1890? 2 FS buttons, 1.25" in diameter, with black celluloid background. Unknown source.
These two were found among uncatalogued materials in 2025 and seem to match other buttons in design but not in size. It is not clear that they were originally purchased together.
1955 Two FDC envelopes celebrating the 12 Franc stamp from 1955 featuring a portrait of Florian. Both have a postmark "Premier Jour Sauve - Florian - 2 Avril 1955." One envelope features a duochrome bust of Florian. The other presents a full-color collection of scenes from his fables. $4 each from Loic Marchat, Villeurbanne, France, through eBay, Oct. 11, 05.
I had not been aware of this Florian stamp. He was born in Sauve in Gard in 1755. Poor Florian. Even this celebration of him includes, in the prose under his portrait: "Author of lovely pastorals and especially of numerous fables, which rank him as the follower, even if from a great distance, of our own good La Fontaine" (italics mine). Perhaps the easiest scene to recognize on the fable composite has the monkey lecturing with a magic lanterne. The stamp itself classifies him as "Fabuliste Romancier Autour Dramatique." Click on either stamp to see an enlarged version of it.
1950? Two decks of playing cards showing FG and CP, respectively, on their backs. The fox is as above in the three-deck Canasta set. For CP, against a tan background, a black crow stands over a white pitcher. A banner in white and blue-gray proclaims the title underneath the scene. In the sturdy original 3¾" 5" slipcase. Cel-U-Tone Finish. Congress Playing Cards. $6 from Harry Glogower, New York, NY, through Ebay, June, '00.
The style and artistry of the two cards make them a nice complement to each other. I am especially pleased that someone had sense enough to put two fables together in one set.
1925? Two cream-colored small plates 5" in diameter with 2½" green-and-blue stencilled figures of FS and FC at the center. Around the central picture runs a yellow band. Most likely made by Montereau or Choisy-le-Roi. The theme of this tea-service set for children or "service de poupée" was, no doubt, the fables of La Fontaine. $20.50 from Mary Ellen Kennedy, Larchmont, NY through Ebay, Nov., '99.
I was and am sure that there must be a number of such sets around France, and so I was delighted to find these two little dishes on Ebay. Their paint-work is very attractive. Particularly well done is the stance of the fox with one paw on the vase he cannot penetrate for its food, while the stork does so easily. The two-color approach, which works effectively here, means that the cheese in the crow's mouth is green! Both plates seem to have a registry mark of "Z" inprinted in their backs, and FC adds a "P."
1920? Two colored cards advertising the Cleveland Clothing Company and picturing a boy about to throw a rock at a frog. $1 from an unknown source, with the extra copy in poor condition at the same time.
I enjoy the clever way in which "Cleveland Clothing Company" is worked into the curvature of the clouds on the picture side. The fable, not in Perry, is frequent in later editions as "The Boys and the Frogs." Here is James' version: "A TROOP of Boys were playing at the edge of a pond, when, perceiving a number of Frogs in the water, they began to pelt at them with stones. They had already killed many of the poor creatures, when one more hardy than the rest putting his head above the water, cried out to them: 'Stop your cruel sport, my lads; consider, what is Play to you is Death to us.'"
1980? Two Choco Rem blotters using GA and FC, respectively. GA has brown ink on a beige blotter, while FC has red ink on a yellow blotter. Each piece effectively uses two white areas. 5¼" x 8". Reims: Choco Rem. Paris: Elvinger. $5 each from Mme Denise Debuigne, Rennes, France, Feb., '02 and May, '02.
In GA, the cicada is asking for the ant's Choco REM in order to survive. In FC, the verse parodies the finish of La Fontaine's fable: "He swore--but a little late--that no one would ever again take … his Choco." The fox carries away the chocolate rather than the usual cheese or meat dropped by the proud crow. Both blotters announce that in each package there is a photo of a French soccer champion, which one can keep in the magnificent REM album.
In about 2016, I was surprised to find two Chinese teapots on Ebay. Except for their material and wear, they are identical, though the markings on either base are worn or unclear. These two appeared in our on-campus show, "Thundering Tortoises and Horrified Hares: Aesop in Popular Culture," in early 2018. Our guess is that the silvery (aluminum alloy?) copy is the original and that the copper is the replica. Both include, on one side, a cartoon of the race between the tortoise and the hare.
1850? Aluminum-alloy (?) Chinese Teapot and Lid Featuring TH. 4.25" long, 2.5" high.
The whole teapot is tortoise-like, the handle is a hare, and the lid's handle is a full-tortoise. The maker's mark on the base and the cartoon of the race on the side have both become less distinct.
2000? Copper-alloy (?) Chinese Teapot and Lid Featuring TH. 4.25" long, 2.5" high.
The whole teapot is tortoise-like, the handle is a hare, and the lid's handle is a full-tortoise. The maker's mark on the base and the cartoon of the race on the side have both easy to read. An identical object is on sale on Ebay as I write this comment in April, 2025.
1926 Two blotters almost 4" x 9" for the months of September and October, 1926. The blotters advertise "Remembrance Advertising--Engraved Christmas Greeting Cards for Business Houses--Genuine Mission Calf-Skin Leather Desk and Pocket Pieces." Apparently the maker of this series is C.W. Bloom of Brown & Bigelow on Milk Street in Boston. $18 from Carolyn Dias of Norfolk, VA, through eBay, Feb., '03. Extra copy of Sept., '1926, for $9 from Carolyn Dias of Norfolk, VA, through eBay, June, '08.
Each long landscape-formatted blotter has a fable on the left. September has LM with "A kindness is never wasted--Aesop" and October has "Deeds count--not boasting words--Aesop." The latter has a rooster crowing and a hare sawing. For texts to match some of the questionable "fables" here, like "The Hare and the Rooster," see Aesop's Fables with Compliments of Chelmsford Ginger Ale, listed under "1926?" and apparently produced by the same printer.
2005 Two 2005 Mardi Gras dubloons showing Proteus with trident and, on the verso, a lion with a book "Fables Famous and Familiar."
I look forward to catching up well enough that I do not repeat myself in the future!
