1850? Hand-colored print of J.B. Oudry's Fable CXXX: "Les Souhaits." $9.99 from abclovell through Ebay, July, '22.
Here is a strong rendition of La Fontaine's fable about a couple granted three wishes. The first two are a wish for riches and a resulting wish for poverty, to rid themselves of the burden that came with the riches. Their third wish then turns, wisely, to a wish for wisdom.
1840? Hand-colored GA page from a Spanish book of fables. Fable 77. Pages 183-84. 3” x 5.2”. Unknown source.
I am cataloguing this piece long after it came to our collection. It is one of those random parts of the collection. I find the hand-coloring very nice but the cicada hard to make out with his green buried in the image’s browns. Fine work by a careful hand!
1910? Hand painted solid brass brooch of fox and grapes. $13.50 from "casajewelry" on Ebay, June, '00.
Soldered joint and catch pin assembly. "Stamped by tooling from the early 1900's," according to the Ebay seller's description. An "old gold" finish has apparently been applied to a 14kt gold plating.
1973 Fables choisies de La Fontaine. Livres 1 à 3 et 3 à 5. Cassette 1. L'Encyclopédie Sonore Hachette sous la direction de Georges Hacquard. Illustration par Jacques Blanpain. Unknown source.
Excellent readings in French by an array of fine readers, sometimes with musical background. The readers are listed on the paper sleeve of this first tape. It surprises me that these cassettes were done so long ago.
1973 Fables choisies de La Fontaine. Livres 6 à 8 et 8 à 12. Cassette 2. L'Encyclopédie Sonore Hachette sous la direction de Georges Hacquard. Illustration par Jacques Blanpain. Unknown source.
Excellent readings in French by an array of fine readers, sometimes with musical background. The selections of both cassettes are listed on the paper sleeve of this second tape. It surprises me that these cassettes were done so long ago.
1930? 2 cards presenting scenes from two La Fontaine fables with a "Certificate of Satisfaction" on the back. Just over 7" x 5½". $12 each from Annick Tilly, Clignancourt, August, '01. Also "BF" a gift of Bertrand Cocq, Calonne-Ricouart, France, August, '15. €24 for 4 further cards, including an extra of "Worker and His Sons," from Pierre through Ebay, Feb., '24.
These large cards might seem in our culture to bring together two disparate functions, namely of the small picture-card and of the large certificate. The scenes here are "Le Laboureur et ses Enfants" and MM. The latter is drying her eyes with her apron. One of the two certificate formulas on the back fills in a "3" to help date these cards to the very early 30's. The picture side of these cards is identical with the picture-sides of the large trade cards I have listed under Arlatte/Printemps/Jacques. The more recent four cards have hand-written testimonials on the verso, not the printed citation of the earlier found cards.
1890? Complete set of 12 cards showing children in scenes from fables of La Fontaine, Florian, and perhaps others for $50 from Carlos Rodrigues, Montigny les Cormeilles, France, through Ebay, May, '22. Earlier 8 cards (plus one cropped extra of "Le Gland et la Citrouille") showing children in scenes from fables of La Fontaine, Florian, and perhaps others. A golden sky marks each of these cards. All but one credit as printer H. Laas, 16, rue Pierre-Levée, Paris. Eight cards for $40 from Bertrand Cocq, Calonne-Ricouart, France, March, '01. One cropped card for 40 Francs from Annick Tilly, Clignancourt, August, '99.
The Rodrigues set has no advertising on its illustrations, blank banks, and good condition. A golden sky marks each of these cards. Children act out scenes from La Fontaine's fables, from Florian's "Le Chien Coupable," (5.17), and from someone's "Le Chat et le Moineau." GA is a slightly different approach to the usual French presentation of this fable, perhaps since the actors are children. The music-player here is a young boy, and he has a violin rather than the usual guitar. Part of the cards' fascination seems to lie in dressing the children up. "Le Gland et la Citrouille" here introduces a second character. Is a smart young man explaining to a young woman that there are reasons why acorns should go with oaks? Is that candy that the little girl in FC has in her hand? How well does this illustration work on a card that ends up advertising chocolate? The script here is all capitals. Of the other cards than Rodrigues', four cards have "Bonbons Gramont" imprinted on the front ("Seul Rem ède efficace contre la Toux"!). Their backs have a uniform brown-ink advertisement for Bonbons Gramont. Three have "H 597 a" printed on the picture side, and the other has "H598 b." Two cards have "Chicorée Indigène/Arlatte & Cie, Cambrai" printed on the front. They both have "H 597 a" printed on the front, and they have a uniform black-print advertisement for the product on the back. Two cards have nothing stamped on the front, have one each "H 597 a" and "H 598 b" on the picture side, and offer a uniform advertisement in black ink on the back for Chocolaterie de l'Eure, à Menilles près Pacy-s/-Eure. Finally, the cropped card, like its larger version, has "H 597a" on the front but has no other markings, front or back. For an even fuller selection of these cards, consult Debauve & Gallais Cholocoate Cards.
