1890? Complete set of twelve magic lantern slides of numbered fables of La Fontaine. Original box. 7½” x 1⅝“.
Here is yet another surprise in the experience of collecting fables. In 2019, I found, at the Paris shop of Thierry Corcelle, an intact set of 12 glass magic lantern slides, each presenting two La Fontaine fables with title panels. I was delighted to bring them home with me! Four years later I found this set of twelve La Fontaine magic lantern slides on Ebay. Since we have several sets of such slides, I did some checking and comparing. I was amazed to see that the designs were the same as those on the Corcelle slides, but there were also significant differences. The slides were narrower, and so the images were less expansive. The coloring, apparently by hand, was different in case after case, and the typeface used on the panels was different. Since it is fascinating to examine the differences together, I also offer a page not only on each collection but on a page of comparison between the two.
1. GA / 2. FC
3. Schoolmaster & Child / 4. Robbers and Ass
5. SS / 6. Astrologer & Well
7. and 8. MSA
9. and 10. MSA
11. The Master's Eye / 12. The Miser and His Treasure
13. BS / 14. The Angler & the Little Fish
15. TB / 16. The Man and the (Frozen) Snake
17. MM / 18. Women & Secrets
19. Two Friends / 20. The Oyster & the Litigants
21. The Mongolian's Dream / 22. The Old Man & Three Youths
23. Forest & Woodman / 24.The Fool & the Sage
1950? Napkin Ring. WC image repeated on the band. 2" in diameter. With two interior markings. Unknown source.
This is a heavy ring. Is there some irony here? A napkin ring imaging a choking wolf ?
2010? Nancy Schön's Aesop's Fables: Morals to Live By. DVD. Retold by Anita Diamant. Video produced by NKP Media, Inc.
This set of 24 sculptures is a real labor of love. Through them I have become a good friend of Nancy, and I have come to realize that these sculptures represent some of the humane wisdom by which she has lived and about which she has created. Nancy's career demonstrates a combination of passion and whimsy that fits Aesop perfectly. I have sought to find the benefactor who brings these 24 sculptures to Omaha. They would be a perfect ornament to this collection! I have since come to see the sculptures firsthand. They are an artistic triumph!
