Creighton University

Ironically, this is the book that has pushed me to gather together our books by Pellerin of Épinal.  The irony is that this book is technically not by Pellerin.  "La Maison Olivier-Pinot" existed in Épinal from 1875 to 1888, at which time it was subsumed by Pellerin.  This book, so typical of what Pellerin would later produce -- and produced earlier? -- has Olivier-Pinot on its cover exactly where Pellerin puts its name, for example, in "Fables de La Fontaine 3me Serie," a reprint later enough to have an ISBN number.  This very frail booklet of 16 pages contains the following illustrated fables: "The Oyster and the Litigants"; "The Monkey and the Cat"; "Fortune and the Child"; "The Partridge and the Roosters"; "The Countryman and the Serpent"; "The Stag and the Vine"; "The Cobbler and the Banker"; and "The Dog Who Carries His Master's Lunch."  "The Fox and the Bust" and "Death and the Unhappy Man" are included but not illustrated.  The illustrations are bright and lively.  Does it fit that these Olivier-Pinot illustrations occur seldom elsewhere in the properly Pellerin booklets and books that we have?  Not in Bodemann.]

This is one of three pamphlets of the same size, all marked "Série Populaire" and all about 5¾" x 8".  Each of the other pamphlets has eight fables, while this has only five.  A dramatic picture of "The Thieves and the Ass" is on the cover, with the beginning of La Fontaine's text for the fable.  The texts are always presented.  For these five, the texts are actually quite long.  The verso of both covers is plain, and the back cover is a simple pattern of a window looking into blue, without any further markings.  OR is dramatized with a nobleman opening an umbrella that sweeps him away while a groundling looks on.  "The Bear and the Gardener" receives two pages and three illustrations, as does "The Wolf, the Goat, and the Little Goat."  All are done with quite precise coloring and Pellerin's typical brightness and sense of area.  The final fable, "The Old Man and the Three Young Men," receives five illustrations.  The first shows the confrontation: "Why does he plant a tree?"  The next three show the deaths of the young men.  The fifth may be the best illustration of this booklet: The old man writes onto the grave marker of the three young men.  These pamphlets are hard for me to date!

This is one of three pamphlets of the same size, all marked "Série Populaire" and all about 5¾" x 8".  This pamphlet has eight fables, with "The Fox and the Bust" pictured and presented on the cover in many colors.  As in the others of the series, the texts are always presented.  The verso of both covers is plain, and the back cover is a simple pattern of a window without color and with no further markings.  The first page presents two fables, each with an illustration: "The Cock and the Fox" and "The Countryman and the Snake."  Each of the next three pairs of pages presents one fable with multiple illustrations: TH; "The Monkey and the Cat"; and "The Saddlebag."  Then, balancing the first page with its two fables is the last page with its two: "The Peacock and Juno" and "The Serpent and the File."  As always in Pellerin booklets, the color illustrations are strong and lively.  Among the best are the several human pictures for "The Saddlebag" and the image for "The Serpent and the File."  Several of the illustrations are signed "Bac."  These pamphlets are hard for me to date!

This is one of three pamphlets of the same size, all marked "Série Populaire" and all about 5¾" x 8".  This pamphlet is internally identical but better printed than "Fables de La Fontaine: 8 Fables Choisies."  The cover here displays not "The Fox and the Bust" but rather "The Oyster and the Litigants" through text and some well chosen symbols.  The verso of both covers is plain, and the back cover is a simple pattern of a window looking into blue, without any further markings.  As in the others of the series, the texts are always presented.  The first page presents two fables, each with an illustration: "The Cock and the Fox" and "The Countryman and the Snake."  Each of the next three pairs of pages presents one fable with multiple illustrations: TH; "The Monkey and the Cat"; and "The Saddlebag."  Then, balancing the first page with its two fables is the last page with its two: "The Peacock and Juno" and "The Serpent and the File."  As always in Pellerin booklets, the color illustrations are strong and lively.  Among the best are the several human pictures for "The Saddlebag" and the image for "The Serpent and the File."  Several of the illustrations are signed "Bac."  These pamphlets are hard for me to date!

