Creighton University Archives and Special Collections

Carlson Fable Collection

Item Set

Items

• One 3½ x 6½" hologram FDC envelope
  1972 One 3½ x 6½" hologram FDC envelope depicting the head of La Fontaine with a turtle. Postmarked Monaco, Jan. 18, 1972. $8 from Loic Marchat, Villeurbane, France, through eBay, April, '04. The hologram cloth has the same image, framed with a gold stripe, that one finds on the maxicard issued at the same time as the stamp. Perhaps the background pictures the Château-Thierry countryside where LaFontaine grew up. The envelope mentions CEF.
• One 3½ x 6½" hologram FDC envelope
  1972 One 3½ x 6½" hologram FDC envelope depicting the head of La Fontaine and several animal groups. Postmarked Monaco, Jan. 18, 1972. $3 from psoriano75 through eBay, May, '04. The hologram cloth is signed "Thesmot." The likeness of LaFontaine seems to depart from the normal depiction, including the depiction on the stamp on this envelope. The animal groups are FC, LM, and perhaps CJ.
• One Maximum-Card (Monaco #818)
  1972 One Maximum-Card (Monaco #818) depicting the head of La Fontaine and a large tortoise. Postmarked Monaco, Jan. 18, 1972. Éditions CEF, Nice. A stamp is pasted onto the lower right corner of the picture, and the "Jour d'Emission" stamp is positioned to cover part of both the stamp and the picture. $3.50 from Ausdenmoore-McFarlane, Midland, MI. Monaco is a new source for a fable stamp. The stamp itself is green and black and includes FC, FS, TH, and perhaps "The Lion and the Ass." The verso of the card proclaims "La Fontaine: 350ème Anniversaire de sa naissance.
• One three-holed landscape album page
  1972 One three-holed landscape album page, almost 8½" x slightly over 12", containing stamps of Charles Baudelaire (1,30), Camille Saint-Saens (0,90), and Jean de La Fontaine (0,50). Besides the stamps, there are a large illustration and some explanatory text in French. The three stamps are all postmarked "18 - 1 - 72 Monaco A, Jour d'Emission." No. 35 du catalogue CEF. No. 1549 of 5,000 offset exemplars. Imprimé par Editions CEF à Nice. $7 from Topical Paradise Limited through eBay, Dec., '08. The composite picture of the three men includes a crow with cheese, a tortoise, and perhaps both an oak and a reed near the portrait of La Fontaine. The common feature of the three men seems to be the year 21, since La Fontaine was born in 1621 and Baudelaire in 1821, while Saint-Saens died in 1921. Each of the three stamps includes the appropriate "21" date along with 1971. Did something perhaps go wrong with publication of the stamps, so that the first day turned out to happen in 1972? French-speaking stamp-collectors seem indefatigable! Click on the sheet to see a larger version of it.
• FDC Monaco 48411
  1961 FDC Monaco 48411: Envelope featuring a "Respect for Life" stamp and a cartoon of the grasshopper and ant in black, blue, and red. $3 from Topical Covers, Netherlands, through Ebay, Nov., '20. Once again, the artist has fun with the well known fable. The cicada is a dancing singing guitar playing artist, while the ant runs a grain shop and is busy at work sweeping. Well done!
