Creighton University Archives and Special Collections

Carlson Fable Collection

Item Set

Items

• One Dahomey Stamp
  1990? One imperforate stamp showing FS. Maroon and blue. 35F. Republique du Dahomey. Signed "Haley." $8.49 from Westminster Stamp Gallery, Ltd., Foxboro, MA, through eBay, August, '05. This stamp comes out of nowhere for me. I did not know of its existence. I suspect that it has several companions in a series of either La Fontaine fables or FS. It presents the climactic moment in which the stork can get food out of the vase but the fox cannot.
• Three Dahomey Stamps
  1990? Three Dahomey Fable Stamps showing TH (10F), FS (35F), and "Le Chat, la Belette et le petit Lapin" (40F). Republique du Dahomey. Each is signed both "(P.) Lambert" and "(C.) Haley." $4.12 from Jan Nackaerts, Bornem, Belgium, through eBay, August, '03. Each stamp uses three colors effectively together. A main scene, like the tortoise standing triumphant while the hare scurries, is complemented by side figures, like the tortoise dawdling and eating. Just a few evenings ago, I mentioned a propos of the imperforate version I had found of FS that I thought there was a series to which it belonged. Here is the series!
• Cyprus GA 2012 Stamp
  2012 GA follows the same pattern as TH a year earlier. Again, there is a pleasing folder showing the stamps, telling the GA story in Greek, English, French, and German, and giving credit to its creators. This time the cover cartoon is more in keeping with the delightful stamp series, as we see the two characters in their summer encounter. We have four copies of this folder. The date of issue is 3-10-2012, which I take to be October 3, 2012. Extra copy of the strip from Charis Menelaou through Ebay: unknown cost and date, We have only two copies of the strip itself, which shows three phases of the interaction: summer, fall, and winter. The obverse has an encounter similar to that on the cover of the folder, the full text in Greek, and the total price of the five 34 cent stamps, €1.70. We have two copies of the FDC envelope, which this time includes a bust of Aesop as well as the five stamps and the unique FDC cancellation featuring the two main characters. It seems to mention the Cypriotic Stamp Lovers Association: "kypriake philotelike etairia." These materials came from Cyprus Stamps, Limassol, Cyprus, August, '15; Charis Menelaou, Nicosia, Cyprus, Jan., '16; and Marlen Stamp and Coins, Ltd., Great Neck NY, Oct., '12.
• Cyprus TH 2011 Stamp
  2011 TH has an explanatory folder including texts of the fable in English, French, and German as well as Cyprus' own Greek. The five stamps are pictured in the folder, as well as the "strip" from which they are taken and the obverse of the slip. Credit is given to the various creators of the stamp. On the cover of this post office brochure/wrapper is a rather unfortunate photo of a turtle crossing a finish line ahead of a rabbit. Date of issue for the stamp series is 5.10.11, which I take to be October 5, 2011. We have two of these folders. Then there are the strips mentioned above, containing the framework for the five specific stamps. This framework is divided into three sections. I do not understand the division. The obverse announces the title, tells the story, and gives the price of the overall strip of 5 34 cent stamps, €1.70. Each strip has a unique number. In all, I have four of these strips. Cyprus Post apparently also created an FDC envelope using all five stamps and cancelling them with a TH impression. Each of the two envelops I have also adds a 2 cent stamp. Might their own stamp set not have come up to the required postage for an envelope? These materials came from Cyprus Stamps, Limassol, Cyprus, August, '15 and Charis Menelaou, Nicosia, Cyprus, Jan., '16.
