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Fox and Stork Pitcher This handled pitcher stands almost 2" high and displays FS against a bright red litho and blue flower background trimmed in gold. In all of the FS scenes here, the stork has his beak well down into what looks like a bottle, which the fox watches intently. $40.99 from Jo-Ann Deacon, Hamilton, Ontario, through Ebay, Feb., '00.
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Fox and Crow Cheese Platter 1990? Center-handle-plate. FC in vivid colors. Circular. 11" in diameter. €24 from maconlection through Ebay, Jan., '22.
I am not too sure what a center-handle-plate is used for most frequently, but this one is colorful to be sure! Unfortunately, it suffered somewhere in its long travels. I did a clumsy job of putting the major pieces back, so that we can see what the FC image is like. Might this be a one-of-a-kind piece? I find no trademarks or other indications.
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Sterling bowl labelled "Sterling E S C." 1910? Sterling bowl labelled "Sterling E S C." 6½" in diameter. With six fable titles and images around its inner rim. $200 from maxbernat through Ebay, March, '22.
The six segments are particularly well done. Even the transition sections, each in three parts, follow a theme but vary it in each case. Lovely! The choice of fables to offer departs from the usual here in several cases.
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Fox and Crow Metal Ash Tray 1980? Metal ashtry with FC advertising Charpentier Perpignan. Signed A. Péron. 3¾" x 4". Unknown source.
Great simple design. Three channels for holding cigarettes. A surprisingly heavy piece. I tried to find which or what "Charpentier" would have sponsored or produced this ashtray. Could it be the famous house of jewelry since 1698, Jeanne Charpentier?
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Fox and Stork Ash Tray 1960? Salt glaze ash tray presenting FS. Buchecker Co. Excelsiorwerk, Lucern, Switzerland. $6 from Jack De Foe, Peoria, AZ, through Ebay, April, '99.
The stork eats and drinks while the fox can only look into his long, tall glass. The legend underneath the scene reads "Buchecker a pour chaque vin son verre. La cigogne n'en a pas pour le renard!" "Buchecker has for every wine its own glass. The stork did not have the right one for the fox!" I take it that Buchecker is a glass-supplier for wine bars. Their description on the back says that the produce glass, porcelain, and crystal for restaurants, hotels, and bars. What a lovely little bit of Aesop to show up on a bar counter!
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FDC envelope of the three stamps I also learned that there is a "Postal Service Bulletin" presenting this series of stamps. It was offered together with an FDC envelope of the three stamps by csts-trade on eBay, July, '18. It puts the parable teller underneath a tree with a book and offers both versions of each stamp.
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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.
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Blotter presented by Les Excellentes Gaufrettes Rivoire et Jeandet 1950? Le Coq et le Renard." Blotter presented by Les Excellentes Gaufrettes Rivoire et Jeandet. "Fables de la Fontaine." $5 from Mme Denise Debuigne, Rennes, France, Feb., '02.
This blotter seems to be rather an advertisement for a series than a member of it. Apparently Rivoire and Jeandet's wafers come in various kinds of packages, and the latest package is titled "Fables de la Fontaine." The collection comprises 84 images in, as the blotter proclaims, very pretty coloring. The story in the lovely cartoon here is UP. The (fictive?) dog seen by the cock appears on the top of the hill. The climax of the advertisement is classic: "Collect a unique collection of the fables of La Fontaine while enjoying the wafers of Rivoire & Jeandet." As it happens, now, three years later, I have found the full set of 84 cards!
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Motorcycle Tortoise and the Hare The print depicts a pen drawing of the tortoise and the hare. The hare rests by a tree while 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.
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Rat-N-Decker The print depicts the Lion and the Mouse, with the mouse holding a large chainsaw labeled “Rat-N-Decker”. Adam Rhine was the artist who made the print. The vibrant colors make for a very appealing fable illustration.
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Box of Chinese characters with pen and booklet 2011 Box of Chinese characters with pen and booklet. "Fables Selected Enlightenments for Reading." Ben She. Hubei Children's Publishing House. 5¾" x 6". $6.50 from World Books through Ebay, May, '22.
This set has puzzled me for some time. I can understand some things about it. It offers children a set of some 30 sturdy cards for learning Chinese characters. There is also a sponge-tipped writing instrument. Also inside the box is a 30-page booklet with TH on its cover; this is the same image on the box's cover. As far as I can tell, there are seven stories. None of them seems to be TH or any other fable I know. Strange! I will keep this with printed materials. I would be happy to catalogue the book with other books, but I cannot decipher enough of it!
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Fox and Crow Wrapper Laima: About 1½" x 3⅜". 20 grams. FC.
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Wolf and Crane Wrapper Krunskoy. About 2¼" x 4¼". 15 grams. WC.
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Fox and Crow Wrapper Svetosh: About 3½" square. 20 grams. FC.
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Fox and Grapes Wrapper MPP RSFSR: 2¾" x 4⅞". 50 grams. FG.
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Cock and Cuckoo Wrapper Cock and Cuckoo, $¾"
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Fox and Crow Wrapper FC: 5"
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Fox and Crow Wrapper FC: 6½"
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Elephant and Pug Wrapper Elephant and Pug, 6"
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Grasshopper and Ant Wrapper GA: 8"
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Wolf and Lamb Wrapper WL: 8"
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East German wood carving of FG 1980? East German wood carving of FG. Two exemplars, gifts of Margaret Carlson Lytton and David Daly.
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2009 Detail: Aesop's Lamp
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2009: Chrysalis Gallery and Studio
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2004: Stonington Stables Museum of Art