Product Labels

Individual Russian chocolate candy wrappers in the collection represent several different brands.

Krasniy Oktybro delivers "Krylov Fables" chocolates in three sizes: 20 grams, 18 grams, and 15 grams. We have one of the first sort, two of the second, and one of the third..

Four labels come from smaller pieces – 18 grams --of chocolate. The color scheme is different on each, though the format remains the same. By contrast with the larger chocolate bars above, these wrappers seem to be shut, as though the top and bottom have become pasted together. I have not had the heart to re-open them! One verso below gives a sense of the similar siblings.

The large sizeis about 3⅜" x 6" and contains 100 grams of chocolate. This closed wrapper is so strong that I offer the verso as well.

1992 Three identical wine labels "1992er Traubensaft der Mosel, Müller-Thurgau." From the vineyards of Friedrich Fuchs in Klüsserath. Gift of Friedrich Fuchs. I had not known that Herr von Fuchs had his own vineyards. The art here is a mixture of, on the one hand, some lovely colored grapes in a suggestion of a landscape and, on the other, a finely sketched angry fox looking back up at the grapes as he walks away.

1986 Five identical labels, 3½" x 2", for placement on the neck of a wine bottle. Each says "1986er" below an image, in red, green, gold, yellow, and black, of a fox looking up at grapes. From the vineyards of Friedrich Fuchs? The five were a gift of Herr von Fuchs, July, '98. It would be just like Herr von Fuchs to put this playful label on his wine.

1950? "Jean de La Fontaine" champagne label. "Cuvee Champagne Jean de La fontaine, 1621-1695." $5 from Bertrand Cocq, Calonne Ricouart, France, Sept., '18. A seal in the center of this label depicts an open book and a feather used for writing. Golden lines emerge from the book. I think Jean would have enjoyed both the recognitiion and the champagne!

1960 Eight single matchbox labels, each giving the title and an illustration for a fable of Ivan Krylov. About 2" x 1¼". Each cover has a tiny "1960" inscribed outside the border of the scene itself. $2.99 from Alexander Basoc, Highland Park, IL, through Ebay, May, '00. Extra set for €20 from Albert van den Bosch, Antwerp. June, '23. Each item includes this Cyrillic information at the bottom or right, whichever is the smaller edge: "AEH.CHX Φ ПРOΛETAРCKOE 3HAMЯ ГOCT 1820-56*50WГ." This is now my third set of matchbox labels. This is getting serious! The illustrations here are simple and contain three colors: black, beige, and brown. The characters are identified with simple nouns.

1900? Seventeen pairs of matchbox labels, each giving the title and an illustration for a fable of Ivan Krylov. Described only as "old and extremely rare" by the seller on Ebay. $16 from Vladislav Pronin, Brooklyn, Feb., '00. What a hoot! I never knew that such a thing existed! I presume that each of these pairs would be cut in two and pasted onto a box of matches. I never thought of finding fables on matchbooks! The designs are simple and appealing, always featuring a white label at the top.

each giving the title and an illustration for a fable of either Jean de La Fontaine or Florian. The total set may number fifty. Fifty were announced, but so far I have found only these thirty. There are also two larger 2 3/8" x 2¾" labels, apparently for a package of ten of the packets that would use the sixteen individual labels. AU $10 from Dave Cox, Drysdale, Australia, through Ebay, Sept., '00. Several extras and two new labels from Dany Wolfs, Roesalare, Belgium, August, '00. Four extras and twelve new labels for $14.19 from Jim Swiftway through eBay, April, '04. These are lovely designs, much different in their simplicity from the simple Russian matchbox covers. As one can see from actual French matchboxes, a picture design was used on only one of the two large sides, by contrast with the double images for Russian matchboxes. Do not miss the excellent use of color in SS and of form in "La Jeune Poule et le Renard" and FG. There are excellent facial expressions on the animals in "Le Rat et l'Huitre," LM, WL, and "Le Singe qui Montre la Lanterne Magique." It is a special pleasure to find such loveliness in simple things!

1960? Complete set of 24 paper cigar bands from Verellen, Vieille Anvers in mint condition. 1 3/16" x 7/8". The bands are two shades of red, and frames for the colored illustrations are gold. The subjects are animal stories including fables. $18.55 from Andre Prenger at The Holland America Cigar Band and Label Store, Amsterdam, through Ebay, July, '99. Since these fables came shortly before I left Omaha for a year away, they have eluded cataloguing and scanning. Now at last three years later I can offer them. The graphic work is done in such a small space that it is hard to do the subjects justice. And so I offer here actual size presentations on this page with an enlargement each. For me it is already fun to know that someone used fables as subjects on cigar bands! The best of the group are FG by Lessing (7), "Quartet" (8), "The Wolf with the Frozen Tail" (10), "Chantecleer" (16), "The Bees and the Bumblebees" (18), and TT (20). The verso has numbers, authors, and titles in Dutch and French.

Besides the large maroon wrappers, Rossia also offered gold wrappers in two different sizes: 8½" x 8" (100 gram) and 6¼" x 6" (50 gram). We have two of the former and one of the latter.