Creighton University

Fragile and beautiful old book covers, different in style from many that come later.  A monochrome fable illustration with an open space for a title is set inside a large monochrome border at the left and top.  This border is uniform in these four exemplars, though its color varies.  It is signed by “Algis,” as is the monochrome inset of WC.  TMCM and “Wolf Become Shepherd” are signed by “G. Dascher.”  “C. Charier” seems to be the publisher.  One can find other cards or illustrations by Charier on the web.  Many seem to be about WWI.  Neither Algis nor Dascher shows up in our collection otherwise.  Someone seems to have colored portions of the fleeing mouse in TMCM.

Here is a remarkable experience and a remarkable object.  The experience is that it had taken me some nine months to arrive at cataloguing a set of unusual early dust-jackets just a few days ago.  Then an object arrived that I had ordered on Ebay because it was unusual: a stapled booklet presenting 16 images consecutively in the first half on the right side of the booklet and then, in reverse order on the left-hand pages, the La Fontaine fable texts for those illustrations.  What happened here?  Did someone gather the dust jackets and assemble them?  Was that someone the publisher?    As with the individual dust jackets, so in the booklet: while the common top and left frame scene is signed by “Algis,” some of the inset illustrations are signed by “Algis” and others by “G. Dascher.”  Camille Charier seems to be the publisher.  The texts are printed not only in different colors but in differing typefaces.  What a strange find!  I show the booklet with edges exposed in hopes that viewers can see the four staples at the central crease of this booklet.