is 1/8" thick. It will not discolor or fade, machine washable."
1995? Mouse Hand Puppet. Puppets with a Tale: Folkmanis, Inc., Emeryville, CA. $6.50 from Rene Hebert, Manlius, NY, through eBay, Feb., ’04.
The tag on this puppet tells BC. The puppet is similar in size and shape to the Folkmanis pig puppet above. As in that puppet, a good puppeteer here can use all five fingers on the mouse’s face and four legs. The ears are particularly well fashioned.
"The Mouse and the Frog" usually has a passing kite seize both the frog and the mouse who was tied to the frog. Here the frog leads the trusting mouse towards his home, while the latter shoulders a can of Fairbank corned beef. When a cat passes by and eats the mouse, the frog drops the can and jumps into a well. A passing man grabs the meat left by the wayside. Moral: "When you get a good thing, keep it."
The print depicts a pen drawing of the tortoise and the hare. The hare rests by a tree while reading a newspaper with the headline “Hare Favored to Win Race”. He is alerted by the sound of tortoise whizzing by on a motorcycle. This drawing humorously reflects the moral behind the original Aesop fable.
