2018 Feve disk "La Cigale et la F….".
This disk is clearly to be paired with a fellow representing the cicada. Ebay represents it as a "Devinette," which I take to be a puzzle. I presume that description rests on the this feve's need to be paired with its partner.
1940? Full-colored cartoon card of GA. No acknowledgement of artist, printer, or advertiser. €9 from Albert van den Bosch, Antwerp, June, '23.
This card, 2¾" x 4¼", emphasizes the insect-character of the two actors in this story. Apparently they are meeting in the summer in the open. Perhaps the grasshopper is inviting the ant to work less and play more. Blank verso.
1898? Ten monochrome landscape La Fontaine fable postcards, each labeled "d'apres Grandville." Duplicates of GA and "Rat Who Retired." $143.95 from Portugalcards - Jose Monteiro, Lisbon, Feb., '10. Extra copy of FS with a message, apparently postmarked in 1908. 50 Francs from Annick tilly, Clignancourt, July, '01.
The picture side reserves generally only 20% of its space for a message. The monochrome color differs from one card to another. The dealer gives the cards a date of 1898. Only the title and "d'apres Grandville" appears on the picture side. On the verso is nothing but room for an addressee and his or her address. The packaging is still present, if somewhat fragile. Curiously, the duplicates are done in different colors from each other.
1920? La Fontaine fables GA and FS illustrated in color by J.J. Grandville on two postcards. No indication of date or publisher. There is no writing on either verso. 50 Francs each from Annick Tilly, Clignancourt, July, '01.
While the engraving is not as distinct as one would wish for Grandville's exquisite work, the coloring brings something new to his art. Both of these colored cards are done in portrait format. See also the landscape black-and-white inscribed postcard I have of Grandville's FS under individual postcards.
1838? Four hand-colored illustrations of La Fontaine’s fables by J.J. Grandville. 5.6" x 7.6". Unknown source.
A fascinating set of exquisitely colored illustrations. Apparently taped inside protective covers, one of which remains. A fascinating aspect of these hand-colored pages is the way the color seeps through selectively onto the verso of the page. A lovely find!
I have found the work of Emile Joseph Alexandre Gouget on three occasions and in three forms. The first two, the simplest, cost €2 apiece at a flea market in Strasbourg in July, '19.
In my short time in Paris in the summer of 2014, I managed to find a number of fable materials. Among them are broadsides or separated pages from Gouget's edition of La Fontaine in 1834 (Bodemann #279.1). There are two groups.
One group of five is carefully matted but without decoration around the page of text and illustration. They are slightly colored. The seller labeled them "1834" and that was the first clue that these are Gouget's work. Gouget's signature is at the bottom of most texts. The illustrations here are slightly colored. These five are the following. And now I have found a sixth, "The Lobster and Her Young," for €20 from Albert van den Bosch, June, '23. Click on any image to see it enlarged.
A third group of twelve has elaborate printer's designs around the (identical) illustration and text. Each has these three signatures: Gouget Dir. Ex"; "N. PA. Xardo Sc."; and "LeMercier."
These prints include the following. Click on any image to see it enlarged.
