Dust Jackets

1934? French FC dust-jacket, 9½" x 7½", apparently for a school book, advertising "Pastilles Salmon" for protection against coughing. Imageries Réunies de Jarville-Nancy. Gift of Mimi Gras, Chambly, France, Nov., '01. This "protege-cahier" puts a colored image of FC on its cover against a checkerboard background. The back cover offers the text of La Fontaine's fable under addition and multiplication tables. Mimi mentioned to me that this, along with the accompanying BF dust-jacket, belonged to her mother in 1934. The inside has simple 1½" stapled flaps.

1935? Two dust-jackets provided by La Poudre St. Eloi against wheat-decay. "The Little Fish and the Angler" and MM, both designed by J.T. Péras. The back cover of each dust-jacket offers a map of districts of France. The former has a claim that Colorado Beetle is radically destroyed by Doryx St. Eloi. "The Little Fish and the Angler" for $5 from Mme Denise Debuigne, Rennes, France, Feb., '05. MM for $6 from Bertrand Cocq, Calonne-Ricouart, France, Sept., '20. The flaps on the inside of the dust-jacket offer tables of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Both fable illustrations are done with red and green coloring, and offer a rich background to their foreground focus.

1960? Brown, red, and gold presentation of FC designed by R. Odoul with a long cartoon advertisement on the back cover. Pastilles Pulmoll. $5 from Mme Denise Debuigne, Rennes, France, Feb., '05. Pulmoll is here using the same catch-phrase as on the dust-jackets from a different era. The side flaps still present districts of France. The cartoon on the back cover seems to say that Grandpa gets over the cough from smoking cigars by taking Pulmoll tablets.

1940? Three French dust-jackets, 9½" x 7", apparently for a school book, advertising "Pastille Pulmoll" €6 each at St. Ouen, August, '13. One duplicate of TH without the "Grande Pharmacie La Fontaine" stamp on the cover for $5 from Mme Denise Debuigne, Rennes, France, Feb., '05. The title continues "calme la Toux * flatte le Gout" (perhaps "calms the cough, soothes the taste"?) Two marked "Face au Pont Grand Pharmacie. J. Fontaine. Compiegne." Highly colorful cartoons of TH, GA, and TMCM grace the covers of these three dust jackets. The back cover has basic road signs. Inside on the flaps are lists of districts of France.

1900? 4 Dust jackets ("Couverture Cahier") "Fables de La Fontaine" featuring colored work presentations of individual fables and texts on the back covers. Perhaps all from Pellerin of Épinal? €6 each from Chromosetcollections on Ebay, Nov., '20. I have been unconvinced and then convinced – mostly – that these four dust-jackets were published by Épinal of Pellerin. They are so much in the style of that firm that I simply presumed that they were the publishers. Unfortunately, there is no marking on them to indicate the publisher except the symbol on the front of all four jackets: a coat of arms "P S" and "Propriété des Editeurs." The least likely to come from Pellerin, it seems to me, is "Le Lion et le Chasseur."

1950? Three French dust-jackets, 9½" x 7", apparently for a school book, with art signed by Maurice Parent. One advertises "Costes, 36 et 38, Boulevard Richard-Wallace, Puteaux." 25 Francs from Annick Tilly at the Clignancourt flea market, August, '99. The other two lack advertising and present WL, one on green and one on red paper stock. Each for $5 from Mme Denise Debuigne, Rennes, France, Feb., '05. These dust-jackets are unusual in providing oversized flaps on both sides of the inside, one offering the text of the fable and the other a bust-portrait of and a few lines about Jean de La Fontaine. On the cover of the FS exemplar there is an invitation: "Dear Children" should tell their parents for Christmas to address themselves to Costes. The back covers show a multiplication table nailed to a tree. Around it a crow flies with cheese in its mouth, while a fox runs up underneath. In the foreground are a tortoise and a hare.It is possible that the artist is Maurice Parenti, with the letter " i" on the end of his name.

