2007 Classic Fables. Texts from Joseph Jacobs. Dalian University of Technology Press Co., Ltd.
This disc accompanies a paperbound book with the same title. The CD runs through the 150 stories consecutively beginning with the first. There is a female reader and no musical background. The reader's British accent is excellent. In the first few fables, she trips only once, pronouncing the word "begged" in two syllables. Somehow there are only 149 story tracks on the CD. Some eager researcher can pursue this question: "Which of the 150 stories is omitted on the CD?" Click on the image to see a larger version.
1890? 5 cards beginning a set presenting La Fontaine's MM. The cards follow the fable's text up to a natural break preceding a reflection ("Do not all of us daydream?") by La Fontaine. Perhaps there is another card or two in the series. Paris: Imp. Clamaron, Rue St. Jacques.
The pictures are monochromatic blue-and-white, with five or six lines per card at the bottom. The text and picture are not coordinated. In the text, for example, Perette is still thinking about cows when the picture already shows the milk fallen. The whole series ends with the line "They call it 'The Pot of Milk.'" Half the backs feature advertising for Mouchonnet's Teinturerie in Paris and half Sedille's Chaussures in Rouen. I take it that the backs were printed by firms other than Clamaron. The former three were printed by Pelluard (also in the Rue St. Jacques), while the latter three show this curious phrase: "Imp. P. H berer & Cie." Apparently, a letter or two has eroded between the "H" and the "b."
2018? Set of six cardboard boxes picturing La Fontaine fables on their covers. Etival Clairefontaine: Clairfontaine.
Now here is something most unusual! I imagine these boxes are meant as organizers for children. They have spirited portrayals of six fables, one on the cover of each box. The other five boxes fit nicely into the largest box. I happened to notice these in the Dinali store in Strasbourg. As I remember it, it was basically a stationery store with some used books. A casual glance at a top shelf paid off! Now, four years later, I try to find some photos or descriptions on the web, and there is only one reference, and that reference leads nowhere. So here we are saving something drastically ephemeral! A second strong recollection is that I tried to talk the store manager into mailing me the boxes. She insisted that I go straight to the post office down the street and mail them myself. I believe the postage was almost double the cost of the boxes!
1984? City Mouse, Country Mouse And Two More Tales from Aesop. Clover Patch Collection. A Scholastic Classic. Providence, RI: Entertainment Software Corp.
LM. BC. Three-minute presentations not terribly well done. Apparently Jacobs' translation adapted. The voices of the mice seem to be fast-forwarded tapes. Nice music and good narrator.
1996? City Mouse & Country Mouse: Everything you need to make these two charming mice. By Alicia Merrett. With a book of the same title. Material, patterns, and step-by-step instructions on how to put together the two mice figures that dominate this story. $2.25 from Caravancass 1 through Ebay, Sept., '01. One extra copy.
The instructions and patterns are done carefully on twelve cards. Even I might be able to make these soft sculptures! The cards and materials come with an accompanying book. Click on the image for an enlargement.
1988 Circular framed crewel-stitchery by Lois Carlson titled "Aesop's Fables." The stitchery presents five pairs: LM, TH, GGE, "The Tree and the Reed," and "The Horse and the Two Thieves."
I think it especially clever of Mom to find fables that gave her pairs of characters. In each pair, one dominates over the other. So the pine dominates over the reed, the lion over the mouse, and the goose over the golden egg. The formula works less well with the hare many times larger than the turtle and with the ass that is many times larger than both the miller and his son. The two human images work together to flank the larger animal between them.
1975? These six smaller plates -- including one double of FC -- with an unusual teal-colored stripe around the rim of each plate are marked by a circular cartoon of a scene, with its title, from La Fontaine's fables. To judge from the accompanying cake plate, the set is missing only a TH plate. With the accompanying cake plate for $199.99 from Gail Ward, Temple City, CA, through eBay, Nov., '05.
These five smaller plates include FC, GA, MM, WC, and "The Lion and the Mosquito."
1975? Two ceramic canisters, marked "Farine" and "Sucre" and featuring titled images of WL and FC, respectively. Cheryl Johannes, Temecula, CA, through eBay, May, '14.
Here are two ceramic kitchen storage canisters, each with a fitting lid. Unfortunately, there seem to be no markings identifying the manufacturer. The "farine" (flour) canister is slightly larger: 4¾" x 4" across the open top and 5¼" high to the top of the lower portion, but 8" to the top of the whole jar. The "sucre" (sugar) canister is 4¼" x 3½" across the open top and 5" high to the top of the lower portion, but 6¾" to the top of the whole jar. "Farine" sports a WL cartoon identical with that on a teal-bordered serving plate in the same series. "Sucre" has the same WL cartoon as the cartoon on a serving plate in the same series.
