2024? Wolf in sheep's clothing arm patch. 3.1" x 3.1". Made in China. $5 from Joshua Jakobovich, Shiloh, Israel, Jan., '25.
Now, twenty years later, a surprising addition to our group of patches comes out of China through a dealer in Israel. By contrast with other images from China, this one gets the fable right! Finding this patch was my occasion for learning that WSC grew from a gospel image into a fable only in the 1600's.
1991 Wolf in Sheep's Clothing. Children's toy from an unknown maker, sold at a Los Angeles flea market. Gift of Margaret Carlson Lytton, Nov., '91.
Movable head and legs. This curious creation may resemble a dog as much as a wolf. Whichever he/she is, the creature did its costume very well!
1982 Wolf in a Sheepskin puppet. Sewn in Haiti. Dakin. From an unknown source, Nov., '11.
This wolf stands over 12" high. His sheepskin pulls partly over his head and is fastened around his neck. I am happily surprised that a major puppet manufacturer would take on an Aesopic story figure. It almost certainly comes from the phrase "Wolf in Sheep's Clothing," probably used by many unaware of the story behind the phrase. With his tongue hanging out the side of his mouth, this creature tends to be cuddly rather than wolfish.
This cup, 1½" high, features WL but it has lost its handle. It has "Germany" printed near its seam. $12 from Marlene Schmidt, Readlyn, Iowa, Nov., '00.
1950? Matching cup and saucer with the former featuring WC flanked by a tree group and a fence group. The saucer offers three images apparently not directly related to fables: dogs pointing, wolves (?) attacking a lamb, and a pheasant. The cup stands 2.25" high and has about the same diameter, and the saucer is a little over 4.5" in diameter. White (porcelain?) with gray illustrations. There is one serious chip in the cup. $8 from John Cawley, Blue Jay, CA, through Ebay, Feb., '00.
A small, dainty set. Maybe the biggest surprise lies in the way it moves from a fable scene on the cup to three generic animal scenes on the saucer. Might this have belong to a child's set? It seems small for adults. I am not sure that I want, while eating, to look at a stork putting his beak down a wolf's throat!
1900? 12 fable-illustrated stock trade cards lithographed by WMF and included in a packet listing all twelve. 2½" x 4". Each card has in subtle red ink along its edges both "S.R. de la Perle" and "Lith. Bognard Jne" where the last two letters are unclear. Might they stand for "Jeune"? $22 from Alan France, Wolverhampton, UK, through Ebay, May, '01.
This full set is especially helpful to me because four similar sets are all partial. This group sets the standard at twelve and lists them on the wrapper's back. The multi-colored pictures here have a gray background. The picture-side of the card is without print. The text-side, landscape in orientation like all of the pictures, presents only a title and a text. The paper used is thin, and picture and text have often lost their lamination and have become two pieces of paper. "WMF" appears at the lower left of the wrapper.
1900? One fable-illustrated stock trade card like cards lithographed by WMF. €1 at St. Ouen, August, '13.
Where the full set of twelve WMF cards is about 2½" x 4", this card is clearly smaller: 2⅜" x 3⅝". The card is numbered as #2 in the series. The front is stamped with "A la Trinité," and the verso has half advertisement and half an excerpt from La Fontaine's verse text. The top of the card may have been cropped.
The wolf in WL wears a top hat, vest, and trousers. He carries a hunter's pouch and points menacingly at the lamb, who is dressed in children's clothes. Does the lamb have a toy sailboat in is hands/paws?
1960? Colored cartoon postcard of WL. Artist “Y Heny” (?). “GP La Rose. 485/5.” $6 from Bertrand Cocq, Calonne-Ricouart, France, Sept., ’20.
The design of this card’s illustration strikes me as unusually primitive. Might it have been done to imitate childlike art? I wish I could better decipher the artist’s signature. Apparently La Rose made cards of all sorts for a long time and through the 1960’s.
1988 WL Postcard. Joëlle Barron. Editions Arno. Printed in France. $2.02 from cpaphil, April, '25.
The cuteness of the lamb only underscores the brutality of the moral stated here. There is a message on the verso.
