Creighton University Archives and Special Collections

Carlson Fable Collection

Item Set

Items

• China plate of LM
  1989 China plate of LM. Michael Hampshire. Edwin M. Knowles China Company. Fourth issue in limited edition series of fables. #216A. Bradex #84-K81-31.4. $20 from Brenda Headley, Eastport, NY, May, '99. Second exemplar, #2137A, in excellent condition, for $5 from Rebecca Nader, Altoona, PA, through Ebay, Oct., '99. The mouse holds two ends of a split rope triumphantly in his paws. The lion is in the process of springing free from the net as a whole.The box and certificate have suffered water damage, but it seems not to have affected the plate.Included is a brochure presenting the fable's text and commenting on Hampshire's art.
• China plate of FG
  1989 China plate of FG. Michael Hampshire. Edwin M. Knowles China Company. Third issue in limited edition series of fables. #815A. Bradex #84-K81-31.3. $30 from Daydream at Omaha Collectors' Fair, Nov., '89. Second exemplar, #998A, in excellent condition, for $5 from Rebecca Nader, Altoona, PA, through Ebay, Oct., '99. Richly colored scene. The fox is perching on a wobbly stool on top of a barrel. Might the whole scene be unnecessarily busy?Included is a brochure presenting the fable's text and commenting on Hampshire's art.
• China plate of TH
  1988 China plate of TH. Michael Hampshire. Edwin M. Knowles China Company. Second issue in limited edition series of fables. #6955A. Bradex #84-K81-31.2. $20 from Brenda Headley, Eastport, NY, May, '99. Second exemplar, #976A, in excellent condition, for $5 from Rebecca Nader, Altoona, PA, through Ebay, Oct., '99. The tortoise approaches us in victory and is just reaching the finish ribbon held by a frog and a squirrel. The rabbit looks on in surprise from behind the tortoise. Richly colored! Included is a brochure presenting the fable's text and commenting on Hampshire's art.
• China plate of GGE
  1988 China plate of GGE. Michael Hampshire. Edwin M. Knowles China Company. First issue in a limited edition series of fables. #15343A. Bradex #84-K81-31.1. $19.99 from Kathy Ignoto, Southwick, MA, through Ebay, April, '99. Second exemplar, #14083A, for $20 from Brenda Headley, Eastport, NY, May, '99. Third exemplar, #12125A, in excellent condition, for $5 from Rebecca Nader, Altoona, PA, through Ebay, Oct., '99. The plate makes the wife the center of attention as she faces out at the viewer. The egg sits between her and us, and is surrounded by the proud goose and admiring animals and owner. Well done. Each exemplar includes a brochure presenting the fable's text and commenting on Hampshire's art.
• Set of 9 Keller & Guerin Green and Black plates
  1910? Set of nine small plates almost 7" in diameter illustrating fables of La Fontaine from K G Keller and Guerin, Luneville, France. €140 from superschiko through Ebay, May, '20. Extra of FG for $35 from Pascal Pinan-Lucarre, Lille, France, through Ebay, June, '99. The seller tells me that the trademark "Marque blazon couronné KG" was used between 1880 and 1922. Each plate shows a pleasing interaction between a central photograph-like image in black and the green leaf-pattern around the outside, with a strong, dark green rim beyond that. The fable title is given at the top of the image, and key lines are at the bottom. In the extra plate, there is a set of repaired cracks from 8 to 10 o'clock. After having just one plate for twenty years, I feel fortunate to have found the set!
• Set of 7 Hautin Boulenger of Choisy-le-Roi Plates
  1910? Seven "talking plates" by Hautin Boulenger & Cie, in Choisy-le-Roi, France, featuring illustrations of fables of La Fontaine. 7¾" in diameter. €8 each from Jobey Antique Shop, Normandie, France, through Ebay, Oct., '20. Four further plates from artdelatable50 through Ebay for €46, Jan., '22. The blue illustrations inside a black floral-animal circular frame on these crème colored plates are adventuresome "translations" of the fables into human situations and events. Some of the human scenes depicted here are hard for me to decipher. Is the dog's plight in DW that he lives in a spare room in the attic? Is the promenading wife in FG looking down on others she could have married? Has the hookah-smoker taken over a whole room in his host's house? Will the child bothering the "Lion" like a mosquito soon run into the police? Does the "stag" stepping off the curb into water misunderstand what is good and what is bad for him? Is there anything more to WL than an ugly attack on the street?
