1997 Chansons de la Fontaine. Monomotapa. CD. Nineteen fables rendered as songs. Composition and arrangements of almost all: Jean Chavot. Auvidis Jeunesse. Studio du Palais. Liège, Belgium: Studio S.O.S.
This disc is a very pleasant surprise. The texts of La Fontaine are presented verbatim, if not always at the same level of intensity or audibility. But each text is encased in a true chanson, with its own rhythm and persuasion. These chansons move! I enjoyed the first four immensely, not least the conjunction of the third and fourth: "The Rat and the Elephant" and "The Frog Who Wanted to Be as Big as An Ox." They are very much about the same pretentiousness. The voices here work together wonderfully! An accompanying little booklet with clever illustrations offers a key refrain from each song.
2000 Chalk Drawing of "The Fox and the Mask." Megan Douglas for English 120 at Creighton University, Fall, '00.
Here is a wonderfully sensitive study of forms. Is that the fox's tail that sweeps around the right side of the mask? The fox seems appropriately unimpressed!
2000? Postcard Marc Chagall, colored illustration of "Mother, Child, and Wolf" from Teriade's 1952 publication. Lessing J. Rosenwald Collection, L of C, Pomegranate, Petaluma, CA. Printed in Korea. $9.95 from Pack Rabbit, Westport, Canada, Sept., '12.
This postcard gives a clue to one part of the Chagall history with fables, namely that he hand-colored a number of the 200 Teriade copies that he made in 1952. Here only the child, the mother's blouse, and the wolf seem to get a bit of color.
1915? 7 of 8 "Fables of La Fontaine" trade cards. Printed by Ch. Duffit, Paris. One extra of GA.
I commented on the first card twenty years ago that it was in many ways the cheapest card in this collection. It is done on poor stock and uses a traditional approach to picturing this fable. There is an unusual uncolored strip across the top of the card. Bouchard specialized in Bala syrups and pills and in bandages. The picture portions of these cards seem identical to those in what I have called "Plain Fables of La Fontaine Cards."
1900? Five colored trade cards printed by Ch. Duffit. 2½" x 4". 2 from an unknown source. 3 further cards for $18 from Bertrand Cocq, Calonne Ricouart, France, Sept., '20. Seven further cards presented as "Bon Point" cards advertising DeGuillié Tonic Elixir.
The two cards depict "Les deux Mulets" and "Le Loup devenu Berger." Each card is titled "Fables de La Fontaine." Each at the bottom has the title of its fable and the moral. One advertises Francetta chocolate. Another advertises "Chauss? Paul." This firm seems to sell "specialités pour Pieds sensibles" and is a "Maison de Confiance." The three from Bertrand in 2020 bear no advertising. All but one of the cpcr958 cards are stamped on the verso with "Nouveaux Prix" and the new and higher prices. I wonder how big this series of cards is….
1980? Ceramic knife-holders as books. GA and LM. Green with gold highlights. 3" x 1". €18 from mathilde9662, Jan, '22. Two duplicates and four other members of the series -- LM, WL, TH, and FC -- found earlier from an unknown source.
There is an extra of LM and an unhighlighted extra of GA. The highlights accent parts of the picture and the capital letters in the title. I have searched the web for further members of this set, with no luck yet. Might these be less good than knife-rests with a level center?
1970? Ceramic knick-knack of a sleeping hare. 2¼" x 1½" x 2" high. Unknown source.
I cannot remember where or when I found this little fellow. One can only presume, I think, that a sleeping hare comes from TH. The pose here is excellent: the hare leans on one arm with his body slanted diagonally.
1980? Ceramic figurine of the fox & the crow. Handpainted. 6" tall x 4" wide x 3½" deep.
FC is such a popular motif in flat art that I am glad to see it make its way into a three-dimensional object. The only helpful marking on this statue itself is "FOREIGN" stamped into the bottom of the base. The seller describes this object as "unusual, quirky, and rare."