• 5 Fabeln für unsere Zeit (Nach James Thurber)
  1960? 5 Fabeln für unsere Zeit (Nach James Thurber). Aus dem Englischen übertragen von Marlies Müller. Illustriert von Felix Müller. Loose in a portfolio. Bremen: Otto Behrens. €16 from Versandantiquariat Kerstin Daras, Düsseldorf, July, '18. "Druck für den Freundeskreis der Bremer Kunstschiule." This is a folio of five 8¼" x 11¾" singlefolds. Each has a title on the front page, a text on the left-hand page, and a full-page print on the right-hand page. The illustrations are striking. Sometimes the German has to bend a little to try to meet Thurber. Thurber's owl story is particularly challenging. Two moles tried to slip quietly by, unnoticed. "You!" said the owl. "Who?" they responded. "You two" came the answer. The German resorts to the clever "You and you." The crazy questions that are soon asked of this divine figure change to equally crazy questions in German. I will also list this work among prints, with visuals for each piece. Do not miss the clever "5" on the cover. The two copies available on the web have no more idea than I do when this lovely piece was produced.-
• "The North Wind and the Sun."
  2022 "The North Wind and the Sun." Paired A5 art prints. $30.72 from Wodlingtown, Plymouth, UK, through Etsy, July, '22. Wodlingtown advertises "Weirdo black and white illustrations for weirdo people." In this case, I think anyone who likes fables is a weirdo! This pair is well executed. The contrast of the two prints is stark and significant. I hope they do more fables!
• Starling Prints
  1930? 9 colored La Fontaine prints signed "Starling." 100 Francs each at a Buchinist along the Seine, August, '99. Each 9.5" x 6.2" print has an image on the left, including the title of La Fontaine's fable. On the right is the text. Each is mounted on stiff paper almost 16" x 11". The fables are FC, FS, GA, MM, OF, TB, TMCM, WL, and 2P. They use color very nicely and have a cartoon quality in their conception. My favorite is OF. In it there is a bathing-beauty frogette, and the about-to-explode frog wears swimming shorts that only emphasize the balloon-like character of his chest. I always knew it: the cheese lost by the crow to the fox is a Camembert! See also a collection of postcards using these same images.
• Brian Serway Prints
  2023 Wolf in Sheep's Clothing. Black and White Print by Brian Serway. $23.81 from Brian Serway Art on Etsy, Dec., '23 Wow! The first startling thing about this strong piece consists in the four empty eyeballs. The second, I would say, is the weird congruence of the bodies. Not pretty!
• Sancha Prints for Tuck Up-to-Date
  1915? Six prints offering the same illustrations as Tuck's "Up-to-Date" "Oilette" postcards by Tuck and Sons. €70 from Albert van den Bosch, Antwerp, June, '23. I was surprised to find these six images in other than postcard form. As I describe a propos of the postcards, fables are used in this instance to satirize Germany. The fable texts on the message side there appear in Dutch, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, or English on individual cards; words printed on the image side shift correspondingly. There are no indications of a source for these, except perhaps that they appear to be in Spanish. My, things get around!
• Florence Sampson Silhouettes
  1933 three matted silhouettes by Florence Sampson, taken from or identical with those in "Famous Fables from Aesop." Silhouettes. $6 from janelaine through Ebay, March, '22. Strong representatives from a good book.
• Prints of LM and TH by Adam Rhine
  2002? Prints of LM and TH by Adam Rhine. $15 each from Adam Rhine, March, '03. LM has the mouse holding a large chainsaw labeled “Rat-N-Decker”. The vibrant colors make for a very appealing fable illustration -- and a humorous glance back at the fable's rope-chopping element. TH shows the hare resting by a tree and reading a newspaper with the headline “Hare Favored to Win Race”. He is alerted by the sound of tortoise whizzing by on a motorcycle. This drawing humorously reflects the moral behind the original Aesop fable. Is there in fact something of the tortoise's shell in the image of a hard riding motorcyclist?
• Linda Powell Prints
  1975? Linda Powell Prints. 11" x 14". $10.95 from Elaine Bono, Southfield, MI, June, '04. I had found these six designs earlier on a greeting card and on placemats. Now I am happy to know that they were done by Linda Powell. Each of these six prints is signed by the artist. Three depict fables: TH FG, and GGE. Other items in the series include “the little red hen,” “the frog prince,” and “the magic fish."