There are sixteen pages inside this lovely old pamphlet.  The colored images are on the left-hand pages in the first half and on the right-hand pages in the latter half.  A wolf-shepherd with a striped shirt sits on the front cover, while a lion's head is above the bannered title.  Unpictured are GGE at the beginning and "Le Renard et le Buste" at the end.  The pictured fables are "The Thieves and the Ass"; "The Swan and the Cook"; LM; "The Fox and the Cock"; "The Fisherman and the Little Fish"; "The Ass and the Little Dog"; and "The Stag Viewing Himself in the Water."  The exquisite detail of the last of these images contrasts with the simplicity -- not necessarily in a good sense -- of the image for "The Thieves and the Ass."  The "sixth series" is listed on the back cover.  I am learning that it is very difficult to date Pellerin publications.  Google Images has a picture of this pamphlet's cover without "6me Série."

This lovely pamphlet of 32 pages is in a sad state but was a wonderful find at a wonderful price.  It is hard to date.  Some help may come from the back cover, which mentions "Fables de La Fontaine No. 1" and "Fables de La Fontaine No. 2," as well as, in preparation, "Les Robinsons Suisses," "Robinson Crusoé," and "Gulliver."  As in other Pellerin materials, the colors are lovely.  The book is disintegrating each time I turn its pages.  Its illustrations are: "The Bear and Lover of Gardens"; DW; GA; "The Hare and the Frogs"; "The Fox and the Goat"; "The Two Doves"; "The Monkey and the Cat"; WL; FC; "The Lion and the Mosquito"; TMCM; "The Heron"; WS; and "The Horse and the Wolf."  The illustration for GA, for example, is new to me, while FC and "The Heron" I have seen many times over.  The colorists enjoy giving characters striped trousers.  The special attraction of Pellerin illustrations has something to do, I believe, with large areas of strong, bright, simple colors. The cover presents an assemblage of many of the above characters, with "Fables" spelled out by wooden boards.  Even here, the Heron has striped pants!

Here is a third version of the same work and, by all indications, the earliest.  I have it as done in 1978 and 1982.  Though this copy bears no date, someone has handwritten in pencil "5-8-55 135 fr. A Wetterwald."  I take it that this is perhaps a 1954 edition or thereabouts.  This edition has a yellow paper cover featuring the rooster and the fox.  The same illustration appears again on 17.  The mention of a "4me Série" is new, though the "#1" fits with the other two versions.  (I have the 1982 but not the 1978 version of #2.)  The best-colored illustrations in this set include the cover illustration, WL (2), "Les Voleurs et l'Ane" (10), and "Le Cerf se voyant dans l'Eau" (23).  I will include several comments I made about the later volumes.  This 32-page booklet offers seventeen well-chosen fables of La Fontaine.  The first fable, GA, is illustrated with a black-and-white tableau; the last, "La Guenon, le Singe & la Noix," has an inky black-and-white illustration.  The fifteen in between have each a strong full-page colored illustration typical of Epinal work, with large areas of bright simple colors.  I take it that these are all reprints by Epinal of an earlier work of its own.

Here is a second version of the same work and, by all indications, the earlier.  I have it as done in 1982.  (I also have the first copy of "No 1" for both times, and the "No 1" of a 1978 printing.) Though this copy bears no date, someone has handwritten in pencil "5-8-55 135 fr. A Wetterwald."  I take it that this is perhaps a 1954 edition or thereabouts.  This edition has a yellow paper cover featuring the goat and the fox.  The same illustration appears again on 6.  The mention of a "4me Série" is new, though the "#2" fits with the other version.  The best-colored illustrations in this set include "Le Corbeau Voulant Imiter l'Aigle" (17), "Le Lion Malade et le Renard" (21), and "L'Oiseleur, l'Autour & l'Alouette" (31).  This 32-page booklet offers seventeen well-chosen fables of La Fontaine.  Again two black-and-white illustrations bracket fifteen full-page colored illustrations.  The special attraction of Pellerin illustrations has something to do, I believe, with large areas of strong, bright, simple colors. I take it that these are all reprints by Epinal of an earlier work of its own.

