1950? Movable TH greeting card for a swift recovery. 5 7/8" x 5" (6" when unfolded). T2208. Made in USA. A trademark shows "GB" on a bell. $6.95 from Mike Edelman, Solon, OH, through Ebay, Sept., '01.
The front reads "Hope you're making steady progress…And break all records for a swift recovery!" As the card is unfolded, the tortoise stretches his neck across the finish line marked "Health." The text on the inside is "Show a burst of speed." A disgruntled rabbit with a flag in his paw looks on. The card is signed twice by "Uncle Joe and Aunt Olive." When you click on this card to see it full-size, be sure to notice the second image showing the expanded version!
1999 Tortoise and Hare Earrings. Made in China. Topanga, California: Zarah Company. $30 from Suzanne Katzen, Delray Beach, FL, through Ebay, Oct., '01.
On each earring, both a tortoise and a hare hang down from a floral arrangement. Hand-painted enamel on sterling silver.
1998 Tortoise and Hare Earrings. Hand crafted with pride in Oakdale CA by the Heberts. "Mrs. Bear's Woods." Quilted maple and California walnut. $9.95 at the Petaluma crafts fair, Nov., '989.
The rabbit is a darker and larger earring with a long wire fastener. The turtle is smaller and lighter in color. Which should you wear on which ear?
1997? Tortoise and Hare Earrings. Jade colored stone with a bead for each character. Made by Maryellen Hains, Kalamazoo, MI. From an unknown source.
Like the Heberts' earrings, this pair gives one character to each ear. The maker varies the two by the arrangement of character and bead.
1996 Black and white cup featuring Robert Dole and Bill Clinton as tortoise and hare. Artist: Milt Prigee. China: Linyi. Silver phr nix. $1 from Sharon and Kelly Smith, Hayden ID, through eBay, August, '04.
The curious thing about the design on this mug is that Clinton is heading in one direction and Dole is heading in the other! The design is signed ""MPriggee. KPBX. '96. Spokane."
1900? Cufflinks of a tortoise whose shell opens to reveal a hare. Made in England? Hallmarket Silver? Source unknown.
This is some of the most delicate small work in the collection! Each cufflink has a hinged tortoise back. Opening it with clumsy fingers is not easy! Does the Hallmarket Silver box belong to this exquisite pair? And what brings a person to wear openable tortoise-and-hare cufflinks? Matched tortoise cuffliniks seem common enough on the web. I have not yet found TH cufflinks.
2000? Tortoise and Hare cross-stitch with French "goal" sign. 8½" x 20". $30 from Tess Moran, Poolesville, MD, through Ebay, May, '22.
Though the seller notes a small flaw among the flowers, this is still a lovely creation! Framed and ready to hang.
Tortoise and Hare cookie tin. No identifying markings other than a TH illustration on its circular pink cover. Plain white sides. 7¼" in diameter, about 2¾" high.
1960? Tortoise and Hare Cookie Jar. 12" x 13" x 8". Marcia Ceramics. $19.99 from Mark and Rhonda Cohen, Walton, OR, through Ebay, June, '00.
The base of this cookie jar is exactly the same as that in the first jar I had found. But here the tortoise on the jar cover is entirely different in conception. He holds up cookies that he is eating, apparently while he lounges on the roadside. Marcia Ceramics of California was established in 1942. The sellers found an ID mark "9.USA" but I have not been able to locate it. Click on the image to see an enlargement.
1960? Tortoise and Hare Cookie Jar. 12" x 11" x 8". $30 from Jody Seibert, Baltimore, MD, through Ebay, April, '00.
My first fable cookie jar! The plodding turtle carries the hare--complete with carrot--on his back! Now where in the world would something like this have come from?
1980? Tortoise and Hare Checkers Board Game. Board, supporting base, instructions, and thirteen pieces each of tortoises and hares. Beige. About 12" square. The supporting base is broken. Hand-made in China. Hen-Feathers, King of Prussia, PA. $17.50 from ReturnBuy, Inc. through Ebay, May, '01.
I should have expected that someone would create a tortoises versus hares checkers game! This is a heavy set of pieces. The board has nice raised tortoise and hare motifs around its border, while the base has two sides depicting country roads. One of the curiosities of this item is that it misspells its own address as in "King of Prussla, PA." Click on either the overview or the detail view to see it enlarged.
1980? Tortoise and Hare Candle. Hand painted. Animal Antics. 5" high. Made in Hong Kong. Unknown source.
This candle is still readily available online. The candle-makers use the tortoise's shell as backing for the candle. The tortoise looks down with paws at his ears in wonder over the sleeping hare. The hare, who has eaten half of a carrot, sleeps on. Is it a sense of humor that fills out space with an alarm clock?
2005 Tortoise and Hare Border Print. Designed by Nancy Barrett for P&B Textiles. Printed in 2005 as a retired print. 18.5 x 22”. Cotton 2005. Two identical cloths. Unknown source.
This piece of cloth raises third questions for me. Even though I have looked it up, I am not sure how this is a border cloth. Even more, I am not sure how the many hares and many tortoises here work together, except perhaps as a piece of whimsy taking off from Aesop's TH. A third question seems to be answered on the web. As I examined our cloths, I wanted to know how each level continued. Of course I thought that our pieces each came from a larger cloth that continued the story of each level. The web shows in each case exactly the piece that we have; apparently there is no larger cloth from which it is taken.
2023? Tortoise and Hare Bookplate. Set of 50. Etsy.
Here is our first bookplate, meant to be pasted into a book to ensure that people know who had this book earlier or even first. Here in 2025 is a new category for us!
1999 Tortoise and Hare baby's bottle. Nine-ounce, boilable, plastic, with a pure latex nipple. Oyster Bay, NY: Baby's 'n Things. With a matching bib $4 from C-N-C Treasures through Ebay, Jan., '01.
This bottle came with one exemplar of a cotton bib for children and features a similar design. On the bottle's design the hare not only sleeps in the middle of the road, but he blocks the way for anyone going by. I never would have thought that a fable-related baby bottle exists! Click on the image to see it enlarged.
1990? Two circular cards advertising Tonimalt: "The Lion Going to War" and "The Coach and the Fly." "Lion" for €3.50 from babiyjeu679 through Ebay, August, '22. "Coach" for €3 from segpascal through Ebay, Sept., '22. FS for €3.50 fromalarikepelagi through Ebay, Oct., '22.
My first impression is that these are two less frequently cited fables. And of course my next question is: where can I find the rest of the set? I would say that the handkerchief in "Coach" and the frog in "Lion" make the pictures the interesting presentations that they are!
