2002 Limited Edition Spode Dog Bowl – Signature Collection “Aesop’s Fable.” 10.75" x 8.5" x 3.75". #66 of 750. Unknown source.
It took research on the web for me to realize that this is a dog bowl – that is, not only illustrating a dog but meant for feeding a dog! A copy is on sale online for $275. Though this is recent, it is rare, unusual, and valuable. The DS scene on the bowl appears on another Spode piece in our collection, a reproduction platter.
2000? Lightweight Pins of Krylov's Fables: Brown, Red, Green. Three for $18 apiece from Vintage Jewelry Alvina through Etsy, April, '23. "Fox and Ass" for $6 from Little Link Shop through Etsy, April, '23.
Each pin, about 1 1/4" wide, has "Krylov's Fables" across its top, with an oval presentation of a fable's scene in brown with a green background. "The Swan, Pike, and Crayfish" seems temporarily lost.
1890? 2 colored French cards picturing La Fontaine's "L'Huitre et les Plaideurs" and "Le Lièvre et les Grenouilles. " They are exactly in the format of the 1900 Liebig series "Favole di La Fontaine." The latter card reduplicates one there. The verso is blank on both of these cards. $20 from Bertrand Cocq, Calonne-Ricouart, Nov., '00. GA advertising Cafe des Gourmets; Café en Grains Trébucien; and Chocolat des Gourmets, printed byi Romanet et Cie., Paris, bought from an unknown source.
Is there any chance that "L'Huitre et les Plaideurs" belongs to one of the two earlier sets (1883 and 1896) of La Fontaine’s fables in the Liebig series? Might Liebig have sold the plates from its cards for use by others? "Le Lièvre et les Grenouilles" even has the title bar across the top in which "Vero Estratto di Carne Liebig" appears in the 1900 series. The colors have dulled on these cards. They are in fair to good condition.
1900 Fables de La Fontaine. Veritable Extrait de Viande Liebig. Six cards, each with an animal scene from a fable of La Fontaine attached with a stick-pin to a human scene of children. Publishers: Liebig Company, Paris. £27.50 from Murray Cards International, Cecil Court, London, April, '06. Extra set in excellent condition for $37.20 from James Longworth, Apopka, FL, through bidstart, August, '11.
This set is, with changed language, exactly like the Italian version I had found earlier. The face of each card includes " Veritable Extrait de Viande Liebig " across its top, the two pictures, one set into the other, a cameo of a key character in the lower right, heads of other fable characters along the left side over a can or jar of Liebig meat extract, and "Fable de La Fontaine" across the center above the title of the particular fable pictured. The back of each card, amid lots of information about Liebig, features an illustration of a courtly character and either a recipe or an explanation of how useful Liebig meat extract is. I have now answered my question asking whether this set appeared in other languages than Italian. Now the question is: "How many languages?" The Italian set mentioned Liebig in Antwerp, while this set places Liebig in Paris.
1892 Grille und Ameise (Nach Gleim). Liebig Company's Fleisch Extract. Six numbered cards, each with two to four lines of rhyming German verse on the picture. Lie0625. $49.95 from Kyle DeRoy, Denver, CO, through eBay, Oct., '06
Each scene puts a can or jar of Liebig's meat product in one of the lower corners. The last two cards I had already found advertising Aux Deux Passages in Lyon. As I comment there, I have never before seen the ant dance, supposedly in mockery of the cicada, as the former sends away the latter.
1960? 6 numbered cards from a set of at least 20 by an unknown publisher featuring each one fable of La Fontaine. 2½" x almost 4". Three cards for $18 from Bertrand Cocq, Calonne-Ricouart, France, March, '01. Three cards, one (#20) in poor condition, for $12 from Annick Tilly, Clignancourt, August, '01. Another twelve cards for $60 from Bertrand Cocq, Calonne-Ricouart, France, Sept., '18. Eight more cards, including two non-duplicates, for $1.25 apiece from place-nette-nantes on Ebay, May, '22. #13 "Les deux Coqs" for €6 from chemin-faisant on Ebay, Nov., '24.
