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Fox and Stork Cup 2000? Brown and cream cup featuring FS. Katherine Hackl, Spindletop Studios, Stockton, NJ.
A fox with an attitude looks directly at a peaceful stork standing over a vase. Plants fill in the open spaces on this almost geometric cup. The base of the cup is stamped with a fish.
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Tortoise and Hare Cup 1996 Black and white cup featuring Robert Dole and Bill Clinton as tortoise and hare. Artist: Milt Prigee. China: Linyi. Silver phr nix. $1 from Sharon and Kelly Smith, Hayden ID, through eBay, August, '04.
The curious thing about the design on this mug is that Clinton is heading in one direction and Dole is heading in the other! The design is signed ""MPriggee. KPBX. '96. Spokane."
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Fox cup 1995? Gray and brown cup with black lettering and brown figure. "If you deal with a fox, think of his tricks. Jean de La Fontaine." Made in Japan. Annamieke Laport, Salem, OR, through eBay, August, '
A good question would be: "Which fable of La Fontaine does this come from?" Often the fox in La Fontaine seems wise but comes up losing, as when the cat does better with its one trick of climbing the tree than the fox does with his hundred dodges. The crow in FC can certainly learn frm the fox's tricks. The fox on this cup has a suitcase -- or at least a valise -- ready to go.
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Wolf and Crane Cup and Saucer 1950? Matching cup and saucer with the former featuring WC flanked by a tree group and a fence group. The saucer offers three images apparently not directly related to fables: dogs pointing, wolves (?) attacking a lamb, and a pheasant. The cup stands 2.25" high and has about the same diameter, and the saucer is a little over 4.5" in diameter. White (porcelain?) with gray illustrations. There is one serious chip in the cup. $8 from John Cawley, Blue Jay, CA, through Ebay, Feb., '00.
A small, dainty set. Maybe the biggest surprise lies in the way it moves from a fable scene on the cup to three generic animal scenes on the saucer. Might this have belong to a child's set? It seems small for adults. I am not sure that I want, while eating, to look at a stork putting his beak down a wolf's throat!
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Vintage Cigarette Box and Ashtray 1920? Vintage pottery cigarette box and ashtray. 5¾" x 6" x 4" in height. $6.37 from Margy Farmer, Greenfield, IN, through Ebay, Sept., '00.
Vintage pottery cigarette box and ashtray, with bunches of grapes on either side of the ashtray, one fox between the grapes and the box, and a second fox serving as the handle of the box. His tail has been repaired. Click on the image to see a larger reproduction.
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German Red & Grey 1920? Coordinated set of nine tin tableware implements. German? $80 from Claudia and Waltraud Pressler, Ellhofen, Germany, Sept., '01.
There is even a strainer to hang on the wall rack. The set, with a grey background, features three motifs in red-and-black coloring:
TH: The hare reads the paper while the tortoise trudges by.
FC: The crow in a tree holds a large cheese suspended above the fox's mouth.
FS: The fox raises a paw to a tall bottle in which the stork has his beak.
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Golden Plates 1910? Six Tin Tea Set Plates. Each 5.5" in diameter. FC, FS, OF, and WL, with extras of OF and WL. $45 each for three from Ray Hanson, Garland TX through Ebay, Feb., '99. Three further plates from another source at another time.
The curved edge of each, almost an inch in width, has a green, gold, and red pattern. Then in the center is a multicolored illustration. OF is the best preserved of the original set; it seems to lack the pock-marking of the other two. All three show some rust and staining. They may have spent some serious time in someone's attic or even sand-box! FC is the most worn of the later three. In fact, OF and WL are in very good condition. What a great and curious find!
FS: Here the disgruntled fox stands away from the stork and his vases and looks at the viewer.
OF: The composition of the design balances the two main animals, frog and ox, nicely. In a moment, this scene will not be so placid!
WL: The wolf towers over the lamb. A viewer who wants to check can find that the water is indeed moving from the wolf to the lamb. Another pleasing composition!
FC: The fox already has the cheese well in control under his paw. Might this be the place where, in La Fontaine's version, the fox is telling the crow that it is worth a cheese to learn that flatterers exist at the expense of those silly enough to believe them?
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Fox and Grapes Tray
This tray may or may not belong to the set. It has the same theme of floral patterns in front of a bright red background. It features FG. 11 3/8" x 7½". Whether through scratches or just age, the metal shows through the painted design at a number of small spots on the upper surface of the tray. $65 from Marlene Schmidt, Readlyn, Iowa, August, '00.
