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Title
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Compagnie Générale Transatlantique
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Description
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1956 41 different menus illustrating eight different fables with La Fontaine's text printed for the Compagnie Générale Transatlantique French Line. For use on transatlantic voyages between December, 1956 and July 11, 1959 on ships "Liberté," "Flandre," and "Ile de France" and at a dinner and dance at the Elks Club January 19, 1957 sponsored by the Women's Auxiliary for the benefit of Saranac Lake General Hospital (in the Adirondacks in New York State). Images by Jean A. Mercier. The menus cost between $3.66 and $30 each. While I did not keep track carefully of where I found all 41, aligning the dates of the menus showed distinct groupings and helped me match some menus with sellers. Those curious can find the list of fables, dates, ships, and sellers here.
These are not only menu jackets but menus themselves, with a fable text on the back cover and a fable image and title on the front cover. We used one of them – "The Coach and the Fly" – in the Joslyn exhibit because of its clever trompe-l'oeil use of a fly right on the menu itself. I find the images delightful. Lovely pastels work together effectively in these light-hearted pictures. To judge from the splashes on the "dinner and dance" menus, it must have been some party! The fables and numbers of copies are
The Coach and the Fly (8);
The Little Fish and the Angler (5);
FC (4);
MM (4);
The Monkey and the Dolphin (6);
The Ass and the Lapdog (3);
The Wolf Become Shepherd (6);
WL (5).
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Source
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Menus from Compagnie Général Transatlantique
The Coach and the Fly
12/6/56
Liberté
The Coach and the Fly
1/19/57
Elks Club
MM
1/19/57
Elks Club
The Monkey and the Dolphin
1/19/57
$9.00
May, '03
Candy Korn, Broadview Hts. OH
Elks Club
The Wolf Become Shepherd
1/19/57
Elks Club
The Wolf Become Shepherd
5/10/57
$10
Feb., '12
Missy, Ebay, Georgia
Liberté
The Little Fish and the Angler
5/11/57
$10
Feb., '12
Missy, Ebay, Georgia
Liberté
FC
5/12/57
$10
Feb., '12
Missy, Ebay, Georgia
Liberté
The Monkey and the Dolphin
5/13/57
$10
Feb., '12
Missy, Ebay, Georgia
Liberté
The Ass and the Lapdog
5/13/57
$10
Feb., '12
Missy, Ebay, Georgia
Liberté
WL
5/14/57
$10
Feb., '12
Missy, Ebay, Georgia
Liberté
The Wolf Become Shepherd
5/19/57
Liberté
The Coach and the Fly
5/25/57
$30
Sept., '11
The Veatchs Arts of the Book
Flandre
The Wolf Become Shepherd
5/25/57
Liberté
WL
5/25/57
Liberté
The Coach and the Fly
5/26/57
Liberté
The Little Fish and the Angler
5/27/57
Liberté
The Monkey and the Dolphin
5/27/57
Liberté
The Monkey and the Dolphin
6/9/57
$9.95
March, '01
Mike and Karla Edelman, Buffalo Grove, IL, through Ebay
Flandre
The Coach and the Fly
7/21/57
Ile de France
The Little Fish and the Angler
7/22/57
Ile de France
The Wolf Become Shepherd
8/16/57
$6.00
August, '15
Powell's, Portland, OR
Ile de France
WL
8/16/57
$3.66
Dec., '06
Ted Morris, Half Moon Bay, CA, through Ebay, Dec., '06
Liberté
The Ass and the Lapdog
8/17/57
$6.00
August, '15
Powell's, Portland, OR
Ile de France
WL
8/18/57
$6.00
August, '15
Powell's, Portland, OR
Ile de France
The Little Fish and the Angler
8/19/57
$3.66
Dec., '06
Ted Morris, Half Moon Bay, CA, through Ebay, Dec., '06
Liberté
The Monkey and the Dolphin
8/19/57
$6.00
August, '15
Powell's, Portland, OR
Ile de France
The Coach and the Fly
8/20/57
$3.66
Dec., '06
Ted Morris, Half Moon Bay, CA, through Ebay, Dec., '06
Liberté
The Little Fish and the Angler
8/21/57
$6.00
August, '15
Powell's, Portland, OR
Ile de France
FC
8/21/57
$6.00
August, '15
"Diner de Gala": Powell's, Portland, OR
Ile de France
MM
4/30/58
Ile de France
The Coach and the Fly
5/30/58
Caverzasi, Tappan, NY
Ile de France
The Coach and the Fly
5/30/59
Liberté
The Wolf Become Shepherd
5/31/59
Liberté
WL
6/1/59
Liberté
FC
6/2/59
$8.75
Dec., '03
Liberté
The Monkey and the Dolphin
6/9/59
$9.95
March, '01
Mike and Karla Edelman, Buffalo Grove, IL, through Ebay
Flandre
The Ass and the Lapdog
7/8/59
Flandre
FC
7/10/59
Flandre
MM
7/11/59
Flandre
MM
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Additional sources include:
June, '15
Janene Murphy, Apex, NC
Arlene Radice, Bonita Springs, FL
AdAngels, Niles, MI
$12
August, '15
Powell's, Portland, OR (2 menus)
$6.99
Feb., '13
$34
June, '04
liliodine 2 (4 menus)
$19.02
Nov., '03
Debra Jean (2 menus)
$8.75
Dec., '03
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Date
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1956
gccoachandflyfullmenucover2ndtry650.jpg
CGPartyMenuCoverComplete650.jpg
CGWolfBecomeShepherdImageOnlyBest650.jpg
CGWLImageOnly650.jpg
CGMonkeyandDolphinImageOnlyRotated650.jpg
CGLittleFishandAnglerRotated650.jpg
CGFCimageonlyCropped650.jpg
CGAssandLapdogImageOnly650.jpg
CGMMImageOnlyRotated650.jpg
CGCoachandFlyImageOnlyCropped650.jpg