• Set of ten "Maldives" postage stamps
  1990 Set of ten "Maldives" postage stamps . Mint. Issued Dec. 11, 1990. Scott Numbers 1466-73 and 1474-5. The art is clearly that of Walt Disney Studios. Purchased for $6.87 and $7.50 for the respective sets from Bulldog Stamps, Bethesda, March, '92. Two extra sets (and one further extra of MSA) for $36.49 from Bulldog, March, '92. And an FDC envelope featuring Minnie Mouse for £1.75 from John O'Brien through eBay, March, '04. First, there is a set of two stamps embedded in larger sheets about 4" x 5". These sheets take a playful Disneyesque approach to the fables. Huey, Duey, and Luey can make fun of Mickey and his partner as they carry an ass across the bridge. Goofy can criticize the Scrooge miser who has lost his buried gold. The stamp portion of this sheet centers well on the miser's misery. I gather that some stamps and some formats of stamps are made mostly for collectors. These two pieces seem to fall into that category. Click on either sheet to see it enlarged. Secondly, there is a set of eight more routinely sized stamps, about 1½" x 2". Again, these stamps play with the fables as traditional Disney characters take over the stories' roles. Thus the fox charming the crow has a guitar to help him accompany this singer. Donald and Mickey are the two travellers who encounter the bear. Pluto is the dog in the manger. A prize from me goes to the illustration of BC, which brilliantly frames the cat's eyes, claws, and mouth with the archway of the mouse hole. Thirdly, there is an FDC envelope, marked "First Day of Issue" and "Aesop's Fables," featuring four of the stamps and a red-and-black illustration of Minnie Mouse reading to two little mice. All three mice are in nightgowns. © Disney. Does the existence of this FDC envelope using four of the stamps suggest that there is another or that there are others in a series of such FDC envelopes, perhaps using other of the eight stamps? Click on the envelope to see it enlarged.
• Macau China set of four by four stamps of "Fables and Classic Stories"
  2018 Macau China set of four by four stamps of "Fables and Classic Stories," including BW and "The Emperor's New Clothes." $14.99 from starlightcity99 through Ebay, Oct., '18 Combination stamp picturing all four individual stories for €3.99 from W4 Stamps and Collectables, Falmouth, UK, May, '20. Extra of one strip and of the combination stamp from Chan Yue Kong, Hong Kong, perhaps in March, '19. The additional two tales are "The Happy Prince" and "Red Riding Hood." I recognized "The Emperor's New Clothes" readily but was surprised by the creative presentation of BW. A little research online showed that there is a combined sheet with just one usable stamp in the middle, which I have just ordered. As so often in stamps, so here: the detail of the artistry is excellent! I offer here close-up views of the two fable stamps -- and now of the combined sheet I ordered earlier..
• Sheet of Japanese Stamps
  2016 Sheet of Japan Scott's 4064a-j, featuring the work of Mitsumasa Anno, including "Anno's Aesop." $6 from The Plastic Card Collector, Wakefield, MA, through Ebay, March, '23. Now, this is fascinating! I would never have expected a stamp commemorating a fable book, and especially not from Japan. What a surprise! The book was, of course, published first in Japan in 1987 and then in the USA in English in 1989. This acquisition marks the 29th country to have contributed fable-themed stamps to our collection!
• 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.
• Three Israeli Stamps
  It turns out that the issuing of these stamps was more complex. I found that there are alternative versions of each of the three stamps as well as a background sheet giving perhaps a larger sense of each narrative. $38.90 from csts-trade on eBay, July, '18.
• Arama
  2017 "Arama" card of three stamps (2 of each) with a cover "Parables of the Sages." ID 026724. "The Fox in the Vineyard," "The Reed and the Cedar," and "The Lion and the Heron." $21 from Joshua Jacobovits, Shiloh, Israel, through eBay, July, '17. The card is a booklet, perhaps meant for stamp collectors. The three stamps – FG, OR, and WS, with some slightly different names and animals – are worth 4.10 each. A curious feature is that the script on the stamps is 90 degrees different from the orientation of the image.
• FDC Envelope from the Hungarian Post Office
  2021 FDC Envelope from the Hungarian Post Office featuring the four commemorative stamps and a cameo of La Fontaine. $13.77 from empirefondation1965 through Ebay, Dec., '21. The cancellation mark is a crow with a piece of cheese in his beak. Clever! The return address clearly marks this envelope as an FDC. As mentioned above, there is some creativity at work in these stamps' images!