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Two Fox and Stork Sauers Two such FS saucers, 3 3/8" in diameter, match the cups just above. Two exemplars. $12 each from Marlene Schmidt, Readlyn, Iowa, Nov., '00.
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Two Fox and Stork Cups These two FS cups, 1½" high, are identical. $12 each from Marlene Schmidt, Readlyn, Iowa, Nov., '00.
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Fox and Crow Saucer This FC saucer, 2¾" in diameter, matches the cup just above. $15 from Marlene Schmidt, Readlyn, Iowa, August, '00.
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Fox and Crow Cup This cup, 1½" high, has its handle and features FC. $25 from Marlene Schmidt, Readlyn, Iowa, August, '00.
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Wolf and Lamb Saucer This WL saucer, 2¾" in diameter, matches the cup just above. $15 from Marlene Schmidt, Readlyn, Iowa, August, '00.
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Wolf and Lamb Cup This cup, 1½" high, features WL but it has lost its handle. It has "Germany" printed near its seam. $12 from Marlene Schmidt, Readlyn, Iowa, Nov., '00.
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DLS Cup This version of the same DLS cup, 1½" high, kept its handle but received some dents along the way. This cup has "Germany" printed alongside its handle. $12 from Marlene Schmidt, Readlyn, Iowa, Nov., '00.
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DLS Handle-less Cup
This handle-less cup, 1½" high, shows DLS. The DLS scene is surprising in that the donkey is moving left in the left half of the panel, and the sheep in the right half are moving right. $36.99 from Jo-Ann Deacon, Hamilton, Ontario, through Ebay, Feb., '00.
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Fox and Stork Teapot This teapot, just over 2" high and with a handle going even higher, is missing its spout. It has the same FS scene as above, though some heavy rust obscures it. $5 from Marlene Schmidt, Readlyn, Iowa, Nov., '00.
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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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Four "H" Stamps 1998 Four "USOPS Fables" First Day of Issue envelopes featuring The "H" Stamp. Postmarked Troy, NY, Nov. 9, 1998. Signed by Doris Gold. $8 fFIP Covers, Melissa, TX through Ebay, April, '08. $5 from rka through Ebay, August, '04. $7 from Eric Wile, Greensboro, NC, Jan., '06. One further extra.
The picture is of Uncle Sam reaching down to check on whether Hansel has grown fatter, while Gretel sits nearby. Both copies include an insert "Hansel and Gretel Meet Usops." The insert answers my question in its second sentence by identifying USOPS as United State Office Postal Service. In this version, Gretel took along her stamp album, and that saved the two children. The children come upon a post office made of magnificent stamps. The story goes on from there. Notice that each of the four envelopes carries a different number out of 162: 40, 68, 95, and 138. I need to stop buying these envelopes!
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"G" Stamp 1994 "USOPS Fables" First Day of Issue envelope featuring The "G" Stamp. "7th in a series of postal raises." Postmarked Washington, DC, Dec. 13, 1994. Signed and numbered #34 of 145 by Doris Gold. Copyright 1995 by Doris Gold.
This envelope has been particularly revealing for me because of two things I have examined more closely. One is that each envelope is uniquely (?) numbered by the artist. Was there really only one #34 of 145? The other is that the series celebrates the raising again of postal rates! Is this something to be celebrated? This time goldilocks is delivering porridge to three bears. Mama and papa are postal workers. Behind them is a postoffice building marked U.S.O.P.S. Is it true that the G stamp here is not enough to take care of this envelope, but needs an added stamp?
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"F" Stamp 1991 One "USOPS Fables" First Day of Issue envelope featuring The "F" Stamp. Postmarked Washington D.C. Jan. 22, 1991. Handpainted and signed by Doris Gold as #92 of 200. $12.52 from Dave Fletcher, Dallas, TX, through Ebay, Sept., '99.
The seller's description of this item on Ebay identifies it as "Doris Gold's Hand-painted First Day Cover for Scott #2517 'F' Nondenominated Sheet Single show by Doris as part of the ongoing 'USOPS Fables', 200 made." Is USOPS the United States Office of Postal Service? The picture is of a golden and red flower enclosing a number of fairies. A butterfly looks on. The stamp itself presents a rose and seems to offer "Flower" as its word for the "F" designation.