Creighton University Archives and Special Collections

Carlson Fable Collection

Item Set

Items

• "Le Rat qui s'est Retiré du Monde." Plate
  1900? Faience plate 8" in diameter showing three scenes depicting "Le Rat qui s'est Retiré du Monde." Numbered "8." A mark on the back seems to combine the letters "M" and "C" and says "déposé Fables Terre de Fer." $45 from Daria Edwards, NY, Feb., '00. This sad story is of the religious hermit-rat who moves into a cheese to live and turns down his fellows when they, under attack, come asking for help (La Fontaine VII 3). He offers them a blessing and says that he, separated from such worldly concerns, will give nothing more. Here a colored panel shows three human soldiers appealing to a monk who leans out of his home's window as they appeal to him. The smaller monochrome panels show the animal scene, complete with its large ball of cheese, and also the enemy: the cat waiting at a hole for any rat who emerges.
• "Le Loup et le Chien." Plate
  1900? Faience plate 8" in diameter showing three scenes depicting "Le Loup et le Chien." Numbered "6." A mark on the back seems to combine the letters "M" and "C" and says "déposé Fables Terre de Fer." $9.99 from Antiques Gallery, St. Cloud, MN, through eBay, Feb., '03. The smaller pictures on the upper left and lower right picture the chained dog and the departing wolf, respectively. The central picture portrays a thin, poorly clad man with his stick and satchel taking his leave from a rotund man in a uniform of service. The latter carries a set of keys. La Fontaine's fable says that this wolf ran away and is running still!
• "The Mouse, Cat, and Rooster." Plate
  1900? Faience plate 8" in diameter showing two scenes depicting "The Mouse, Cat, and Rooster." Numbered "4." A mark on the back seems to combine the letters "M" and "C" and says "déposé Fables Terre de Fer." $17.50 from thegreenloft through Ebay, June, '22. This plate features a central framed and colored illustration of human characters, with three monochrome frames around it presenting the three animal figures of the fable. Apparently, the naïve child runs from the loud soldier, who might protect him, and trusts the judge. The judge, it turns out, is a devouring cat.
• "Le Fou qui Vend la Sagesse." Plate
  1900? Faience plate 8" in diameter showing three scenes depicting "Le Fou qui Vend la Sagesse." Numbered "3." A mark on the back seems to combine the letters "M" and "C" and says "déposé Fables Terre de Fer." $45 from Daria Edwards, NY, Feb., '00. Click on the image to see it enlarged. The madman offers wisdom for a price, and gives those who pay a slap and a piece of thread two ells long. In this strange and wonderful story (La Fontaine IX 8), the first result is that we should not try to make sense of this act – or of anything else that fools say or do! The second result occurs in the story when one fellow, embarrassed by the blow and thread, goes to find a wise man, who tells him immediately that these things are symbols: "Stay this length of thread away from all madmen, or you'll get similar 'caresses.' You were not fooled; that madman does sell wisdom." The plate effectively presents both objects of trade, the slap and the thread. Monochrome characters in the panels at left and right are pondering the string and laughing, respectively.
• Grasshopper and Ant Plate
  1900? Faience plate 8" in diameter showing three scenes depicting GA. Numbered "2." A mark on the back seems to combine the letters "M" and "C" and says "déposé Fables Terre de Fer." $18 from Penny Hughes, Marysville, WA, Feb., '06. This plate features, in its side panels, the backs of two men. One seems a prosperous farmer with mounds of hay nearby. The other has poorer clothing and strides away with a walking stick carrying something -- an instrument perhaps? -- as he goes. The central panel features two women. The "ant" holds an instrument for spinning, while the lovely younger grasshopper holds a lute. A small child is jut behind her.
• Oak and Reed Plate
  1900? Faience plate 8" in diameter showing two scenes depicting OR. Numbered "1." A mark on the back seems to combine the letters "M" and "C" and says "déposé Fables Terre de Fer." $17.50 from thegreenloft through Ebay, June, '22. This plate features, in its mostly hidden background, the fable itself. One can see broken branches and leafy reeds. The plate's prominent framed picture features and soldier with rifle and a worker with spade. Which will survive? A non-colored second framed scene has two young men, the armed one of which has fallen. In the background of this scene is a fallen tree, and in the foreground some bending reeds.
