“The Fisherman who played the piccolo…” · Carlson Fable Collection

Title: “The Fisherman who played the piccolo…”
Description: 1944 Advertisement for “The American Magazine”: “The Fisherman who played the piccolo…” Esop Eagle’s Fables No. V. New Yorker, May 13, 1944. $9.99 from The Ad Store, April, ‘09.

Were the advertisement writers aware how close they are to the traditional fable of Tircis who thinks he can lure fish by his music? In La Fontaine’s X 11, the shepherd is trying to please Annette the shepherdess by catching fish for her – but has to learn to use the net instead of the flute. What attracts people does not attract fish. This advertisement turns the moral to attracting the middle. That is what “The American Magazine” does. Apparently, it did it it well enough to last for another twelve years.
Date: 1944
Source: $9.99 from The Ad Store, April, ‘09.
Subject: Advertising See all items with this value; Individual Advertising Pieces See all items with this value; The Little Fish and the Fisherman See all items with this value