1950 Rubber stamp for MM. 6" x 3". Wooden backing shows the stamp's design. Unknown source, date, or cost.
The rubber side of the stamp shows the image more clearly than the stamped version, worn perhaps from use. One can see clearly the chickens, pig, and cow that the milkmaid dreamed of along the way to the market. See also the "Thank You" stamp under "Household."
1954 Illustrations of S(ergei) Mikhalkov's Fables by Soviet Artists. 12 postcards. Soviet Artist. Two copies, one lacking "Simple Help." Unknown source.
Lively illustrations by a variety of artists. I had mistaken "When You're Lucky" for TH. Somehow this series did not get catalogued a long time ago. It is a pleasure to do so now! For some reason, "Elephant Painter" was done without the usual white strip at the bottom of the card.
1930? One pinback 15/16" in diameter, labelled "Aesop's Fables - Mike - 18."
Against a white background we find "Aesop's Fables" at the top, "Mike" at the bottom, and "18" on the right side. In the center is a dancing mouse. Printed around the rim of the back: "Western Theater Premium Co., 1956 S. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles, Cal." I presume these pinbacks were theater give-aways. Again, I got lucky on the price!
1989 Four different postcards representing 1793 Stockdale illustrations. Published by the Friends of The University of Michigan Library. Three copies of each.
TH, OR, GA, and "The Swallow and Other Birds." I leave it to others to discern whether these black-and-whie reproductions of the Stockdale 1793 illustrations really bring them alive.
1954 Colored postcard of a broken-down car being passed by animals. Alexander Semenov. Published by Sovetsky Khudozhnik. $13.50 from Postcardworld through HipPostcard, April, '23.
The card identifies this as a Michalkov story. It could as well be TH. Is that poor driver trying to hitchhike?
1991 Mice Medical Amphitheater. John O'Brien. New Yorker. Nov. 4, 1991. Unknown source.
I am trying to take this occasion to track down the source of the version in which it is a mouse that removes the thorn from the lion's paw. AI only restates my question when it refers people to "Androcles and the Lion" and "The Lion and the Mouse." If it is a version of AL, does the lion repay the mouse's kindness at some point? If it is a version of LM, are we to presume the first phase of the mouse running over the sleeping lion. Help!
1992 Mexican ceramic tortoise with a moving head. A scene of the hare running is painted on his back. 8" x 5½" x 4½" high.
The head of the tortoise bobs laboriously whenever he is touched. What a happy thought to paint the hare right onto the back of the tortoise!
1890? "The Grasshopper and the Ant." Print of an original painting titled “The Grasshopper and the Ant” by E. Metzmacher. 11” x 16”. $17.85 from Paula Carlson, May, '05.
The owner’s name is given as L. Hawk and the work was copyrighted by Gravure Goupil & Co. Hawk’s collection is given as in New York. The print’s date is unknown, but the original painting was completed in 1869 and was signed by the artist himself in the bottom right corner. Painted in the image are two women, a dog, and several doves. An American collector and an American publisher have picked up the French tradition of sympathy with the mendicant artist, here harassed by the dog as well as the ant-like housewife. The dog and the doves find shelter here, but the artist finds nothing but rejection. I have found a trace of a second Metzmacher "Cigale." It seems to show the grasshopper after her rejection. An image of this now unavailable painting is below.
2000? Metal sculpture of Wolf and Crane. Perhaps steel or aluminum? 12" high.
What a dramatic presentation of WC! It is also a substantial piece of work! The textures of fur and feather are particularly well done, and they contrast with the smooth portions of the sculpture nicely. I believe this sculpture is a "must" for the next "fable objects" presentation!
1950? Metal printer’s block of TH. 1” x 5/8”. Wooden base. Unknown source.
Unusual in that the hare seems to be watching the tortoise strain by. I wonder what a printer’s block like this might be used for.