• Richard Ginori, The Tortoise and the Hare
  1960 China plate of TH by Richard Ginori, Italy. Almost 10" in diameter. Decoration by M. Praquin of Crépy. Exlusivity of "L'or et l'argent," Chateau-Thierry, France. $9.95 from Shayna Prentice, San Diego, CA, through ebay, April, '04. This delightful plate is inscribed in a delicate longhand on its back "Le Lièvre et la Tortue." The front of the plate is unadorned except for the rendering of the finish line of TH after J.J. Grandville. Grandville's initials are still on the milepost marking the finish.
• One dessert plate illustrating the Fox and the Crow
  1990? One dessert plate illustrating FC. On the front is "Fables de la Fontaine" and "Le Corbeau et le Renard." On the back of the plate is "Musée de la Faiencerie de Gien." Gien: France. £2.99 from Karen Dillon, St. Saviour, Jersey, Feb., '06. This plate is identical in form to the FC plate in the set of six dessert plates by the Musée de la Faiencerie de Gien. Where, however, that plate used gray, this plate uses black. The impression is quite different!
• Gien Black Dessert Plates
  1990? Boxed set of six dessert plates "Fables de la Fontaine." On the back of each plate is "Musée de la Faiencerie de Gien." Gien: France. $90 for the set from Eric Zimmermann, Quebec, Canada, Nov., '00. One extra exemplar of "Le Renard et la Cicogne" for $9.99 from the same source through Ebay, Nov., '00. This lovely set combines busy central images with a uniform "leaf, grape, and vine" decoration around each plate's border. They choose well when they put FC on the cover of the box. My second prize goes to "The Crow Trying to Imitate an Eagle." In both of these, the open spaces make reading the plate's central image easier and more enjoyable.
• Cock and Jewel Gien Plate
  1920? 8" cream-colored plate with a blue-green colored design depicting CJ. The plate reads "Fables de LaFontaine" and "Le Coq et la Perle." The partial back stamp reads "Porcelaine …e de Gien." There is a registry mark on the plate's back. $35 from Linda Leffingwell, Doyestown, PA, June, '11. The block lettering is typical of Gien work. The cock is dramatically positioned in the center of the scene and oriented to the pearl just beneath him. The scene covers the entirety of the front of the plate.
• Fox and Goat Gien Plate
  1920? 8" cream-colored plate with a blue-green colored design depicting "The Fox and the Goat." The plate reads "Fables de LaFontaine" and "Le Renard et le Bouc." The back stamp reads "Porcelaine opaque de Gien." There is a registry mark on the plate's back. $35 from Linda Leffingwell, Doyestown, PA, June, '11. The block lettering is typical of Gien work. The moment depicted finds the fox looking back for a moment as he begins to walk away and leave the goat helpless in the well. The two animal characters are highlighted by the scene's shading; surprisingly, perhaps, the well's mechanism is equally highlighted. The scene covers the entirety of the front of the plate.
• Fox and Stork Gien Plate
  1920? 8" cream-colored plate with a blue-green colored design depicting FS. The plate reads "Fables de LaFontaine" and "Le Renard et la Cigogne." The back stamp reads "Porcelaine opaque de Gien." There is a registry mark on the plate's back. $35 from Linda Leffingwell, Doyestown, PA, June, '11. The block lettering is typical of Gien work. Though the scene is the fable's second phase, in which the stork is turning the tables on the fox, the artist manages to position the stork's tall vase inside of the fox's shallow soup-bowl. The fox looks on, perhaps noticing the enticing and edible creature suggested inside the vase. The scene covers the entirety of the front of the plate.
• Gien Medium Blue Wall Decoration, The Fox and the Lamb
  1920? 8½" cream-colored plate with a blue-green colored design depicting WL. The plate reads "Fables de LaFontaine" and "Le Loup et l'Agneau." The smudged back stamp reads "Porcelaine opaque de Gien." $25 through an unknown source prior to 2007. The block lettering is typical of Gien work. The wolf is looking up and even seeming to look beyond the offending lamb. It is hard to know whether this is a normal plate that a clever person has made into a wall decoration -- or whether Gien did the piercing of the glass back of the plate. As I say of the larger colored plate of TT done by Gien, it was apparently made from the start to adorn a wall rather than a table.