These cards are unusual for their very lively and simple color schemes. OF may make the strongest visual statement. "Le Rat retiré du Monde" typifies the simple, even romantic approach to the fables here.
1910? (Léon Augustin) Lhermitte, "Death and the Woodman." Black-and-white photograph of "La Mort et le Bucheron." Musée d'Amiens. #18. "L.L." Paris: Levy and Neurdein Réunis. $8 from Bertrand Cocq, Calonne Ricouart, France, Sept., '18.
Here, I would say, is realistic painting at its best. The fable's elements are there, including the woodsmen's load of collected wood, his wooden shoes, and death's white shroud. The positioning of the photograph on the card is surprising. This card was not addressed or sent through the mail.
1890? 6 colored French cards with gold background picturing La Fontaine's GA. Almost 3" x almost 4½". Paris: Lessertisseux. €20 from Librairie Prologue, St. Ouen, August, '15. Extra set of five cards (missing "The Greeting at the Ant's Door") for 75 Francs from Annick Tilly, Clignancourt, August, '01.
These are curious cards. The background is heavily gold with sparse suggestive scenery, especially ripe fields, storehouse doors, and snow on the ground. The characters are children dressed in adult clothing. Their faces form the focal point of each illustration. A particular curiosity of these portrait-formatted small cards is that the characters seem to change clothing (and faces?) from scene to scene in the five moments of the story pictured here. Are we to think that a little troop of players are taking turns at acting out one scene each? The bottom portion of each picture page contains a few lines of the La Fontaine fable. They give the clue to the order of cards, which is difficult to decipher from the pictures alone. The print of these texts, like the titles at the cards' top, is hard to read against the gold background. The text side of four cards is taken up completely with a uniform advertisement: "Grand Magasins de Nouveautés/Au Progrès/Vallée Ainé" with an address in Caen. The verso of other cards is blank. Perhaps the best of the illustrations is the fourth, in which the niggardly ant asks what the cicada did during the summer.
1890? 6 colored French cards with gold background picturing La Fontaine's FC. Almost 3" x almost 4½". Paris: Lessertisseux. $36 from Bertrand Cocq, Calonne-Ricouart, Nov., '00. Extra set without advertising on the verso for €20 from Librairie Imago Libri, August, '15.
These are curious cards. The background is heavily gold with a few emblematic items, like a path and a few trees. The characters are all children highly dressed in adult clothing. Their faces form the focal point of each illustration. A particular curiosity of these portrait-formatted small cards is that the characters' clothing changes from card to card in the six moments of the story. Are we to think that a little troop of players are taking turns at acting out one scene each? The bottom portion of each picture page contains a few lines of the La Fontaine fable. This print, like the title at the card's top, is hard to read against the gold background. Each card in the Cocq set is stamped on the picture side with "A. Motte-Bergeot, Nouveautées a Illiers," which seems to sell furniture as well as men's, women's, and children's clothing. The text side of these cards is taken up completely with a uniform advertisement for Motte-Bergeot. I am especially impressed with the third card, on which "Renard" flatters the vain figure seated in the fork of the tree.
1960? Les Vins des Caves du Plessis Buvard N. 1. FG. Les Fables de la Fontaine. About 8¼" x 5¼". St. Venant. $5 from Mme Denise Debuigne, Rennes, France, May, '02.
In a lovely design using black, green and red inks, the fox claims, as usual, that the grapes are too green. The blotter's text agrees but adds "but the wines of the Plessis Caves are wonderful!" The blotter also invites one to ask for the whole series of blotters at one's local provider of wines. I would love to do that!
1956 Les plus belles Fables de La Fontaine en relief et en musique. Editions Lucos. Pop-up. Paperbound. Mulhouse: Lucos: Le Petit Ménestral: Editions Lucien Adés. $19.98 from Claude Bru Valois, through eBay, Feb., '11.