1950? School dust jacket "Le Loup et le Chien" offert par les Chocolats Fins Menier. Imp. Typo Noisiel. About 7" x 9½". €1 from French Vintage Shop, Paris, through eBay, Feb., '13. This blotter nicely exaggerates the rotundity of the dog on the right and the famished skinniness of the wolf on the left. They meet at a crossroads, where roads lead to Fleurette and Mousseville, respectively. On the verso, the smiling dog advertises the "Fables de La Fontaine" cards one can get in Menier chocolate bars and other Menier products.

1950? School dust jacket "Le Lion et le Moucheron" offert par les Chocolats Fins Menier. Imp. Typo Noisiel. About 7" x 9½". €1 from French Vintage Shop, Paris, through eBay, Feb., '13. The mosquito almost gets lost in this picture as he flies into the upper left corner of the cover of this "Cahier." The viewer might be more drawn to the rabbit who ruins by while the lion takes a missing swing at the mosquito. On the verso the lion is smiling, perhaps because he has just enjoyed some Menier chocolate. The mosquito seems to be enjoying a chocolate himself as he rests on a mushroom.

1935? Five dust-jackets, each with a duochrome illustration of a La Fontaine fable by Maurice LeMainque (1893-1942). 7" x 9½" overall, with illustrations 6⅜" x 4⅝". Papeteries du Sentier. €5 each from kam-oulox through Ebay, Nov., '22. LeMainque may be at his best here when he shows humans, as in 2P and MSA. As it happens, those two are different from the other three in having large interior flaps, which are used to present the fable text. The book-cover presenting "The Lion and the Hunter" seems to come from a different series. It contains an advertisement and frames its illustration. Each illustration has a specific model number: "Lion and Hunter": 101 2P: 103 OF: 104 MSA: 111 "Gardener and Bear": 112.

1915? Three dust-jackets, each with an orange duochrome illustration of a La Fontaine fable signed by Paul Giraud. The verso offers tables of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. The stapled inside flaps offer the outline of a weekly work plan and a centimeter ruler, respectively. $5 apiece from Mme Denise Debuigne, Rennes, France, Feb., '05. Extra copy for $6 of LM from Bertrand Cocq, Calonne-Ricouart, France, Sept., '21. Paul Giraud died in 1917. The line figures on these dust-jackets are surprisingly engaging, particularly the tears of the dying laborer's children. I also enjoy the three different emotions suggested by the three faces in MSA. Can one speak of a "cartoon style," and would it appropriately characterize the approach of these three illustrations?

1900? 6 Dust jackets ("Couverture Cahier") "Fables de La Fontaine" by Auguste-Godchaux, Paris. Artist: L. Mimard. Colored presentations of individual fables and texts – both in ornamental frames -- on both covers. €6 each from Chromosetcollections on Ebay, Nov., '20. Godchaux seems to be active up to the present. These colored images dramatize the fables in energetic ways, although within less energetic classical "frames." Best of the group of six might be MSA. Also good is "The Miser Who Lost His Treasure." The framework on front and back covers is identical. It includes floral patterns and several key fable images, like FC, LM, and WL.

1895? Booklet of 16 dust-jackets stapled together. Algis and G. Dascher. published by C(amille) Charier in Saumur, France. €33 from Maxime Chupin, Carqueiranne, France, through Ebay, July, ’21. Here is a remarkable experience and a remarkable object. The experience is that it had taken me some nine months to arrive at cataloguing a set of unusual early dust-jackets just a few days ago. Then an object arrived that I had ordered on Ebay because it was unusual: a stapled booklet presenting 16 images consecutively in the first half on the right side of the booklet and then, in reverse order on the left-hand pages, the La Fontaine fable texts for those illustrations. What happened here? Did someone gather the dust jackets and assemble them? Was that someone the publisher? As with the individual dust jackets, so in the booklet: while the common top and left frame scene is signed by “Algis,” some of the inset illustrations are signed by “Algis” and others by “G. Dascher.” Camille Charier seems to be the publisher. The texts are printed not only in different colors but in differing typefaces. What a strange find! I show the booklet with edges exposed in hopes that viewers can see the four staples at the central crease of this booklet.