• Gien Colored Plates
  1920? Eight cream-colored plate with colored designs. Each plate reads "Fables de LaFontaine" at its top, with the individual fable title at the bottom. Each back reads "Porcelaine opaque de Gien." €200 from entrepot*d on Ebay, Jan., '21. I was sure that we had some of the plates in this series; it turns out that we have plates from at least four other series, but not from this series. We have a similar but smaller plate for hanging depicting TT. I picked up from the kind seller that the plates have numbers, though I could not find them on the plates themselves. We have, from what seems to be a set of 12: #3: "Crow and Eagle" #4: BF #5: "Fox and Goat in a Well" #7: FC #8: FK #9: OF #10: "Rabbits and Frogs" #11: WL Ebay.fr has revealed to me that #6 is CJ. From our other holdings, it seems that TT is #12. The other two seem to be FS and BC.
• Gien Large Colored Wall Decoration, The Talkative Tortoise
  1920? 7 7/8" cream-colored plate with colored design and raised edges depicting the fall of TT. The plate reads "Fables de LaFontaine 12" and "La Tortue et les Deux Canards." The back reads "Porcelaine opaque de Gien." $25 through Myrtice Stratton and Ebay, April, '99. A charming plate. It depicts the fall just after the tortoise has let go of the stick. The countryside is beautifully pictured, though the seller found it somewhat discolored with age. There is a string through two holes in the bottom rim of the plate. Apparently it was made from the start to adorn a wall rather than a table. Click on the image to see an enlarged version.
• G.D. Paris
  1900? 10 China plates. Robert Salles (?). Paris: G.D. $120 through Norsk European Wholesale Warehouse, Colnbrook, UK, Jan., '14. Extra exemplar of "L'Huitre et les Plaideurs"for $11.50 from Maureen Reese, Fleetville, PA, through eBay, Dec., '03. Ms Reese guesses a date in the late 1800's or early 1900's for these lovely plates. She describes the piece as a vintage porcelain/ceramic plate measuring about 8¼" in diameter. There is a painted pink rim with an embossed floral design. In each plate's center is a fine colored depiction of a fable scene. Lovely hues -- maroon, tan, yellow, blue, flesh, and green -- color the scenes nicely. The fable texts are arranged in unusual fashion. They are divided into sections and appear at various places on various plates. The artist's signature is, as Ms. Reese notes, quite difficult to decipher. "Robert" seems clear, but the last name is presented in such an affected style that it is hard to decipher. The back has one or two apparent registry marks besides the "G.D. Paris" stamp. Several plates have clear numbers between "1" and "10" but on others, if they exist, they are hard to find. A lovely set!
• Franklin Porcelain
  1982 Franklin Porcelain miniature plate. The Best Loved Fairy Tales: The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse. Carol Lawson Signature Edition. A Limited Edition of Fine Bone China. #41 of 50 designs. $7.95 from Simply Wonderful Gifts, Bend, OR, through Ebay, July, '00. The rim around the circumference of this 3¼" miniature plate is done in a dove pattern trimmed in 24K gold. The inside 2" circle shows the two mice enjoying fruits. To see a larger view of the plate, click on the image.
• Faïencerie Nouvelle, Givors, France
  1920? Eleven plates -- including three extras -- illustrating fables of La Fontaine. 7½" white plate bordered in a green floral pattern with a central design in two or three of four colors: green, blue, brown, and tan. The back gives the fable title in block letters along with an FNG symbol surrounded by "Faïencerie Nouvelle, Givors, France." $10 to $15 each from a variety of sellers including Mary Ellen Kennedy, Larchmont, NY through Ebay, Nov.,' 99 and April, '00. FG shows a very pretty design in blue, green, and brown. The blue grapes are nicely distinct from the green leaves around them. A trellis to the right suggests that some things or persons can get up to the grapes, even if this fox cannot. The coloring of this and other plates seems to suggest a stenciling process. One extra copy. Both copies have a "D" on the back. GA has a busy design strong on the browns of the grasshopper's guitar and the ant's house, as well as the greens of the grasshopper and the stairs to the ant's house. The blue ant almost gets lost in the design. One extra copy. "L'Huitre et les Plaideurs" has a dramatic design with the strong blues of the judge's robe at the center and an empty blue shell in either hand. Tans and browns fill out the design nicely. The second copy shows what happens to a design when one color set misses the others: all three tan faces and the judge's hands are displaced here to the left. MSA is one of the more complex designs. It shows the miller seated on the ass, with his son seated behind him and holding on to his waist. Cobblestones and hooves are nicely depicted. OF uses brown and blue-green to create this dish's strong contrast. This plate does not involve the tan coloring found on some other plates in the series. TH uses green to frame the scene and set the path along which the tortoise trudges. The tortoise's brown back contrasts nicely with the hare's tan body. The hare's direction shows how uninterested he is in the race. FS has a strong dramatic vertical line at its center emphasizing the stork's tall vase. Does clever positioning of the fox's eye suggest an attitude of dismay? This plate distinguishes between blue (for the stork's body) and green (for the vase). FC is perhaps the most animated of these plates. The fox has his arms spread, perhaps in admiration of the crow's beauty. Two semicircles of brown delineate the round cheese in the crow's beak.