• Peter Pan Tortoise and Hare Print
  Art print “Slow & Steady Wins the Race – The Tortoise and the Hare.” 8½” x 11”. $18.48 from Peter Pan Prints through Etsy, August, ’18. The artist here places the hare’s white against the tortoise’s larger green space. I am delighted to see Etsy’s artists taking up Aesop!
• Peck Tortoise and Hare Print
  1907 "The Tortoise and the Hare." Print of a drawing originally created by Henry Jarvis Peck. 7” x 9.5”. $2.74 from Steven Morawiec, August, '03. The illustration features an old man apparently tugging a boat of younger men through the ocean. The title of the image implies a moral behind the story depicted in the drawing. The slower fishing boat of the old man has to tow in the speedy sailing boat with its broken mast and several riders. Slow and steady wins again!
• Metzmacher GA Print
  1890? "The Grasshopper and the Ant." Print of an original painting titled “The Grasshopper and the Ant” by E. Metzmacher. 11” x 16”. $17.85 from Paula Carlson, May, '05. The owner’s name is given as L. Hawk and the work was copyrighted by Gravure Goupil & Co. Hawk’s collection is given as in New York. The print’s date is unknown, but the original painting was completed in 1869 and was signed by the artist himself in the bottom right corner. Painted in the image are two women, a dog, and several doves. An American collector and an American publisher have picked up the French tradition of sympathy with the mendicant artist, here harassed by the dog as well as the ant-like housewife. The dog and the doves find shelter here, but the artist finds nothing but rejection. I have found a trace of a second Metzmacher "Cigale." It seems to show the grasshopper after her rejection. An image of this now unavailable painting is below.
• Kate Greenway MM Print
  1900? Kate Greenway Print "The Fable of the Girl and Her Milk Pail." 6” x 8.5”. $9.99 from Lawrence Camerena, April, '08. The caption on the back reads, “from a water-colour drawing in the possession of W. Finch, Esq”. The print of the painting offers an unusual view of the girl who spilled her milkpail in three ways. Scenes of this fable usually depict the young woman out in the midst of nature. They seldom include onlookers, like the two children gawking at her predicament. The young woman is usually more disconsolate. Here she seems somehow unexcited over what has happened.
• Gouget 1834 Prints
  I have found the work of Emile Joseph Alexandre Gouget on three occasions and in three forms. The first two, the simplest, cost €2 apiece at a flea market in Strasbourg in July, '19. In my short time in Paris in the summer of 2014, I managed to find a number of fable materials. Among them are broadsides or separated pages from Gouget's edition of La Fontaine in 1834 (Bodemann #279.1). There are two groups. One group of five is carefully matted but without decoration around the page of text and illustration. They are slightly colored. The seller labeled them "1834" and that was the first clue that these are Gouget's work. Gouget's signature is at the bottom of most texts. The illustrations here are slightly colored. These five are the following. And now I have found a sixth, "The Lobster and Her Young," for €20 from Albert van den Bosch, June, '23. Click on any image to see it enlarged. A third group of twelve has elaborate printer's designs around the (identical) illustration and text. Each has these three signatures: Gouget Dir. Ex"; "N. PA. Xardo Sc."; and "LeMercier." These prints include the following. Click on any image to see it enlarged.
• Geeky Gamer Girls Art Print of Frog and Scorpion
  2018 "Frog and Scorpion." Silhouette art print by GeekyGamerGirls on Etsy. 17" x 11". $21 from GeekyGamerGirls on Etsy, August, '18. "A scorpion wants to cross a river but cannot swim, so it asks a frog to carry it across. The frog hesitates, afraid that the scorpion might sting it, but the scorpion promises not to, pointing out that it would drown if it killed the frog in the middle of the river. The frog considers this argument sensible and agrees to transport the scorpion. Midway across the river, the scorpion stings the frog anyway, dooming them both. The dying frog asks the scorpion why it stung despite knowing the consequence, to which the scorpion replies: "I am sorry, but I couldn't resist the urge. It's in my nature." Wikipedia, which offers this version, says that the fable is not known in this version until the 20th century.