This is a worthy combination of a 33 rpm record and six excellent pop-up scenes. The La Fontaine scenes, presented in landscape format with the fable on the flat surface closest to the reader, are about 90% intact. In several, one character or element is unhinged or otherwise defective. The scenes are GA; MM; OF; WL; FC; and TH. The best of them is WL, both for its artistic vigor and for its present condition. FC is also strong and well preserved. This is a heavy book. The small 33 rpm record is in a wrapper attached to the inside of the front cover. Its music is by Hubert Rostaing and the fables are read by François Perier. I will keep the record with the book. A lovely find!
1920? Les Oeuvres Rares: Les Fables de La Fontaine. Ten cards in a series. "Percier inv. Girardet sc." "A.M." €70 from a small cardshop in Brussels, August, '19.
This shop surprised me as I was on my way elsewhere. I have not seen this set anywhere else. Each scene is differently conceived, with some featuring medallions on the side, others including two scenes or as many as five scenes. The engraving work seems particularly fine. Among the best, I believe, are MSA and "The Child and the Schoolmaster." The latter is flanked by contrasting scenes from FS. Percier conceived the designs, and Girardet executed them.
1900? Set of Six-Sided La Fontaine Storyblocks. “Les plus jolies fables de LA FONTAINE.” €45 from mademoisellejoliebroc through Ebay, July, ’25.
I agree with the seller’s description: “Superbe et rare jeu très ancien de 24 cubes en bois, dans sa boite d'origine." This is a beautiful set! The six fables are pictured on the wooden cover 10.75” x 7.5”. They are WC; “The Cat and the Monkey”; FC; “Two Rats and an Egg”; TMCM; and FS. It was not easy for me to put these together! The seller stipulates France as the origin; I wonder if the set might not come from Germany. I did a quick Google search, which turned up one instance of this set, which turned out to be our set offered for sale through another exchange.
1990? Les Ineffables de La Fontaine. Par Turier. 24 00 0092. Three cards (out of a larger set?) parodying La Fontaine's fables by putting the characters into sexually compromising scenes. Printed in France. Arcueil: Éditions d'art gnoe. 60 Francs from Normand Antiquités at the Marché Dauphine, Saint-Ouen Clignancourt, May, '97.
In LM, the rat takes sexual advantage of the netted lion, who thinks dark and gloomy thoughts. In OF, the ox inflates the frog. In TMCM, the country mouse discovers to his dismay—as he runs out the door--that the town mouse is gay. The French can do this kind of thing and get away with it!
2009 Les Fables de Roland: Les Animaux d'Esope. Cernuschi. Hardbound. Nimes, France: SDP Le Livre Club. $30.31 from Kbooks, Scarborough, ON, Canada, through eBay, Sept., '13.
"With this book of six puzzles, learn to read while having fun." This "livre-puzzle" offers three Aesopic fables related through pages six of which are picture puzzles. Under the "puzzle" section of this catalogue, I offer pictures of the cover, featuring GA, and of one scene from "The Two Asses." Other fables here are "The Weasel and the Chickens" and "The Dog and His Master." It is curious that the fables pictured on the two covers, GA and TMCM, do not appear in the book. The book itself is sturdy and well made. It is of course rare to see the French featuring Aesop for fables. I list this book among both books and puzzles.
1935? 6 duochrome French cards about 4¾" x 7½" presenting La Fontaine fables and advertising "Les Fables de Nestlé." €25 at St. Ouen, August, '13.
Under the series title of each card front is a simple duochrome picture illustrating the fable. Beneath that and completing the space within a framed rectangle is La Fontaine's text. Each verso occurs twice among these six cards: an advertisement for album-vignettes, ideas on how to use Nestlé products, and advertisement of further Nestlé products. Fables presented include GA; "The Rat and the Elephant"; "The Cat and the "; FS; TMCM; and FC. The paper is cheaper than most card stock. I cannot find an author for "The Cat and the Green Woodpeckers," which seems to close with a humorous quotation from La Fontaine. Is a fox here saying of some young woodpeckers that they are "too green"?
