Cups
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!
1990? Large gray and blue cup with "No act of kindness no matter how small . . . is ever wasted. Aesop" on two sides. Royal Norfolk. Chesapeake, VA: Greenbrier International. From Sharon Green, Dallas, TX, thru eBay, perhaps Feb., '06.
The quotation used on this large cup has become rather standard for citation on mugs, mousepads, t-shirts, and elsewhere. It comes presumably from LM. I am not sure it fits exactly with fable wisdom. Fable wisdom might say "Sometimes you can help yourself by helping other people!" I preached this past weekend that values not rooted in stories are ephemeral, and this may be an example. I want to know "What story did that saying come from?" This is one of many eBay purchases lost in history, and I can find little about this cup on the web.
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.
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."
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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