Greeting Cards

2020 LM greeting card. Copyright Phoebe Goodchild 2020. Quincy prints. $3.92 through Etsy, Nov., '24. The image on its own tells a tale of friendship in the midst of the natural world. There is no smiling here, but there is peaceful coexistence.

2020 Gratitude greeting card. "The grateful heart will always find opportunities to show its gratitude. Aesop." Sketches from "The Fabled Life of Aesop" by Pamela Zagarenski. No. 538. Signed by the senders, Paul and Ianthe Swensen, Dec., '21. The scenes on the front and back of the card connect. Did the woman get the grapes for the fox?

2004? Greeting card "Aesop's Fables," about 6" x 4". The front cover shows three picture cards and one text verso; the back cover shows two text versos and one "Sweet Afton" Virginia Cigarettes advertisement. Produced by the Antique Map & Print Gallery, April Cottage, UK. $1.88 from Jackie Daniels, Peterborough, UK, through eBay, Oct., '05. Nine extra copies at the same time for the same price. The eBay advertisement for this item read "Cigarette Card Greeting Card." The irony is that the pictures and texts here were all taken from Typhoo Tea cards! The printing around the colorful picture ovals has been carefully removed. The card acknowledges The Antique Map & Print Gallery in Worcester, England. Perhaps the gallery had already removed the print.

1998? "Congratulations" portrait-formatted greeting card. The front shows a sweating hare trying to catch up to a running tortoise and says "Congratulations." Inside reads "You've really pulled ahead!" ©Karen Lyn Morse. Printed in U.S.A. Animal Crackers. Boulder, CO: Blue Mountain Arts. Gift, June, '99. The eyes and the drops of sweat make this anxious rabbit distinctive. The tortoise, who has a great smile, reaches out with both arms, presumably for the finish line.

1992 Landscape photograph greeting card. The front shows a turtle and a hare looking out at the viewer. Opened up, the card reads "Your pace or mine?" Photograph ©1992 Rick Dublin, "Tortoise and Hare." ©1992 Palm Press, Berkeley CA. The look on each character's face helps to make this card's impression. The jump from the story's competition to the card's invitation is also a strong category leap!

1990 Landscape colored painting greeting card. The front shows a dressed female hare riding supine and perhaps asleep on a large tortoise. Above them is written "Enjoy the slow times, they are a gift." Blank inside. Paris Bottman. Lithographed in USA. Salt Lake City, UT: Bottman Design 125 30132. Gift, '94. Even if it is a run-on sentence with a comma splice, it is a wonderful sentiment! The languid posture of the hare is perfect for this scene and message.

1988? "little friends may prove great friends. Aesop." 4½" x 6". The Printery House. Conception, MO: Conception Abbey. Gift of Mary Pat Ryan, Nov., '92. Though the saying might be most easily matched with LM, the image on the front of the card is that of a psychedelic insect. Might the image and saying both be taken from the fable of the hare, the eagle, and the dung beetle? There is no message inside the card.

1985? "The Fox and the Grapes." 5" x 7". Colorado Springs, Co. Gift, '85?. An eager fox assumes a posture like that of a begging dog just before some grapes hanging very near, so its seems, his nose. There is no message inside the card.

1970? One valentine proclaiming "I'm not a dog in a manger but I want you for myself alone. Valentine." Made in U.S.A. $2.95 from Trish Rucker at Birdhouse Books, Decatur, GA, through eBay, Jan., '18. I am delighted to find a good ol' time Valentine! I am surprised that the receiver is supposed to be able to recognize the Aesopic allusion. I do not think that "The Dog in the Manger" is a well known fable these days. So when was it well known?

2000? Hallmark get-well card. Cover shows a bandaged turtle. Inside: "It's not the speed that matters. It's the getting there. Hope you feel better soon." Gift of Pauli Ruotolo, July, '05. A clever card like this does not even have to repeat "Slow and steady wins the race." We all know the idea, and the sight of the turtle calls it up quickly. As ever, Hallmark is clever.

1991? Portrait-formatted colored painting get-well card. The front shows a mouse in a robe, with slippers on its feet and a steaming pot of tea at its side. "Country mouse…or city…" reads the outside caption, to be finished inside with "Happy Healing!" Ambassador: Hallmark 135ZF 323R. Gift of Vera Ruotolo, July, '92. I would never have thought that Aesopic fables would appear in the world of get-well-cards, but here one is!

2002? Birthday greeting card "A Birthday Fable." 8¾" x 4". Made in U.S.A. Kansas City, MO: Expressions from Hallmark. $1 from Sheryl Weilgosh, Oklahoma City, OK, through eBay, Jan., '04. Here is a card meant to supply a surprising answer. Click on this small version first to find the larger version. Then click on the card to open it.