Compagnie Générale Transatlantique · Carlson Fable Collection

Title

Compagnie Générale Transatlantique

Description

1956 41 different menus illustrating eight different fables with La Fontaine's text printed for the Compagnie Générale Transatlantique French Line. For use on transatlantic voyages between December, 1956 and July 11, 1959 on ships "Liberté," "Flandre," and "Ile de France" and at a dinner and dance at the Elks Club January 19, 1957 sponsored by the Women's Auxiliary for the benefit of Saranac Lake General Hospital (in the Adirondacks in New York State). Images by Jean A. Mercier. The menus cost between $3.66 and $30 each. While I did not keep track carefully of where I found all 41, aligning the dates of the menus showed distinct groupings and helped me match some menus with sellers. Those curious can find the list of fables, dates, ships, and sellers here.

These are not only menu jackets but menus themselves, with a fable text on the back cover and a fable image and title on the front cover. We used one of them – "The Coach and the Fly" – in the Joslyn exhibit because of its clever trompe-l'oeil use of a fly right on the menu itself. I find the images delightful. Lovely pastels work together effectively in these light-hearted pictures. To judge from the splashes on the "dinner and dance" menus, it must have been some party! The fables and numbers of copies are

The Coach and the Fly (8);

The Little Fish and the Angler (5);

FC (4);

MM (4);

The Monkey and the Dolphin (6);

The Ass and the Lapdog (3);

The Wolf Become Shepherd (6);

WL (5).

Source

Menus from Compagnie Général Transatlantique

The Coach and the Fly

12/6/56

Liberté

The Coach and the Fly

1/19/57

Elks Club

MM

1/19/57

Elks Club

The Monkey and the Dolphin

1/19/57

$9.00

May, '03

Candy Korn, Broadview Hts. OH

Elks Club

The Wolf Become Shepherd

1/19/57

Elks Club

The Wolf Become Shepherd

5/10/57

$10

Feb., '12

Missy, Ebay, Georgia

Liberté

The Little Fish and the Angler

5/11/57

$10

Feb., '12

Missy, Ebay, Georgia

Liberté

FC

5/12/57

$10

Feb., '12

Missy, Ebay, Georgia

Liberté

The Monkey and the Dolphin

5/13/57

$10

Feb., '12

Missy, Ebay, Georgia

Liberté

The Ass and the Lapdog

5/13/57

$10

Feb., '12

Missy, Ebay, Georgia

Liberté

WL

5/14/57

$10

Feb., '12

Missy, Ebay, Georgia

Liberté

The Wolf Become Shepherd

5/19/57

Liberté

The Coach and the Fly

5/25/57

$30

Sept., '11

The Veatchs Arts of the Book

Flandre

The Wolf Become Shepherd

5/25/57

Liberté

WL

5/25/57

Liberté

The Coach and the Fly

5/26/57

Liberté

The Little Fish and the Angler

5/27/57

Liberté

The Monkey and the Dolphin

5/27/57

Liberté

The Monkey and the Dolphin

6/9/57

$9.95

March, '01

Mike and Karla Edelman, Buffalo Grove, IL, through Ebay

Flandre

The Coach and the Fly

7/21/57

Ile de France

The Little Fish and the Angler

7/22/57

Ile de France

The Wolf Become Shepherd

8/16/57

$6.00

August, '15

Powell's, Portland, OR

Ile de France

WL

8/16/57

$3.66

Dec., '06

Ted Morris, Half Moon Bay, CA, through Ebay, Dec., '06

Liberté

The Ass and the Lapdog

8/17/57

$6.00

August, '15

Powell's, Portland, OR

Ile de France

WL

8/18/57

$6.00

August, '15

Powell's, Portland, OR

Ile de France

The Little Fish and the Angler

8/19/57

$3.66

Dec., '06

Ted Morris, Half Moon Bay, CA, through Ebay, Dec., '06

Liberté

The Monkey and the Dolphin

8/19/57

$6.00

August, '15

Powell's, Portland, OR

Ile de France

The Coach and the Fly

8/20/57

$3.66

Dec., '06

Ted Morris, Half Moon Bay, CA, through Ebay, Dec., '06

Liberté

The Little Fish and the Angler

8/21/57

$6.00

August, '15

Powell's, Portland, OR

Ile de France

FC

8/21/57

$6.00

August, '15

"Diner de Gala": Powell's, Portland, OR

Ile de France

MM

4/30/58

Ile de France

The Coach and the Fly

5/30/58

Caverzasi, Tappan, NY

Ile de France

The Coach and the Fly

5/30/59

Liberté

The Wolf Become Shepherd

5/31/59

Liberté

WL

6/1/59

Liberté

FC

6/2/59

$8.75

Dec., '03

Liberté

The Monkey and the Dolphin

6/9/59

$9.95

March, '01

Mike and Karla Edelman, Buffalo Grove, IL, through Ebay

Flandre

The Ass and the Lapdog

7/8/59

Flandre

FC

7/10/59

Flandre

MM

7/11/59

Flandre

MM

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Additional sources include:

June, '15

Janene Murphy, Apex, NC

Arlene Radice, Bonita Springs, FL

AdAngels, Niles, MI

$12

August, '15

Powell's, Portland, OR (2 menus)

$6.99

Feb., '13

$34

June, '04

liliodine 2 (4 menus)

$19.02

Nov., '03

Debra Jean (2 menus)

$8.75

Dec., '03