• "The Grasshopper and the Ant" print.
  1920? "The Grasshopper and the Ant" print. By A.B. Frost. 7” x 9.5”. $3.74 from Steven Moraweic, Oct., '03. This print of GA shows the scene familiar from numerous French prints but offers, rather than a young woman artist and a mother, two Blacks, one warmly dressed and carrying food and drink, the other a musician asking for help.
• Fontana Print
  1906 Print of R. Fontana's 1878 engraving "Aesop Narrating His Fables." The work was originally published as part of the "Exposition Universelle de 1878." $5 from Stephen P. Ryder, Alexandria, VA, through Ebay, Sept., '99. This black-and-white reproduction of Fontana's work comes nowhere near the lovely hand-colored version I have listed under "Engravings." Who knows, however, when it will come in handy?!
• Fruity Fable Reprints
  2005 Four reprints of 1936 prints titled "Fruity Fables," from the magazine The Sketch. reprinted by An Englishman in LA, "the most unusual company this side of the 15th century." Each of the four is about 11" x 14". Artist G.E. Studdy. Between $6.99 and $14 each from the reprinters on eBay, July, '05. As the company's commentary on the prints points out, the "vibrance of the printing and the beauty if its style" make these prints outstanding. There is a sauciness to the approach taken to the fruits.
• La Fontaine fables by Jacques Ferrand
  1952 4 colored prints of La Fontaine fables by Jacques Ferrand. "The Two Goats"; FC; GGE; and “The Sun and the Frogs.” About 8½” x 10½”. Unsigned. Blank versos. $19.56 from La Brauderie through Etsy, Dec., ’20. Excellent color work, both in the conception and in the printing. I presume that these prints are identical with pages in his 1950 Mame editions, though I am unable at the moment to check them. The blank versos argue against these being pages cut out of a book.
• Blotter advertising "Super Biscottes Sablées Saint Honoré"
  1975? Blotter advertising "Super Biscottes Sablées Saint Honoré" illustrating DW. Green and red on yellow blotter paper. 11¼" x 3⅛". $5 from Mme Denise Debuigne, Rennes, France, May, '03. This blotter -- if indeed it is a blotter -- has an unusual size and shape. The cartoon has a dog luxuriating -- on bread cushions? -- and smoking a cigar. "Les biscottes qui honorent votre table!" "Vente reservée a la boulangerie." "Garanties exemptaes de tous produits chimiques." These cookies have everything!
• Blotter from "Aux Arts Ménagers"
  1970? Blotter from "Aux Arts Ménagers," that is, household arts. Apparently this store offers heating, furniture, paper goods, toys. Saint-Brieuc. Four panels picturing La Fontain's "The Heron." $5 from Mme Denise Debuigne, Rennes, France, May, '05. This is one of the simplest French blotters I have found. The four panels trace four stages of the heron's dining day. Together they demonstrate the fate of picky taste! A quick check could not find the store or firm operating any more.
• Buvard offert par Semelflex, a maker of shoes.
  1970? Buvard offert par Semelflex, a maker of shoes. With a trace-the-dots painting of La Fontaine's shoemaker from "The Shoemaker and the Financier." Premiere Serie C: Bottillon d'Enfant. Mesmer Pub. Imp. Sézanne. 5¼" x 8¼". $5 from Mme Denise Debuigne, Rennes, France, May, '02. Green, red, and black highlight the face of a man and a child's shoe. When—as here—someone connects the dots, the delightful shoemaker appears, with his pipe in one hand and his hammer in the other. The blotter's invitation is well phrased: "Trace a line in the sequence of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, etc… and you will designate the shoemaker whom La Fontaine let sing from morning until evening."