1898 Pamphlet printed by Gustave Guérin & Cie, Paris, offering La Fontaine's text of MM along with three chromolithographs of the fable.
I long considered whether this is a book, a card, or an advertisement. In the end, the last seemed most appropriate. I have not discovered these chromolithographs on cards we have. Bertrand calls this printer rare. Inscribed 1898. 3½" x 5½".
1950? La Fontaine Fables segment of a larger work. Gustave Doré. Pages 197-219. 8.9” x 12”. Unknown source.
As I make my way through uncatalogued materials from the past, this is one of the more challenging. Here are 23 pages of black-and-white reproductions of Gustave Doré with English language titles, followed on 220 by a bust of Baron Munchhausen. I presume it is a section of a larger work presenting a number of Doré’s works. The detail seems to me to be unusually well done.
1916? Photograph of Gustav Klimt’s “Fable.” Image 12.2” x 8.7”. Overall 16.5” x 11.6”. Perhaps from fineartamerica.
Starting from the right, we find here FS; FK; perhaps “Heron”; perhaps “Lion in Love”; and perhaps TMCM. There may well be other fables hidden in the painting. d
1890? 7 French cards of La Fontaine fables from Chocolat Grondard. 2" x 3½". No publisher indicated. $16 from Bertrand Cocq, Calonne-Ricouart, France, March, '01. 3 more from St. Ouen, August, '15.
These small portrait-formatted cards announce "Chocolat Grondard" at the top in red and run a red framing stripe around a colored illustration. The stripe also frames a few lines from the fable below and, generally, a reference to La Fontaine and the specific fable. Small italic print at the top of the illustration gives its French title. Small numerals in the lower right or left may identify a series or a date ("3 18," :4 v 3 c," "4 10," "5 2," "5 5," "5 9," and "5 17"). There is also a small signature "LV&C" on several cards. See a similar set of cards under "Léopold Verger & Cie." The fables appearing here are 2P, "Le Labourer et ses Enfants," "Le Lievre et le Perdrix," "Le Chameau et les Batons Flottants," BC, "Le Chat & le Vieux Rat," and "Le Renard et le Bouc." The backs uniformly advertise Grondard on the Bd. Saint-Germain ("Spécialité pour Baptèmes"!) and the Bd. Malesherbes in Paris--in brown ink.
1970? Two blotters (and one extra) from Pain d'Epices Gringoire: GA (#2) and TH (#3). "Buvard a Conserver. Les Aventures de Gringo." Signed by "Coq." Imp. Delcey - Dole. One copy of GA for 50 Francs from Annick Tilly, Clignancourt, August, '99. TH and another copy of GA from Mme Denise Debuigne, Rennes, France, May, '02. Three distinct blotters of other phases of TH from Mme Denise Debuigne, Rennes, France, May, '03.
These blotters, about 4" x 7", are among the most colorful blotters I have. GA has a delightful picture of the cicada struggling through the snow, while a black-and-white bunny with a horn and something brown under his arm races across the territory. Is this bunny Gringo, and is he carrying pain d'épices? The GA blotter is marked #2, perhaps of a set of four. I now have four distinct blotters showing different phases of TH. Two distinct blotters are marked #3, but the one representing a later phase in the story has its number set up differently from those of the other three blotters. Gringo overturns the traditional fable by riding on the tortoise's back and then jumping across the finish line just ahead of the tortoise, blowing his horn all the while. A sign points to "Le Pays du Miel." These blotters are made of a very thin paper. I would not have thought of this paper as blotter material.
1979 Grillengesang: Eremiten-Kalender auf das Jahr 1979. Fabeln von Henrike Leonhardt. Graphics from eleven different artists listed on the first page. Düsseldorf: Verlag Eremiten-Presse. €15 from Antiquariat Halkyione, Hamburg, Jan, '16.
The first surprise in this calendar is its size: 4' x 17½"! Each month gets its share of a couple of lively leftist-leaning fables in block letters with art that I cannot begin to understand. I presume that the art is not related to the fables. Here is an ephemeral find of the first order!
1988? "little friends may prove great friends. Aesop." 4½" x 6". The Printery House. Conception, MO: Conception Abbey. Gift of Mary Pat Ryan, Nov., '92.
Though the saying might be most easily matched with LM, the image on the front of the card is that of a psychedelic insect. Might the image and saying both be taken from the fable of the hare, the eagle, and the dung beetle? There is no message inside the card.
1967? A large (8" x 6⅜") green and black blotter on a cream background. "Le Chat, la belette....Version 67." R.E.P.T.T. Paris: Kergy. $7 from Bertrand Cocq, Calonne Ricouart, France, Sept., '18.