• "Fables de La Fontaine"
  1980? Large (11¾" diameter) single plate with a banner on its face "Fables de La Fontaine." Brown, blue, and green. €15 from "MK" at St. Ouen, June, '19. This encounter at the St. Ouen flea market was unusual. I asked about fable books and cards. As they presented me with a simple book, which I bought, they also alerted each other, reached in the back and, as I recall, cleaned up a plate that they had: this plate! I can find no other identifying marks. The most popular characters from La Fontaine are here: fox, crow, cicada, tortoise, town and country mice, hare, bear, frog, and heron. The interplay of the three colors in the bodies and dress of the characters, as well as in the sky and the tree, is pleasing. A pretty plate!
• A plate of La Fontaine's FC using an images by Épinal de Pellerin
  1980?A plate of La Fontaine's FC using an images by Épinal de Pellerin. £4.99 from Mr. and Mrs. C. Protheroe, Cwmbran, Gwent, UK, through eBay, Oct., '05. This plate measures just over 9" in diameter.It lacks the green stripe around the edge of the smaller plates. The Épinal coloring is again brilliant! The match of color to the black outlines is superior here to the parallel image of FC on the smaller plates. Click on the image to see a larger version.
• Epinal de Pellerin
  1980? Six plates of La Fontaine's fables using images of Épinal de Pellerin. $36 from Mrs. Jack B. Frymire of Elkhorn, WI, through eBay, Sept., '05. These plates measure just over 8" in diameter.The Épinal coloring is typically brilliant! The six plates include "Le Héron," "Le Petit Poisson et le Pecheur," OF, TH, LM, and FC.What a lucky find! Click on any plate to see a larger version.
• Dulevo Russian FS Plate
  1980? Russian plate almost 8" in diameter presenting FS. "Dulero IS 5." "7 87." $60 from Evgeny Ponomar, Russia, Sept., '18. The design on this lovely plate with gold rim and four mushroom designs stresses the stork's long neck. The fox has apron and ladle worthy of a cook. The dish is laid out in the middle of the forest on a lovely blanket. It is curious that the design stresses the first of the two acts in this play.
• Dentelle Fringe Plate, The Dog and the Shadow
  1920? Brown and white plate 9" in diameter with an open-dentelle fringe showing DS at its center. This plate is marked by its open dentelles around the outer rim, with an arched opening in each dentelle. Inside at the center is a recognizable image of DS. It is exactly the image that appears on Minton tiles of the same period, whether they are brown or blue. The choice of a moment to depict is good because the dog has just lost his piece of meat, and it has not yet entered the water to be lost forever.
• Creil and Montereau Lebeuf Milliet
  1890? Nine Creil & Montereau plates. Lebeuf Milliet (Mujjet?). Porcelaine Opaque. Illustrating named fables of La Fontaine. €160 from Stéphane Lavalley, Feb., '22. I think I recognize these illustrations of La Fontaine, particularly TH and GA, but I cannot name the artist. The outer circular frame and dentils just inside them remain the same throughout the series. How many might the series include? Lebeuf and Milliet became owners of the faience works in Creil and Montereau in the mid 1800's. The seal on the back of each plate proclaims the gold medals won in 1834, 1839, and 1844.
• Creil & Montereau Monochrome
  1900? Set of 12 monochrome -- brown against a cream background -- Creil Montereau plates. Each numbered plate offers an application or human occurrence of La Fontaine's fables. €100 from assietteparlante21 through Ebay, Sept. '21. This set seems identical in form with the four colored plates I found earlier. One (Fool Selling Wisdom) is cracked and repaired. A lovely set, full of wit! See a further use of these designs under Porcelaines Champs-Elysée.