Original Art

1992 A Fairy Tale Which Turned into a Fable. Fable written for Gregory Carlson, S.J., by June Clinton. Sent with a letter from the author, Sept., '92. Delightful story about Solon, Aesop, and Croesus, asking which of the three had the happy ending and concluding that no one lives happily ever after. I would add: "And some do not more than others"! A delightful unique gift.

1992 “The Town Rat and the Country Rat: By Jean de la Fontaine: A Coloring Book.” Illustrations by Mary-Margaret Dupin. Presumably for requirements in a fable course at Georgetown University. Several outstanding exemplars remain from many student “creative projects” from courses on ancient literature and especially on fables. Here is one of the best. The text is by Walter Thornbury about 1870. The illustrations are delightful! It is such a pleasure to come back to them now (January, ’26)! I give a sample below the cover-page. Do not miss the cat entering right!

2000? Pen-and-ink drawing of “The Man with Two Mistresses.” Student work. Unknown date and artist. I regret not being able to read the artist’s signature on this lovely work. Wonderful shadow technique! Effective caricature! Bravo!

1985? FG Flip-Book. Student creative work for a fable course. 4.2” x 3.7”. Two staples. Unknown creator. I regularly assigned one creative work when I taught literature, whatever form that creative work might take. Here’s a delightful flip book of the fox approaching the grapes, trying to get them, and walking away. Cleverly done!

1944 Lithograph of La Fontaine fable “The Ass and Lapdog” by Henri Deluermoz. This lithograph leapt out as I reviewed the set and compared them with the published version of the portfolio of Deluermoz’s lithographs. The work in this lithograph is finer than that in either the portfolio or the set of illustrations. Might it be the artist’s original conception? It differs, I believe, clearly from the final product. Notice, for example, the object – a ribbon perhaps? – at the back of the woman’s head. This lovely illustration is a surprise gift!

2015 “Aesop’s Fables: The man and the serpent.” Oil painting. 9.8” x 12. Richard Hubbard. UK. Unknown source. This is a deeply imaginative presentation, I presume of the man who brought home a frozen snake. In the background shimmers a post industrial scene. The man gives every appearance of struggling, his hands with vines and his feed with barbed wire that may become supple tree branches. Curious stuff! I found anther work of his online that seems quite similar. It sold for 25 pounds. Are we to believe that we have an original painting of his?

2008 Oil painting of CP. Laura Cushing, Fall, 2008. 16” x 26.4”. Gift of the artist. What a lovely strong and simple statement! Good for you!

2005? Copy painting of Gustav Klimt's “Fable.” Ross. 27.1” x 22.7”. Unknown source. I show also an image of Klimt's original. As I mention of our photograph of Klimt's painting, starting from the right, we find here FS; FK; perhaps “Heron”; perhaps “Lion in Love”; and perhaps TMCM. There may well be other fables hidden in the painting. The fox's vase and the two mice not come out as clearly in Ross' more impressionistic handling of the scene. Is the "Ross" here Bob Ross, the well known painter?

2007? “The Fox and the Grapes.” Giclée art print. Artist’s proof, signed by Rachel Badeau. 9.75” x 7.75” (image 5.5” x 3.8”). I do not know how giclée art works, but this is amazingly detailed. As I catalogue this 17 years after receiving it, I am happy to see that t he artist and studio are still producing lovely art on Etsy.

1870? Split-double fore-edge painting on a first edition English translation of La Fontaine's fables. Here is one of the new stars in our collection! It is a beautiful, heavy (10.5 pounds) edition with slip sheets for the full-page illustrations, heavy paper, and robust binding. Weber Rare Books offered 1870 as their guess as to its date. I presume it is a first English edition. The outstanding feature of this copy lies in its four outstanding fore-edge paintings. I will quote Weber’s description: ‘With a split fore-edge painting, sometimes called a “split-double”, with the volume showing a total of four paintings made after Doré drawings found within the book, 2 being side-by-side on either the left or right-hand fanned edges. Facing one direction (left): “The Little Fish and the Fisherman” [page 238] and “The Lion in Love” [p. 157]; on the other side (facing right): “The Monkey and the Dolphin” [p. 173] and “The Rat and the Elephant” [p. 489].’ I was particularly happy to “land” this book for two reasons. A recent report to Reinert-Alumni Library seemed to suggest that the collection target higher end acquisitions unavailable elsewhere. We are also planning a new layout of collection treasures for visitors emphasizing modes of illustration. What an excellent example of a rare mode of illustration! Weber notes that the paintings were commissioned by Harrington’s (London), ca. 1990s-2010. The handwriting on the volume, from the artist on staff for the bookshop, has penciled in 29 lines of penciling used to highlight and detail this painting added to the volume. The note begins: “Split Foredge Painting / In four panels.” Commissioned by Harrington’s toward the end of the 20th century.

2014? Braided Bread Snake Offering a Rose to Zeus. Clever creation of a student who went on to oversee a popular Omaha bakery. Mikaela? If only her professor had a better memory for names! Preserved for so many years, I believe, because an outer layer of some sort was applied.

1988 Four mounted plates by Olivia Lobos. LM and DS (15.5" x 11.5") plus two title-pages (8" x 11.5") in a portfolio 12" x 15.5". Completed by Olivia Lobos for the final assessment of Graphic Communications and Printing Technology. Plus three letters from Eric Sweet. The text of the two fables is printed on transparent vinyl and overlaid onto the artist's illustrations. The mouse perches on the lion’s nose; the dog runs happily over an open field before his bad decision at the water. Loosely inserted in a stout portfolio are three letters from Eric Sweet detailing his wish to purchase the most successful set of illustrations to add to his collection, as well as the letter confirming this set's purchase. The lovely art work includes the surprising non-capital for “Lion” in the title. This item was part of a large purchase of the legacy of Eric Sweet by Rooke Books. Eric Sweet was a keen collector of private press and fables. He studied at the Brighton College of Art, before moving to London to work as a lettering artist and typographer for advertising agencies, later becoming the head of Birmingham School of Printing.