• Creative World Plate, The Fox and the Grapes
  1979 "The Fox and the Grapes." Sculptured by Herman L. Deaton. Hand Painted on Cold Cast Bronze. No. 1048 of a Limited Edition of 9750 plates. 7¼" in diameter and 1 inch deep. $26 from Gerald Kaylarian, Seattle, through Ebay, July, '99. Now this is a weighty object! "Plate" here is no longer something one eats off of! The spatial presentation of the fable is very good. This fox cannot get at these grapes, but the hill lures him into trying it. I have seen this piece offered several times on Ebay but never anywhere else. Are there more plates in a series?
• ABC Plate, The Miller, His Son, and Their Ass
  1900? One ABC plate 6¾" in diameter. The alphabet is embossed on the plate's rim. In its inner circle is a presentation of MSA in brown and white. A seal on the back of the plate is illegible except for its ending: "Sons, England." $55 from Sally Gilbert, Rochester, NY, through eBay, Sept., '02. The plate presents the phase in this story in which both father and son ride on the ass. Clouds, trees, fields, rocks, and a path are visible. I am surprised that this motif would be taken up on a child's alphabet plate.
• ABC Plate, The Dog in the Manger
  1880? One ABC plate 8" in diameter. Various patterns encircle the alphabet displayed on the plate's rim. On its inner circle in capitals are "Æsop's Fables" above and "The Dog in the Manger." $19.99 from stepback-n-thyme through Ebay, Oct., '22. The plate features a strong design of a steer coming through a barn door and finding an aggressive dog ready to defend his place on the hay. Green and brown coloring. There may have been a trademark on the verso. If so, it has been almost all rubbed off. There is one clear crack and one small chip.
• ABC Plate, The Travellers and the Bear
  1880? One ABC plate 7¼" in diameter. Various patterns encircle the alphabet displayed on the plate's rim. On its inner circle in capitals are "Æsop's Fables" above and "The Travellers and the Bear" below a pleasing design of a bear sniffing at the head of man on the ground while his mate climbs a nearby tree. $42.50 from Fletcher Art and Antiques, Warren, Maine, through eBay, Oct., '10. There are three areas of green leaves on trees and an area of blue flowers on the ground. The absentee friend climbing the tree is also colored blue. Is it surprising that neither the bear nor the prostrate man has color? The bear suffers from the regular problem of having a human face imposed onto an animal frame. The word "Bear" in the title is clipped in its last two letters.
• ABC Plate, The Leopard and the Fox
  1880? One ABC plate 7⅜" in diameter. Various patterns encircle the alphabet displayed on the plate's rim. On its inner circle in capitals are "Æsop's Fables" above and "The Leopard and the Fox" below a simple design of a fox looking back at a leopard away from whom he walks. $15 from Robin Jorgensen, Greeley, Co, Sept., '10. A curious feature of this ABC plate is that there are three areas of green leaves and an area of blue flowers, but otherwise there is no color. Neither animal has any color. The leopard suffers from the regular problem of having a human face imposed onto an animal frame.
• Repaired ABC plate, The Fox and the Grapes
  1880? Repaired ABC plate 7½" in diameter. Various patterns encircle the alphabet displayed on the plate's rim. On its inner circle in capitals are "Æsop's Fables" above and "The Fox and the Grapes" below a pleasing design of a fox walking away from grapes hanging from a tree. Maker unknown. $24.99 from Cindy Schneider, Wellington, OH, through Ebay, Oct., '00. Here is a much better exemplar than the plate I had found earlier. The colored design in the middle is very well preserved. Repairs have been made to reinstate a smaller piece from about 10 and 11 o'clock and a larger piece extending from 11 to 4 o'clock.
