1900? Fables de la Fontaine: Le Renard et les Raisins. Stereopticon slide.
I presume that there is a significant collection of fable stereopticon slides. Here at least is one! The nobleman shuns the lady (ladies?) he is offered. Hand colored?
1960? Fables de la Fontaine, Volume IV. Read by members of Comédie Française. Microgroove Records FRL 1525. Bernard Lebow: Dust jacket printed in the USA. $4 from Stephane St-Arnaud, Montreal, Canada, through Ebay, Nov., '99.
There are eight favorite La Fontaine fables on the Side A and six on Side B. This record seems to have been produced in this country. The dust jacket is in English.
1959 Fables de La Fontaine, No. 4. Paperbound. Livre-Disque: Philips. €5 from St. Ouen flea market, Paris, June, '09.
Here is Volume Four, found four years after I found Volume Two, published in 1957. Apparently I have one more livre-disque to find to have the set of four complete. This "Livre-Disque" contains six fables, pictured on the cover: DW, "The Heron"; "The Daughter"; "The Stalled Carter"; "The Merchant, the Gentleman, the Shepherd, and the King's Son"; and "The Ass Carrying Relics." Jean Davy, Michel Bouquet, Renée Faure, and Robert Manuel are readers of various of the six fables. A 45 rpm record is part of the book; it has its own little envelope inside the front cover. The booklet of fables is attached inside the overall jacket. Be careful! The record sleeve is open on the bottom. Some pages are monochrome and some polychrome. The illustrations are lively if nothing else. I enjoy particularly the disdainful pose of the young woman and then the contrasting pose of the man she ends up marrying. I will keep this specimen, including its record, with the books.
1961 Fables de La Fontaine, No. 3. Paperbound. Livre-Disque: Philips. $4.99 from T.J. Novak, St. Paul, through eBay, April, '12.
At last I have found Number 3 in a series of four combinations of book and record. There is a slight anomaly, since the only date I can find here is 1961 on the back cover of the booklet, and my copy of Number 3 is dated 1959. This "Livre-Disque" contains eight fables, pictured and mentioned on the cover: FK, "The Lion and the Mosquito"; BF, "The Ass and the Little Dog"; "The Eye of the Master"; "The Cock, the Cat, and the Mouse"; 2P; and "The Little Fish and the Angler." Renée Faure and Jean Davy are readers of various of the fables. A 45 rpm record is part of the book; it has its own little envelope inside the front cover. The booklet of fables is attached inside the overall jacket. As in other volumes, some pages are monochrome and some polychrome. The illustrations are lively if nothing else. I enjoy particularly the vested gentleman holding a lapdog and being accosted by the ass! I will keep this specimen, including its record, with the books.
1958 Fables de La Fontaine, No. 2. Paperbound. Livre-Disque: Philips. $4.99 from T.J. Novak, St. Paul, through eBay, April, '12.
I already have one copy of this book and record, acquired from endingsandbeginnings through eBay in August of 2005. Now I have found a fresher copy with a separate record jacket and different book covers. This front cover, for example, no longer features a picture of a 45 rpm record. The back cover shows not the first two volumes of this series but the third. The date on that version was 1957. Here it is 1958. This "Livre-Disque" contains eight fables. I still presume that Jean Davy et Michel Bouquet read the fables. Monochrome and polychrome pages alternate. The illustrations are lively if nothing else. I will keep the book and record together among the books.
1957 Fables de La Fontaine, No. 2. Jean Davy et Michel Bouquet. Paperbound. Livre-Disque: Philips. $9.95 from endingsandbeginnings, through eBay, August, '05.
Here is Volume Two, found three years after I found Volume One, published in 1955. This "Livre-Disque" contains eight fables. It is not clear what role Jean Davy et Michel Bouquet play. A 45 rpm record is part of the book; it has its own little envelope inside the front cover. Be careful! The record jacket is open on the bottom. Monochrome and polychrome pages alternate. The illustrations are lively if nothing else. The back cover of Volume One seemed to indicate four volumes in the set. This back cover shows only two. I will keep this specimen, including its record, with the books.
1960 Fables de La Fontaine, No. 1. Paperbound. Livre-Disque: Philips. $12 from Jean-Claude Côté, Remouald, Quebec, Canada, May, '15.
I already have two copies of this book and record, Now I have found an earlier copy. Two clues lead me to believe that it is earlier, and then there is a strange anomaly I need to mention. The two clues are that the paper used in the fable booklet is not the shiny paper used in the other two versions. The second clue is that those other versions advertised Volumes 3 and 4 in this series. This copy advertises Volume 2. The anomaly is that this early copy appeals to a publishing law of 1960. Those other copies appeal to an earlier publishing law in 1955. I have put down 1960 as the date for this copy, since it is a firm terminus post quem. Probably the date of those other two copies needs to be adjusted to be sometime after 1960. As I wrote of them, here ten fables are shown and read by Yves-Gérard le Dantec. A 45 rpm record is part of the package. Monochrome and polychrome pages alternate. The illustrations are lively if nothing else. I will keep the book and record together among the books,
1955 Fables de La Fontaine, No. 1. Pamphlet. Livre-Disque: Philips. $9 from Francine Juneau, Montreal, through eBay, Oct. '02.
Here ten fables are shown and read by Yves-Gérard le Dantec. A 45 rpm record is part of the book; it has its own little envelope inside the front cover. Monochrome and polychrome pages alternate. The illustrations are lively if nothing else. I see by the back cover that there are four volumes of La Fontaine. Now I have to find the other three! I will keep this specimen, including its record, with the books.
1955 Fables de La Fontaine, No. 1. Paperbound. Livre-Disque: Philips. $4.99 from T.J. Novak, St. Paul, through eBay, April, '12.
I already have one copy of this book and record, acquired from Francine Juneau through eBay in October of 2002. Now I have found a fresher copy with a separate record jacket and a different set of advertisements on its back cover. This back cover, for example, features not the fourth but the third member of this series of La Fontaine's fables. As I mention there, here ten fables are shown and read by Yves-Gérard le Dantec. A 45 rpm record is part of the package. Monochrome and polychrome pages alternate. The illustrations are lively if nothing else. I will keep the book and record together among the books.
Fables de La Fontaine par Fernandel. Cover art: Rosenberg. Decca. €5 from an unknown source, July, '09.
This is a combination book and 45 rpm record. Fernandel, who died in 1971, seems to be the narrator of seven fables on the record. The fables are WL, FC, GA, DW, TH, "The Lion and the Mosquito," and "The Financier and the Cobbler." The last story has a wonderfully relaxed cobbler in its image. Alternating page-pairs are done in duochrome with a heavy sepia look. The cover presents the animals from many fables together. It surprises me by seating the hare on top of the tortoise's shell. Where does that image or understanding come from? I will keep record and book together in the book collection.
