Household Items

2010? Pillow or cushion cover illustrating “The Mouse, the Frog, and the Hawk.” 28.6” x 19”. Unknown source. I presume that this is a cushion or pillow cover, since it has an opening for something to be put inside. Illustrating this fable is rather unusual!

2000? Four refrigerator magnets made from monochrome illustrations by Arthur Rackham. 2" x 3". Clear acrylic. Unknown source. Most refrigerator magnets that I have found so far in the world of fables are flexible slabs of magnetic material. These are clear cases formed around a copy of a Rackham illustration with a piece of that magnetic material on the back of the ensemble. The choice of subjects here is quite unusual! Maybe the artist was a lover of wolves!

2022? Four wall hangings of images lithographed on tin. About 8” x 11½”. $15 each from Joshua Joshua Jacobovits, Shiloh, Israel. Jan., ’25. This is a first in our collection. Three of these four use standard traditional images, including one from Rackham and one from Boutet-Monvel. The image from the latter, FS, seems unfortunately cropped short. The other image is a lively presentation of FC. I am unsure just how the creators thought these tin plates would be used.

2000? Three French Hangable Plates in High Relief: TH, LM, WL. NEM (or ONEM). 7.75" in diameter. Unknown source. Deep relief scene of the fable, with floral patterns at the sides and a moral below. There is a hook for hanging implanted in the resin back.

2023? Wall hanging: The Bayeux Tapestry. 40" x 50". 100% polyester. $50 from Judaicaman: Joshua Jacobovitz, Shilo, Israel, Dec., '24. Though the Bayeux Tapestry is fascinating and a good source for fable illustrations, this copy is disappointing. One would have to look very hard to find those fables and then to recognize them as fables. The advertisement says "Great to snuggle in or hang up in your den."

1981? FG Trinket Box. Made exclusively in Japan for Elizabeth Arden. Southern Heirlooms. 3.25" diameter. From an unknown source. As I try to recover information on where some items came from as they entered this collection, I almost expect to find no help online. This piece is an exception! As soon as I entered an image, all sorts of equivalent photos showed up. The piece is variously known also as a Jewelry Holder and a Candle Holder. I had not thought that one could put or pour a candle into this little creature. In any case, the presentation seems to have nothing to do with FG, since that story depends on the two being separate from each other. For a rather commonplace object, it is beautifully made. The rim has a projection corresponding to the fox's tail.

1980? Souvenir Bowl of La Fontaine's Fable "Rabbit and Weasel Before the Judge Cat." Hand-painted? Signed by M. Praquin. "Décor: L'Or et l"argent – Cadeau." 5" in diameter. Crepy: Limoges. Unknown source. Here is another unusual item in this collection. The fable is clear and well illustrated. A housing issue between rabbit and weasel was referred to Raminogrobis, the saintly hermit cat. He invited the two litigants closer, claiming impaired hearing. When they came closer, he grabbed both. That was the end of the rabbit and the weasel. What does one call this kind of small bowl? There is so much information on the bottom!

1950? Victorian Derby Silver Basket with FS Internal Image. Derby Silver Company Quadruple Plate. 1138? 6" in diameter; basket is 1.75" high. Unknown source. Here is a well preserved basket with its movable handle intact. I find comparable copies with the same number at about $50. A similar copy had a clearer "8" at the end of "1138."

1920? Raimond grapes scissors. 6.5" long. Silver plated? Unknown source. Heavy and beautifully formed. The fox heads offer a further point of contact for the fingers of the person using the scissors. A similar Raimond version is on Ebay now for $130. The edge here is not serrated. The seller on Ebay comments that gentlemen do not touch food with their hands. Might one better say that one does not touch food that may come to others? It seems difficult to sit at table and to get grapes from the vine all the way to one's mouth without touching them.

1910? Scissors with one serrated edge showing foxes straining upward for grapes on each handle. "Italy." 6" long and 2" wide. Unknown source. This grapes scissors is a heavier version of the scissors above found earlier. There is a curious bent in the handle of the scissors. Both foxes and grapes are well detailed on both front and back. On closer inspection, this scissors seems to be the heavier, better defined original version of which the Smith scissors above is a less defined lighter copy. How fascinating!

1999 Ring Dish Celebrating the International Renard Society. Poitiers, August 23-27, 1999. 3.5" x 4.5". Porcelain produced by Yves Deshoulières in France. Here is a lovely gift made for those attending one of the Renard Society's meetings. As it happened, I could attend this meeting because it was not too deep into the American fall semester. I was called away after offering my presentation because of a death among relatives, and I was sad. The image of Renard reading is a favorite one Renardians!

1998 Harmony Kingdom "Mutton Chops" WSC Box Figurine. Detachable top. Handmade in UK. Perhaps $30. Unknown source and date. At first one may not notice the sheepskin tied onto the back of the wolf. Search on "Google Images" helped to identify this object.