• Badly damaged ABC plate, The Fox and the Grapes
  1880? One badly damaged and clumsily repaired ABC plate 7½" in diameter. Various patterns encircle the alphabet displayed on the plate's rim. On its inner circle in capitals are "Æsop's Fables" above and "The Fox and the Grapes" below a pleasing design of a fox walking away from grapes hanging from a tree. Maker unknown. $29.99 from Susan Levine, Scarsdale, NY through Ebay, Sept., '99. I have seen ABC plates on Ebay and hoped to land one, but they have been very expensive. Finding a broken one was my lucky way to beat that problem! Someone e-mailed Ms Levine during the auction with the information that it was customary, after a child grew up, to break his ABC plate and then glue it back together. Maybe that is what happened here. Actually, I like it broken! Around the letters of the alphabet are, in order, diamonds, and a maze pattern surrounded with a dark band that reaches to the edge of the plate. Colors are painted onto the central scene: red for flowers; purple for grapes; brown and green for leaves, grass, and ground. Has some color washed off?
• Alphabet plate. "Aesop's Fables: The Shepherd's Boy."
  1840? Alphabet plate. "Aesop's Fables: The Shepherd's Boy." 5" in diameter. $29.99 Canadian from Brian Howell, Rothesay, NB, Canada through Ebay, July, '19. Three features of this plate are remarkable. First, it is to me unclear whether the fable being pictured here is, as I suspect, BW. A wolf is making off with a sheep as a young shepherd pursues him with a staff. Secondly, this is a smaller plate than other alphabet plates I have seen – and the other alphabet plates in this collection. Thirdly, I have learned that alphabet plates were often given to a family upon the birth of a child. That custom fits with the message written on the verso of this plate: ""Grandma Talin's (?) when she was little. Nov 24, 1842 – June 10, 1924." Thank you to whoever wrote that helpful bit of history!
• Aesop Fable Placemats
  2002? Aesop Fable Placemats. 10” x 13”. Based on prints by Linda Powell. $5.95 from Lisa Baldwin on Ebay, April, '03. I knew one of the six images used here from a card I was given in 1985, viewable under greeting cards. Now I have been able to recognize that Linda Powell was the creator of this set of designs, as seen in her prints. This set of six placements seems to include three fables: TH, FG, and GGE. The images are richly and brightly colored.
• "The Over-Fed Fox" coffee mug
  2010? "The Over-Fed Fox" coffee mug. Featuring Gallaher Cigarette Card #24. $18.97 from EclecticRetroBazaar on Etsy, Jan., '23. I am encouraged. I recognized the image immediately and thought it might be from the Gallaher horizontal set. Here it is! My curious mind wonders what brings an artist to select a particular image or fable from the great array that is out there.
• "Mr. Fables Family Restaurants" travel mug
  1982? "Mr. Fables Family Restaurants" travel mug. Grand Rapids, MI. Whirley Industries. Suitable for dashboard use. $16 from anythingeverythingandmo through Ebay, Oct., '22. There is a sticky adhesive patch on the separate red bottom-piece to hold it onto the dashboard of a car or truck, and then one can slide the mug into this holder. The seller emphasizes that "This is an extremely collectible Mr Fables travel mug, and probably quite rare in its unused condition." See also the sets of gift certificates from Mr. Fables restaurants.
• Fox and Hare Knife Holders
  1990? Two knife-holders presenting a fox and a hare. 3½" x 1½" (hare) and 4" x 1". Unknown source. The elongated bodies fit with their role as knife-rests. Is there a fable of a fox and a hare? Yes, says Northcote, who presents this story: " A little timorous Rabbit, who had a safe retreat in his burrow underground, had often perceived an artful Fox lurking near the spot, as if watching for the first opportunity to seize and devour him. However, he lay secure for the present, as the Fox could not enter the small burrow. One day, soon after, the devoted Rabbit saw the Fox in deep confabulation, and seemingly in great amity with the Weasel. This, he conjectured, boded no good to himself, as he found but too soon to be the case; for presently after the Weasel entered his burrow, and attacked him with such fury and fierceness, that he had no other chance of saving his life but by flight. But no sooner bad he darted from his burrow, than he immediately found himself seized on by the Fox; who, together with the Weasel, began to tear him in pieces, when thus the unfortunate victim of their arts, in his dying agonies, uttered his complaint: “I foresaw that my doom was determined on when you two counseled together.” I presume that I acquired these as fable knife-rests. I have not been able to identify a larger set to which they might belong.