• Souvenir Sheet from Hungary
  2021 Souvenir Sheet from Hungary of four stamps commemorating the 400th birth anniversary of Jean de La Fontaine. $4.99 from Siew Lee Wong through Ebay, May, '22. The artist here offers five strong and even idiosyncratic interpretations of well known fables. Outside of the four stamps themselves there are the fox and crow with a sign commemorating the French fabulist. TMCM and WC seem quite traditional. The grasshopper is having a gay old time while the ant labors. Does the fourth stamp present OF or "The Frogs and the Bulls"? That is, does the right frog demonstrate fear with his arms up, or is he indicating the size of a bull?
• 1 numbered maxicard presenting a slightly altered image of the 1983 4 Ft TH stamp
  1983 1 numbered maxicard presenting a slightly altered image of the 1983 4 Ft TH stamp. Canceled in Budapest in 1987. #0456 of 1500. "Famous Fairy Tale Characters." 1987/5-c. Scott #3104. Philatelia Hungarica. Design Füzesi Zsuzsa. Hungexpo, Budapest. $9.95 from Peter Abel, Estheville, Iowa, through Ebay, August, '00. On the stamp, the fox merely looked at the tortoise. In this scene he raises his hand in greeeting. There the tortoise turned his head back to look at the resting hare. Here he glances at the hare but plods on. The tree here has rather a different shape, and the daisies have moved around a little.
• 1 Stamp marked "Magyar Posta"
  1983 1 Stamp marked "Magyar Posta," "A Nyúl és a Teknósbéka," Fúzesi ZS, and "4 Ft." TH. $.09 from Julie Collins of Valparaiso, IN, through Ebay, Nov., '99. The hare rests his head on one paw as he watches the turtle go by. I recognized this and the other two scenes in a group of fifty fairy-tale stamps pictured and offered on Ebay. I saw that I could get at least these three, and of course I hoped for more in the pack that I would get….
• 1 numbered maxicard
  1983 1 numbered maxicard presenting an enlarged and partially reversed image of the 1983 2 Ft FC stamp. Canceled in Budapest in 1987. #0040 of 1500. "Famous Fairy Tale Characters." 1987/5-a. Philatelia Hungarica. Design Fúzesi Zsuzsa. Hungexpo, Budapest. $20 from Peter Abel, Estheville, Iowa, through Ebay, August, '00. On the stamp, the fox looked right. In this scene he stands under the branches of the tree and looks left. He still holds one paw out expectantly. There is no longer a sun haloing the crow.
• 1 Sheet of stamps marked "Magyar Posta"
  1983 1 Sheet of stamps marked "Magyar Posta," "A Róka és a Holló," Füzesi ZS, and "2 Ft." FC. 10 stamps across by 5 down. 10" x 14". Scott #3103. Postmarked Budapest. $3.50 from John Ferrari, San Carlos, CA, through Ebay, May, '01. My, the things one can find on Ebay! I had already learned to like this stamp. Now here was a chance to like it fifty times over! Abundanza! Click on the stamps to see them enlarged.
• 1 Stamp marked "Magyar Posta"
  1983 1 Stamp marked "Magyar Posta," "A Róka és a Holló," "Fúzesi ZS," and "2 Ft." FC. $.09 from Julie Collins of Valparaiso, IN, through Ebay, Nov., '99. The fox holds one paw out expectantly. The crow is nicely haloed with the sun. The cancellation mark looks like the last half of "Budapest."
• One stamp marked "Magyar Posta"
  1960 One stamp marked "Magyar Posta," "Zombory Éva" and "40" with a simple picture of MSA. $.09 from Julie Collins of Valparaiso, IN, through Ebay, Nov., '99. The ass seems contented enough as he is carried uphill by one older and one younger man in native costume.
