1926 Milwaukee Dairy Supply Mfg. Co. Milwaukee Filler and Cappers. $9 from John Huckeby, New Castle, IN, through Ebay, Dec., '99.
July, 1926 calendar, about 4½" x 10", signed by Milo Winter and showing a proud dog sitting in a sweater on a house-step, perhaps about to be attacked by the dog in a rough collar approaching unseen from the side of the house. Underneath the illustration we read: "Pride goes before a fall -- Aesop." This may be the first printed Milwaukee material that I have in the collection! The reverse shows a picture of the Type L "Big New Filler" for milk bottles. If it is from Milwaukee, I suppose it should have to do with either beer or milk! For me several things are not certain: that the attribution to Aesop is warranted, what fable it might have come from, or how it applies to the scene pictured here.
1900? Two frictographic advertising pamphlets for Wood-Milne, an apparent manufacturer of rubber shoe heels. "Les Fables de La Fontaine."
This is surely one of the more curious parts of the collection! Fortunately, there has been little attempt to do what the instructions on the inside back cover, as featured in Bertrand's photo below, call for: rubbing the apparently empty inside pages to find each revealing a fable of La Fontaine. Clever attempts on my scanner have failed to make the outlines of these images appear without rubbing the pages. I will certainly take Bertrand's word for it that these two pamphlets are rare, and I suspect that having both of them, with different sets of fables in each, is even rarer. My, where fables show up can be surprising!
1950 Rubber stamp for MM. 6" x 3". Wooden backing shows the stamp's design. Unknown source, date, or cost.
The rubber side of the stamp shows the image more clearly than the stamped version, worn perhaps from use. One can see clearly the chickens, pig, and cow that the milkmaid dreamed of along the way to the market. See also the "Thank You" stamp under "Household."
1954 Illustrations of S(ergei) Mikhalkov's Fables by Soviet Artists. 12 postcards. Soviet Artist. Two copies, one lacking "Simple Help." Unknown source.
Lively illustrations by a variety of artists. I had mistaken "When You're Lucky" for TH. Somehow this series did not get catalogued a long time ago. It is a pleasure to do so now! For some reason, "Elephant Painter" was done without the usual white strip at the bottom of the card.
1930? One pinback 15/16" in diameter, labelled "Aesop's Fables - Mike - 18." $2 from Connie Amos, Flushing, OH, through Ebay, March, '00.
Against a white background we find "Aesop's Fables" at the top, "Mike" at the bottom, and "18" on the right side. In the center is a dancing mouse. Printed around the rim of the back: "Western Theater Premium Co., 1956 S. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles, Cal." I presume these pinbacks were theater give-aways. Again, I got lucky on the price!
1989 Four different postcards representing 1793 Stockdale illustrations. Published by the Friends of The University of Michigan Library. Three copies of each.
TH, OR, GA, and "The Swallow and Other Birds." I leave it to others to discern whether these black-and-whie reproductions of the Stockdale 1793 illustrations really bring them alive.
1954 Colored postcard of a broken-down car being passed by animals. Alexander Semenov. Published by Sovetsky Khudozhnik. $13.50 from Postcardworld through HipPostcard, April, '23.
The card identifies this as a Michalkov story. It could as well be TH. Is that poor driver trying to hitchhike?
1991 Mice Medical Amphitheater. John O'Brien. New Yorker. Nov. 4, 1991. Unknown source.
I am trying to take this occasion to track down the source of the version in which it is a mouse that removes the thorn from the lion's paw. AI only restates my question when it refers people to "Androcles and the Lion" and "The Lion and the Mouse." If it is a version of AL, does the lion repay the mouse's kindness at some point? If it is a version of LM, are we to presume the first phase of the mouse running over the sleeping lion. Help!
1992 Mexican ceramic tortoise with a moving head. A scene of the hare running is painted on his back. 8" x 5½" x 4½" high. Purchased on Olivera Street in LA. Gift of Margaret Carlson Lytton, Christmas, '93.
The head of the tortoise bobs laboriously whenever he is touched. What a happy thought to paint the hare right onto the back of the tortoise!
1890? "The Grasshopper and the Ant." Print of an original painting titled “The Grasshopper and the Ant” by E. Metzmacher. 11” x 16”. $17.85 from Paula Carlson, May, '05.
The owner’s name is given as L. Hawk and the work was copyrighted by Gravure Goupil & Co. Hawk’s collection is given as in New York. The print’s date is unknown, but the original painting was completed in 1869 and was signed by the artist himself in the bottom right corner. Painted in the image are two women, a dog, and several doves. An American collector and an American publisher have picked up the French tradition of sympathy with the mendicant artist, here harassed by the dog as well as the ant-like housewife. The dog and the doves find shelter here, but the artist finds nothing but rejection. I have found a trace of a second Metzmacher "Cigale." It seems to show the grasshopper after her rejection. An image of this now unavailable painting is below.
2000? Metal sculpture of Wolf and Crane. Perhaps steel or aluminum? 12" high. $50 from rescuedrelics2020 through Ebay, 'Jan., '23.
What a dramatic presentation of WC! It is also a substantial piece of work! The textures of fur and feather are particularly well done, and they contrast with the smooth portions of the sculpture nicely. I believe this sculpture is a "must" for the next "fable objects" presentation!
2015? Metal engraving of TH on cherry wood signed by Russell Hoover. Registered engraving No. 0283. 9" x 6¾". Unknown source and date of acquisition.
The position of the two heads and the two bodies is well done. The body of the hare half-surrounds that of the tortoise. Is the hare lying still? The tortoise is certainly not! The tortoise looks up at the hard. Is that a surprised look by the hare? A wary one? Well done!
2015? Metal engraving of LM on cherry wood signed by Russell Hoover. Registered engraving No. 0223. 9" x 6¾". Unknown source and date of acquisition.
This lion seems the perfect image of patience. The many cords of the net structure the scene well against the curves of the hills, the horizontal line of the plain, and the vertical lines of the trees. This engraving refused to be scanned well. I doubt that the photograph does it justice.
1948? Merry-Go-Sound: Aesop's Fables in Song Sides 3 and 4 of 4. For use with an electric phonograph for children. Tone Products Corporation of America. Unknown source.
The verso of the dust-jacket presents a strong illustration of WS, apparently by R. Feldstein. It is curious to find the dust-jacket presenting an advertisement for a phonograph and an illustration for a fable -- without mentioning the record of fables inside the package. This might have been a part of a set with further packaging that would have offered better orientation.
2000? “Merry Christmas from Mickey Mouse: Advent Calendar Pin Series, Days 17 through 20.” Limited edition of 1500. Max Hare, Toby Tortoise, Orphan, and Horace Horsecollar. Overland Park, KS: Disney Direct, $14.99 from DrMallon26, Cressona, PA, through Ebay, March, ’04.
I cannot believe that I am cataloguing these pins over seventeen years after getting them! The two fable pins are particularly well done. Heavy jewelry! Did Disney actually market sets of pins for every four days in December?
Once again the advertisement honors the fable's lesson well. Each of the three men sees the city in his own terms. Such a confined view will always be dangerous in life!
Danger comes from the direction you least expect it. Now Walter is in Department S-32. In another ad, he was in S-44. I hope all those inquiries found him!
The advertisement understands the fable well as about quality versus quantity. These ads generally direct an inquisitive potential client to the same person, Walter Scholl. Did Walter get a lot of mail?
Here there are three parts to the illustration. The story is told as I like to tell it, about daydreaming and a dress. "Keep your mind on your business and don't go day dreaming about profits -- especially paper ones…. What's the best source for that kind of information and guidance? Your broker, of course."
