In about 2016, I was surprised to find two Chinese teapots on Ebay. Except for their material and wear, they are identical, though the markings on either base are worn or unclear. These two appeared in our on-campus show, "Thundering Tortoises and Horrified Hares: Aesop in Popular Culture," in early 2018. Our guess is that the silvery (aluminum alloy?) copy is the original and that the copper is the replica. Both include, on one side, a cartoon of the race between the tortoise and the hare.
1850? Aluminum-alloy (?) Chinese Teapot and Lid Featuring TH. 4.25" long, 2.5" high.
The whole teapot is tortoise-like, the handle is a hare, and the lid's handle is a full-tortoise. The maker's mark on the base and the cartoon of the race on the side have both become less distinct.
2000? Copper-alloy (?) Chinese Teapot and Lid Featuring TH. 4.25" long, 2.5" high.
The whole teapot is tortoise-like, the handle is a hare, and the lid's handle is a full-tortoise. The maker's mark on the base and the cartoon of the race on the side have both easy to read. An identical object is on sale on Ebay as I write this comment in April, 2025.
1926 Two blotters almost 4" x 9" for the months of September and October, 1926. The blotters advertise "Remembrance Advertising--Engraved Christmas Greeting Cards for Business Houses--Genuine Mission Calf-Skin Leather Desk and Pocket Pieces." Apparently the maker of this series is C.W. Bloom of Brown & Bigelow on Milk Street in Boston. $18 from Carolyn Dias of Norfolk, VA, through eBay, Feb., '03. Extra copy of Sept., '1926, for $9 from Carolyn Dias of Norfolk, VA, through eBay, June, '08.
Each long landscape-formatted blotter has a fable on the left. September has LM with "A kindness is never wasted--Aesop" and October has "Deeds count--not boasting words--Aesop." The latter has a rooster crowing and a hare sawing. For texts to match some of the questionable "fables" here, like "The Hare and the Rooster," see Aesop's Fables with Compliments of Chelmsford Ginger Ale, listed under "1926?" and apparently produced by the same printer.
2005 Two 2005 Mardi Gras dubloons showing Proteus with trident and, on the verso, a lion with a book "Fables Famous and Familiar." $2.50 twice from Patricia Albert, Metairie, LA, through Ebay, July, '19 and Feb., '20.
I look forward to catching up well enough that I do not repeat myself in the future!
A fourth group of twelve has elaborate printer's designs around the (identical) illustration and text. Each has these three signatures: Gouget Dir. Ex"; "N. PA. Xardo Sc."; and "LeMercier."
2020? Twelve 1¾” square thin wooden tiles representing each a page from Walter Crane’s book of Aesop’s fables. $10.72 from ShapeShifterUK, London, through Etsy, Jan., ’21.
Delightful, exact woodwork! I think Walter Crane would be delighted to see his work carried on this way! The twelve tiles include the front cover and list of illustrations.
1950? Tru-Vue Viewer with nine story cards. Beaverton, OR: Tru-Vue Company. $10 from dalton2099 on Ebay, July, ’21.
I had written 22 years ago that I would be amazed if I ever found a Tru-Vue viewer with which to view the fable card I had found. That comment came, I believe, before Ebay. This year I thought to take a look and immediately found a number of viewers, this one even including nine other samples.
1990? French aluminum trivet portraying FC. 8" in diameter. 40 Francs from Nelly Skutecki, Monflanquin, France, through Ebay, Nov., '01.
Now, who would ever have thought that a fable would present the motif for a trivet?! I was surprised to see this "Dessous de plat alu" up for auction on Ebay, and very pleasantly surprised when I won it! There is even some nice detailing on the tree.
1995 Six fables en timbres: Timbres émis pour le tricentennaire de la mort de Jean de La Fontaine. La Poste. Claudine and Roland Sabatier. Paperbound. Paris: La Poste. $8.50 from John Plouffé, The Stamp Doctor, San Juan Capistrano, CA, through eBay, Dec., '06. Extra copy for $3 from Topical Paradise, April, 20.
Since this is a book that presents stamps, I am listing it in both places, but will place it among the books. This sixteen-page pamphlet seems to have been issued at the same time as the stamps commemorating the three hundredth anniversary of Jean de la Fontaine's death. Each of six pages contains a clever little transparent holder holding the appropriate stamp for one of six fables. On the same page as the stamp is La Fontaine's text. Facing the page is a full-page reproduction of the stamp itself. I scanned these pages for future use. Before these six pairs of pages presenting stamps and fables, there are three introductory pages. The first has a preface, surrounding which is the only original piece of art in the booklet, a three-sided frame presenting faces of the characters found on the stamps. The verso presents the first of two non-stamp "vignettes" issued with the stamps, namely a portrait of La Fontaine. One lovely feature of this portrait is that his neck-kerchief opens out to become the curtain of a small theater, with the town and country mice playing upon the stage. This page gives the basic dates and events of La Fontaine's life. Facing it is a "Sommaire" or T of C, accompanied by the second vignette, a list of the six fables presented on the stamps: GA, OF, WL, FC, "Le Chat, la Belette et le petit Lapin," and TH. The second-to-last fable has a longer text; its stamp-illustration is thus reduced to less than full-page size to accommodate the extra text. Illustrations and more on other materials issued along with the stamps can be found under "Stamps and Mail" here. The number of publications surrounding the issue of this stamp series is astounding!
2003 Tree and well platter featuring "The Horse and the Ass." 21". #472 of 1500. "The Signature Collection: "Aesop's Fables." Pattern introduced 1831. $88.99 from Elaine Esquivel through Ebay, Nov, '18.
One of the main values of our having this large and impressive piece is that we can show it rather than the original we have from 1831!