• 2 sets of eight stamps
  1960 2 sets of eight stamps, each set on two FDC envelopes with a red line-drawing of Puss 'n Boots on the envelope. All are postmarked Budapest, Dec. 1, 1960. Each stamp is marked "Magyar Posta" and "Zombory Éva," and each contains a different denomination in Hungarian Forints: 1, 2, 20, 30, 40, 60, 80, and 170. $19.80 from Westminster Stamp Gallery, Ltd., Nov., '04. Click on the image here to see a larger version. The stamps for 1, 2, 20, and 30 Forints seem to picture fairy tales, like "Snow White and the Seven Dwarves" on the 30 Forint stamp. Puss 'n Boots is on the 60 Forint stamp. The 40 Forint stamp pictures MSA, as just above. The 80 Forint stamp is a nicely colored presentation of FC. The 170 Forint stamp presents the last phase of FS, with a quiet and reserved fox. The envelopes in one set are marked with only the FDC stamp and the postmark. The envelopes in the other set include other appendages, including "Special Delivery," "Legiposta," and "Via Air Mail."
• Eight Hungarian stamps
  1959 Eight Hungarian stamps of various value celebrating children's stories. Among them is a GA stamp for 60 filler. The stamps are on a FDC envelope, canceled in Budapest, apparently on December 15. Each of the stamps lists "Eva Gabor," presumably the artist. From Waynesboro, PA, through eBay. A jaunty grasshopper artist, with scarf and perhaps jacket, seems to stride across a wintry landscape. In the background stands an ant with hands on hips in a gesture of displeasure.
• Large FDC envelope with all eight stamps
  1987 Large FDC envelope with all eight stamps and a large illustration of Aesop and the animals of these eight stamps' fables. 7" x 10¼". Unknown source. Here is a colorful presentation of the whole series of stamps cancelled in Athens March 5, 1987. Mint condition. Somewhat surprisingly, the Greek "Mythoi tou Aisopou" is translated here into German.
• ELLENIKE DEMOKRATIA and MYTHOI TOU AISOPOU
  Also various sets of the eight Greek postage stamps marked ELLENIKE DEMOKRATIA and MYTHOI TOU AISOPOU. Mint. Issued March 5, 1987. Scott Numbers 1581-88. Purchased for $3.80 from Bulldog Stamps, Bethesda, February, '92. Also cancelled extras of 22, 46, and 130, a gift of Joseph Fitzmyer, S.J., Jan., '92 and two copies of 10, a gift of Kathryn Thomas, Christmas, 1987. And as of March, '92, two extra complete sets of the eight stamps for $4.53 each from Bulldog. And a set of all eight cancelled (with the twelve Olympian gods), a gift of Kathryn Thomas, July, '97. My prizes go to SW for the dramatic contrast between the two antagonists and to FC for catching the crow's morsel in mid-air.
• Greek FDC pair of identical envelopes
  1987 Greek FDC pair of identical envelopes displaying each four of Scott 1581-88. Each is also stamped FDC in Greek and dated March 5, 1987. $21 from Dimitrios Leonidis, Peristeri, Greece, through eBay, Jan., '22. The design here is remarkably similar to that on one of the envelopes acquired previously. Here the presentation of TH is done in green and brown.
• Greek FDC pair of envelopes
  1987 Greek FDC pair of envelopes displaying Scott 1581-88. Each envelope offers four of the Aesop's Fables stamps. Each is also stamped FDC in Greek and dated March 5, 1987. One has a green-and-black duochrome illustration of TH, and the other a orange-and-green presentation of FG. $21 from Stefanidis Antonis, Filothei, Greece, through eBay, Jan., '06. These are perhaps the liveliest and most engaging of the various FDC envelopes created for this set of stamps. Each design is a script version of "Mythoi tou Aisopou" running over it. Each also bears a stamp"Athine Service Philatelique, TH numbered 4652 and FG 4587. Both have Athenian cancellation marks on the back of the envelope. The FG envelope adds a (second) FC stamp, also cancelled in Athens on March 5, 1987.