Leopold Verger Small, 1890
Scope and Contents
The Carlson Fable Collection is a gathering of primary fable materials at Reinert Alumni Memorial Library at Creighton University. It grew out of the personal collection of fable materials gathered by Rev. Gregory Carlson, S.J. and was given to the Creighton Libraries in 1996. There are more than 10,000 books and approximately 8,000 artifacts in the collection.
From plates to stamps, from cards to whiskey decanters, from toys to posters, you'll find just about anything you can imagine here. Please explore all that is to offer here in my fables Catalogue of Objects.
This is the largest online catalog of fable related objects on the internet. Many are from Aesop's Fables but you will find La Fontaine, Velazquez and Krylov also represented in this collection.
Dates
- 1890
Extent
12 Cards : 11 French cards of La Fontaine fables, nine marked as coming from Léopold Verger & Cie in Paris. ; 2" x 3½".
Language of Materials
French
Abstract
These small portrait-formatted cards run a brown framing stripe around a colored illustration. The stripe also frames a few lines from the fable below, sometimes proceeded by the fable's title and sometimes concluding with a reference to La Fontaine and the specific fable. Small italic black print at the top of the illustration gives its French title. Small numerals in the lower right or left may identify a series or a date (e.g., "2 12" and "& 10"). There is also a small signature "LV&C" on many cards. The cards are very similar to those in the set from Chocolat Grondard. Some scenes end up looking quite humorous, like the milkmaid with an elaborate urn on top of her head! The illustration for "The Battle of the Weasels and the Rats" is well done; it suggests the general battle, the holes, and those who could not enter them. Eight of the eleven cards advertise on the back Planteur de Caiffa, apparently a chain of grocery stores. Two advertise "A Saint-Pierre," which seems to sell clothes, hats, and even furniture. The last advertises Pastilles Lucan, which are good for rheumatism and throat problems.The last three bring our total to 25. May we start to ask how many cards there are in this series? They also provide a chance to notice the verso of these diverse cards.
"L'Astrologue qui se laisse tomber dans un Puits"
"La Chauve-Souris & les deux Belettes" (marked B: perhaps 1 of 2?)
AD
"Le Combat des Rats et des Belettes"
"Le Lion & le Moucheron"
MM
"L'Oeil du Maitre"
"Le Savetier & le Financier"
TMCM
UP
"La Mort et le Bucheron"
"Le Vieillard & l'Ane"
L'Ane et le Petit Chien
BS
Le Coche et la Mouche
Le Cygne et le Cuisinier
Le Renard et le Bouc
Le Cheval & le Cerf
Le Singe & le Dauphin
Le Cerf et la Vigne
Le Laboureur & Ses Enfants
Stalled Wagoneer
Hercules and Carter
Shepherd and Sea
Acorn and Pumpkin
Immediate Source of Acquisition
$30 from Bertrand Cocq, Calonne-Ricouart, France, March, '01."Death and the Woodman" for €5 at St. Ouen, June, '19. Ten further cards from Bertrand for $6 each, nine advertising H. Goyet in Tournon-sur-Rhone, while one advertises "Au Planteur de Caiffa," Sept., '20. Three cards advertising "Au Planteur de Sumatra" in Dijon. €1.10 each from mrpiece on Ebay, August, '23.
Repository Details
Part of the Creighton University Libraries, Archives & Special Collections Repository