Cloth

1980? Red and white runner featuring fable figures. 8’ x 8.3”. Source unknown. This long piece of cloth features three repeated fable scenes – WL; FC; and TH – in that order around a central scene of a wolf with a young woman carrying a pitcher. Red Riding Hood perhaps?

1950? Two Italian TH fable tapestries. Made in Italy. 32.5" x 11.25" and 18" x 11.25". Velour? Fringe-edged sides. $36 from Mrs. Germany, Oakhurst, OK, through Ebay, July, '99. Another huge surprise from Ebay! The smaller design selects a portion of the larger. In the larger, a female rabbit at left looks right toward a running tortoise and a following rabbit, both running towards the left. The smaller tapestry has the "Made in Italy" label sewn on its back. The characters reproduce with astounding accuracy those found in Disney's early "Toby Tortoise and the Hare." See my versions listed in 1935 (twice) and 1938. My, how Aesopic motifs get around! One of the tell-tale details here is the hat perched on top of the antennae on the tortoise's head. The other is the fence of Miss Cottontail's Boarding School, where Toby stopped to show off to the girls.

1995? Aesop's Fables Felt Activity Book. Made in the USA. Salem, Utah: The Story Teller. $10.95 from Jody Sumner, Towaco, NJ, April, '08. Here is an already constructed version of what I had earlier found as an assemblage of materials. Let me adapt and repeat some of my comments from that listing. This is a felt book with five pages. Each page is the scene for three different fables. Fifty-seven characters are supplied, ready to be stuck onto the scene in the appropriate places and otherwise to be stored in a pocket on the back of the page. The pocket lists a handy moral for each fable. The village scene includes BW, "A Man and His Sons," and "The Wolf in Sheep's Clothing." The river scene has "Mercury and the Woodsman," "The Hares and the Frogs," and DS. The path is the scene for TH; "The Birds, the Beasts and the Bat"; and "The Boasting Traveller." Into the cave one can put LM, "The Sick Lion," and SW. Finally among the trees we find OF, "The Miser," and "The Trees and the Ax."

2004 Cross stitch of FC "Wrought by the Hand." Dorothy Unangst. 9½" x 7½". $5 from dcmanno through Ebay, Nov., '02. Very nice work! In this case, the crow is perched on top of a roof rather than in a tree. The composition is lovely. Trees on either side frame the house together with the two characters. Beautifully framed.

2024 Tapestry of Ernest Griset's MSA. 61" x 50". $38.25 from Granger Historical Picture Archive - Fine Art America through Etsy, Nov., '24. A reduced price sale on Etsy had me looking in unusual corners when I found this old friend in big format. Might I use this large tapestry in presenting this favorite fable? The seller mentions that the material is lightweight microfiber.

2022 Five sets of needlepoint pattern pages for finished work displaying fables of La Fontaine. €6.60 each from opointdecroix on Ebay, July, '22. I thought I would be receiving paper through the mail. What I received was rather a large set of pdf patterns through email. The sets, from 12 pages to 36 per project, fit together to complete the whole picture. I present here the finished designs, with the number of pages needed to create the design.

2002? Cross-stitch "Easy Does it!" TH. Felt over a board. 8” x 10”. $5.75 from Diane Strohmenger, March, '04. Images depict a hare and a tortoise above and below, respectively, the rather unusual moral “Easy Does it!” sewn into the center of the image.

2000? Tortoise and Hare cross-stitch with French "goal" sign. 8½" x 20". $30 from Tess Moran, Poolesville, MD, through Ebay, May, '22. Though the seller notes a small flaw among the flowers, this is still a lovely creation! Framed and ready to hang.

1999 Marvic Textiles "Les Fables De La Fontaine" Toile Printed 100% Cotton Fabric. 2 Yds+35.5". F-231. $79.95 from marcus*d on Ebay, April, '23. This is a serious piece of cloth and a wonderful addition to the collection! The repeated pattern includes eight fables, four to a column, with one column featuring ovals and hexagons, and the other circles and octagons. The eight fables are, in one column, "Elephant and Pug"; "The Fox and the Bust"; BS; and "Two Bulls and the Frogs." The other column features "The Oyster and the Litigants"; "The Horse and the Ass"; "The Man and the Satyr"; and "The Lioness and the She-Bear." The cloth is beautifully executed and in excellent condition. My guess at its age is pure speculation! My thanks to the seller for providing a rich array of views of this impressive cloth! Click on the cloth to see some various views of this lovely piece!

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.

1980? Feedsack cloth picturing CP. 32" x 10¾". $22.50 from elianabelle920 through Ebay, Nov., '22. This is a lovely long stretch of blue cloth. I wonder if finding it sets me off a new search for fable feedsack cloths! Who would have thought it!

1970? Crocheted doily of "The Fox and the Goat." $50 from an unknown source, March, '20. Here is very delicate work. The fox has tried to talk the young goat into opening the door and has been rebuffed. Is "loup" here misspelled "loop"? I am not sure how a piece like this would have been used. My, how Aesop gets around!