1960? Belgian Cote d'Or chocolate tin. 4¼" x 3½" x 3¼" high. FC. $15 from Dany Wolfs, Roesalare, Belgium, April, '01.
This blue tin presents FC well. On the cover is the decisive scene of the fox flattering and bowing. Just below is the scene, visible here, just prior to that moment, for here the crow is landing, and the alert fox takes notice of his arrival with the cheese. On the short side to the right the crow sings. On the longer side the fox, with cheese in paw, lectures the crow. On the last short side, the dejected crow weeps. The tin is in good condition. Dany tells me that this tin is hard to find.
1890? One colored French MM card advertising "Au Moine Saint Martin, 50, Rue Turbigo." The image is marked "Adieu Lait et Argent." Printed by H. Laas, Paris. 2½" x 4⅛".
I am surprised to find another card in the series. It is ¼" higher and less than ⅛" wider than the "Beef-Lavoix" card but belongs clearly to the same story and approach. Here the maid's pail has fallen, and she is crying. According to the verso, Moine St. Martin in Paris sells all sorts of clothing and many other things. And the store stays open on Sunday until 5 pm! What a lucky find!
1890? One colored French MM card advertising "Cacao Delacre." The image is marked "Faux Pas." Printed by H. Laas, Paris. 2½" x 3⅞".
The image is the same as on my "Beef-LaVoix" card. The verso lays out various sizes and prices of Delacre's cocoa and chocolate.
1890? One colored French MM card advertising "Beef-LaVoix, Vin-Viande, Quina-Phosphate." (Are those three different things?) The image is marked "Faux Pas." Printed by H. Laas, Paris. 2½" x 3⅞". 50 Francs from Annick Tilly at the Clignancourt flea market, August, '99.
The milkmaid here is a young girl carrying an umbrella and a basket in addition to the jug on her head. The card seems to have some text cropped, though the borders on the image side seem appropriate as the card is.
1910? Five cards titled "Bébé Fabulist." Papier Gulleminot. Série n. 704. "Clayette Phot." Each card's black-and-white picture-side features two portions. On the white portion, perhaps a quarter of the card, is a three or four line segment in sequence of La Fontaine's FC. The rest of this side of the card is a photograph composed of a rectangular section (generally a cloud-like backdrop of black and white) and a section including a portion of a circle. The young girl is in this enlarged, circular portion. €12 for the set from Coll'ex, Rottier/Verrier, Rouen, at the Paris Post Card Exhibition, Jan.,' 05.
I would guess that there is an experiment in the use of photography going on here. The experiment would seem to be this: can a good photographer show the course of a fable by the facial expressions of a clever young actress? The answer here has plenty of "yes," since the girl is both photogenic and expressive. The five pictures seem to me to follow well La Fontaine's fable's pattern: first distance on the part of the crow; then interest; then sheer joy over the flattery; then perhaps the fox's joy over outwitting the crow; and finally the crow's resolve--"but a little late," La Fontaine comments--not to be duped again. The child here is a gifted photographic subject.