This new – 67th! – version of the fable involves, as usual, the Jean Lapin, ousted from his home, and the squatting weasel who ousted him. As usual, the two appear before the judge cat, here presented in a formal court scene. Here, however, the cat does not eat both litigants. Rather, the cat dismisses the case of the weasel and, even better, tells her that she does not need to be a squatter. All she has to do is set up an account with the post office to save up for lodging. It is that easy!
1987 Greek FDC pair of identical envelopes displaying each four of Scott 1581-88. Each is also stamped FDC in Greek and dated March 5, 1987. $21 from Dimitrios Leonidis, Peristeri, Greece, through eBay, Jan., '22.
The design here is remarkably similar to that on one of the envelopes acquired previously. Here the presentation of TH is done in green and brown.
1987 Greek FDC pair of envelopes displaying Scott 1581-88. Each envelope offers four of the Aesop's Fables stamps. Each is also stamped FDC in Greek and dated March 5, 1987. One has a green-and-black duochrome illustration of TH, and the other a orange-and-green presentation of FG. $21 from Stefanidis Antonis, Filothei, Greece, through eBay, Jan., '06.
These are perhaps the liveliest and most engaging of the various FDC envelopes created for this set of stamps. Each design is a script version of "Mythoi tou Aisopou" running over it. Each also bears a stamp"Athine Service Philatelique, TH numbered 4652 and FG 4587. Both have Athenian cancellation marks on the back of the envelope. The FG envelope adds a (second) FC stamp, also cancelled in Athens on March 5, 1987.
1987 Greek FDC pair of envelopes displaying Scott 1581-88. Each envelope offers four of the Aesop's Fables stamps. Each is also stamped FDC in Greek and dated March 5, 1987. One has a close-up of a bust of Aesop while the other puts his bust among animals and in a rural setting. £2.99 from Constantin Glaridis, London, through eBay, June, '05.
Here are two presentations of Aesop in bust form. One takes an illustration of Aesop's head and torso and cuts away all background. The other situates a bust of Aesop in a classical background, appropriately surrounded by animals.
1987 Greek FDC pair of envelopes displaying Scott 1581-88. Each envelope is stamped FDC in Greek and dated March 5, 1987. Each is also numbered #688 of 1000. $22 from Angelo Komatsoulis, Montreal, through Ebay, Oct., '01.
These identical envelopes are the simplest among the various FDC's I have found for these stamps. The envelope has a lovely fox turning his nose away from the golden grapes on vines with green leaves. The stamps are beautifully done in rich colors. For that reason I have presented each on a separate page with room for a larger illustration.
2010 6 Greek telephone cards, each worth €4, each with a fable illustration and a fable text on the verso, out of an apparent set of 12. $28.90 from Nioras Konstantios, Athens, Greece, Jan., '19.
Of course the collector in me wants to find the other six cards. I include the individual numbers here. The set apparently runs from S0085 through S0096.
1990? Gray medallion of Ivan Krylov as in his famous statue in St. Petersburg. Porcelain? Verso with symbols including a dramatic mask, a lyre, a laurel wreath, and text. $20 from an unknown source, Sept., '18.
The writing on the back includes "I. A. Krylov"; "Sculptor (Peter) Crodt"; and "Leningrad." Other elements seem to include something like "Lamjatnik" and "B. Detnem Sady." Sorry not to comprehend or even transliterate those better! Use of "Leningrad" rather than "St. Petersburg" puts the medallion before 1991, when the name was officially changed to "St. Petersburg." I have sought in vain to find a comparable piece on the web.
2020 Gratitude greeting card. "The grateful heart will always find opportunities to show its gratitude. Aesop." Sketches from "The Fabled Life of Aesop" by Pamela Zagarenski. No. 538. Signed by the senders, Paul and Ianthe Swensen, Dec., '21.
The scenes on the front and back of the card connect. Did the woman get the grapes for the fox?
1990? Grasshopper puppet with attached Aesop's fable "The Grasshopper and the Ants." "Folktails" series by Folkmanis, Inc., Emeryville, CA. Made in Korea.
As the tag shows on this puppet in excellent condition, the puppet is meant to recall GA. The version attached to this delightful little fellow has the ants answering at the end of the fable: "If you were foolish enough to sing all summer, then you will have to go to bed without any supper in the winter." I have never seen that ending before. Two well-formed rear legs are nicely filled out, but the manipulator of this puppet has four front legs to control with four different fingers. As often in Folkmanis creations, the eyes are excellently rendered.
1900? Faience plate 8" in diameter showing three scenes depicting GA. Numbered "2." A mark on the back seems to combine the letters "M" and "C" and says "déposé Fables Terre de Fer." $18 from Penny Hughes, Marysville, WA, Feb., '06.
This plate features, in its side panels, the backs of two men. One seems a prosperous farmer with mounds of hay nearby. The other has poorer clothing and strides away with a walking stick carrying something -- an instrument perhaps? -- as he goes. The central panel features two women. The "ant" holds an instrument for spinning, while the lovely younger grasshopper holds a lute. A small child is jut behind her.
