2008 Mosteiro de São Vicente de Fora. Fabula de La Fontaine. "A Educação." Gabriel Somogyi, Floresti, Romania.
Here is a detail of the glorious tiles in this monastery representing La Fontaine's fables. This particular fable seems to have a master teaching one dog by the example of the other.
1912 Penny postcard using TH and the month of May 1912 to advertise Sandusky Business College in Sandusky Ohio. The card was mailed to Miss Alma Dobrontz of Castalia, Ohio. Unknown source.
This card is actually fascinating. TH turns into "The Race of Life" and success is the sun gleaming at the end of the road. The hare sleeps at the base of a sign pointing to "Business College." The interpretation of the fable stresses determination and effort as the keys to success. The obverse presents Sandusky's claim to Miss Dobrontz: "We have helped others…."
1915? Six prints offering the same illustrations as Tuck's "Up-to-Date" "Oilette" postcards by Tuck and Sons. €70 from Albert van den Bosch, Antwerp, June, '23.
I was surprised to find these six images in other than postcard form. As I describe a propos of the postcards, fables are used in this instance to satirize Germany. The fable texts on the message side there appear in Dutch, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, or English on individual cards; words printed on the image side shift correspondingly. There are no indications of a source for these, except perhaps that they appear to be in Spanish. My, things get around!
1989? Aesop's Fables . Five full-color postcards displaying BF, "The Cat and Two Sparrows," CP, LM, and "The Kite and the Pigeons." 5" x 7". "Pleasure Print." Printed in Ireland. Denver: The Sanbourn Souvenir Company of Denver, apparently a firm held by John Hinde Ltd of Dublin. Gift of David Alvey, June, '90.
The art is not exceptional, but the size of these postcards is! The fact that there are post cards of Aesop was first announced to me with this splendid gift. I wrote the company to find out more, but never received an answer. The verso of each card contains a long version of its fable.
1957 Ten cards displaying colored paintings of Saltykov-Shchedrin's fables by E.M. Rayev. 4⅛" x 5⅞". Editor H.A. Glorlienko. Moscow: Sovietski Hudorzuik. $6.50 from Rosfilclub, through Ebay, Dec., '03. Extra set from Alex Sourtaev, Moscow, through eBay, June, '05.
Here is Rayev's delightful encounter with ten of Saltykov-Schedrin's fables illustrations. For now, I have matched them up as well as I can with what I know of Saltykov-Schedrin's fables, but the identifications are far from reliable. Help
Sajou Needlepoint Fable Kits. 14 of 24 available kits. From an unknown source.
The manufacturer’s description for these charming designs includes this information: “To embroider on natural linen to obtain a band measuring 20cm wide and 1m50 high. Kit contents:
1.60m of natural linen band width 20cm; 22 cards of Retors du Nord: 2004, 2005, 2009, 2013, 2024, 2033, 2034, 2039, 2041, 2190, 2221, 2302, 2317, 2332, 2350, 2409, 2443, 2445 x 2, 2570, 2777, 2876; a Sajou “Créé par moi” label; full-colour pattern chart with explanations.” The latter might be the most important inclusion. As they say, it is presented in a lovely Sajou re-usable packet. Of the 24 kits, we have 14.
1925 "Le Cygne et la Grue" par Xavier Sager. Fantaisies trichromes. Série n° 103. 546. Fabrication française. 15000 Lire at the Porta Portese flea market, August, '98.
I am not sure that I have ever read a fable of the swan and the crane. Once I learned that "grue" means not only a crane but a prostitute, I am not sure that the artist had ever read one either! In any case, a crane in a very small pool eyes a jauntily and thinly clad young woman. I never thought I would have one of "those" French postcards in this collection!