• Ceramic knife-holders as books
  1980? Ceramic knife-holders as books. GA and LM. Green with gold highlights. 3" x 1". €18 from mathilde9662, Jan, '22. Two duplicates and four other members of the series -- LM, WL, TH, and FC -- found earlier from an unknown source. There is an extra of LM and an unhighlighted extra of GA. The highlights accent parts of the picture and the capital letters in the title. I have searched the web for further members of this set, with no luck yet. Might these be less good than knife-rests with a level center?
• Three Knife Rests
  1920? Three more kniferests in the same style: "Heron," FG, and FC. Stephane Prudhomme? €60 from Eric Lussot, Le Rheu, France, through Ebay, Sept., '20. I worked hard to track the silvermarks on these three very nice kniferests. On the web they are declared to be by Stephane Prudhomme by at least one seller. Elsewhere they are grouped with the two already on this page. I tried hard to photograph the silversmith's "mark" but can only get a blurred representation. The scenes on the two above and on the three here are much more developed than those on the Prudhomme set of twelve listed nearby on this website.
• Two simple knife rests
  1920? Two simple knife rests or porte couteaux, about 3⅜" inches long, made from folding over a plate of metal to form a triangular tent. On one panel of each is a fable scene: 2P or TH. Unknown source. The designs on these two are really quite intricate and include a good background: the houses, trees, and fences along the road of the race in TH and the vegetation along the trail for the iron and clay pots. I wish there were some markings to identify the maker of these lovely knife rests!
• Benjamin Rabier Knife Rests
  1920?Ten knife rests or porte couteaux, about 3½" inches long, representing Benjamin Rabier's presentations of La Fontaine's fables. Extras of FC and "Two Mice and an Egg." Silvermaker: Devouge Dupont. $350 for ten from paintingmorningstar through eBay, Nov., '05. Two for $89.95 from Nina Lindzon, through Ebay, Oct., '01. I first saw these—and was delighted with them--in the Clingnancourt flea market several years ago. I believe that the full set includes twelve. Each knife rest has been individually cast and is stamped with the signature, "Benjamin Rabier" and with the mark of the silvermaker in the form of a rectangle with the initials "P + a Spoon + D". The knife rests catch both something of the Art Deco era and of Rabier's continuous wit. In TH, the connection of the fencepost to the ground at the bottom of the hare's back paws is loose.
• Stephane Prudhomme Knife Rests
  1930 Complete set of twelve silver plated kniferests (portes couteaux) by Stephane Prudhomme illustrating favorite fables. Apparently in the original box. $154.71 from brocs_en_stock on Ebay, Jan., '18. Each knife rest is a panel 3¼" wide and 1" high supported by triangles on the edges, whose other two sides are ¾" and 11/16". A sale on the internet was helpful for identifying this set as coming from Prudhomme. The small square towards the left edge in the top frame presents Prudhomme's mark, S and P around a caduceus. It took a high-resolution scan to produce the picture below of that mark. The twelve fables presented include expected standards like TMCM, CJ, GA, FS, WL, 2P, "The Hares and the Frogs," and "The Heron." There is also Florian's "The Monkey and the Magic Lantern. Three others are harder, at least for me, to identify. Is one "The Fox and the Cat"? What is the small object in their image? In another, two fowl seem to be arguing over a snail. In a final knife-rest there are three birds: might they be the mother lark and her young?
• Two Tall Water Glasses
  1990? Two tall water glasses with bold black designs and morals. FG and TH. The hare is nicely slumped over as he sits leaning against a tree. The TH moral is a clever adaptation of the usual moral: "Slow but sure is quickest in the end." The inspiration for the FG design looks very much like Artzybasheff's squirming fox. The moral is, I would say, surprising: "Don't try to fool yourself." I gather you will not succeed.
• Amora Mustard Jars/Juice Glasses
  1980? Eight Amora mustard jars. Usable as drinking glasses. Amora: Le Moutarde de Dijon." The yellow of the mustard would have brought out the color of at least most of these jars. Amora pushed this series, following up with blotters and dust jackets.