Our collection has two volumes in the "4me Serie," both dated in this collection to "1954?"  This collection takes these two 32-page booklets and joins them together without changing their pagination.  Thus the first 32-page portion offers seventeen well-chosen fables of La Fontaine. The first fable, GA, is illustrated with a black-and-white tableau; the last, "La Guenon, le Singe & la Noix," has an inky black-and-white illustration. The fifteen in between have each a strong full-page colored illustration typical of Epinal work, with large areas of bright simple colors.  The second 32-page booklet offers another seventeen well-chosen fables of La Fontaine. Again two black-and-white illustrations bracket fifteen full-page colored illustrations.  I take it that these are all reprints by Epinal of an earlier work of its own.  The cover illustration, by contrast, is very carefully executed.  It is the identical illustration for the cover of the second shorter pamphlet, "The Fox and the Goat in the Well."  Unfortunately, the interior illustrations inside the present volume are not as careful as is usual for Pellerin's usual work.  Contrast the illustration for "The Fox and the Goat in the Well" on 6 of the second volume with the sharper illustration on this booklet's cover.  Gone is any reference to "4me Série."

This is an unusual series of four books within the larger series "Collection Tante Laura." Each book is about 7" square. The covers are stiff; at first I thought that each book was meant to house a 45 rpm record. Six fables are presented on 16 pages. After an introduction, this first volume presents TH; MM; OR; "Le Coche et la Mouche"; "Le Héron"; and "Le Lion et le Moucheron." The cover here pictures MM with a whole brood of chicks around a mother hen. The back cover has a colorful TH illustration. Internally there is a full-page picture for each of the six fables, the first three on the left-hand and the last three on the right-hand page. They tend to excerpt classic Pellerin presentations. Thus the illustration here for TH shows the bunny running desperately out of the reeds in the direction of a far off tortoise waving a handkerchief and using a walking stick. I recognize the larger illustration from which this illustration is selected because that larger illustration appears on a dinner plate in this collection. As always with Pellerin, the colors are exquisite. There are various styles within Pellerin's approach to illustration. There is a T of C at the back.

This is an unusual series of four books within the larger series "Collection Tante Laura." Each book is about 7" square. The covers are stiff; at first I thought that each book was meant to house a 45 rpm record. As in the first volume, six fables are presented on the first 15 pages. After an introduction, this second volume presents OF; DW; WL; FC; "Les Animaux malades de la peste"; and "Le Charretier Embourbé." These six are listed on the front cover. In a surprise move, the final page presents "La Mort et le Malherureux" where the first volume had a list of the volume's fables. The cover here pictures FC in a scene I recognize from Pellerin elsewhere; this same scene is presented again inside the book in larger format. This illustration and WL may be the strongest in this volume. The back cover has a colorful WL illustration. Internally there is a full-page picture for each of the first six fables, the first three on the left-hand and the last three on the right-hand page. They tend to excerpt classic Pellerin presentations. As always with Pellerin, the colors are exquisite. There are various styles within Pellerin's approach to illustration.

This is an unusual series of four books within the larger series "Collection Tante Laura." Each book is about 7" square. The covers are stiff; at first I thought that each book was meant to house a 45 rpm record. In this third volume one finds eight fables on twelve pages; they are listed on the front cover. The first fable -- "The Hare and the Frogs" -- has its illustrations only on the front cover; "The Monkey and the Leopard" has its illustration on the back cover. "The Pig, the Goat, and the Lamb" has no illustration at all. The other five receive illustrations: "The Farmer and the Serpent"; FG (integrated with its text on one page); "La Besace"; BC; and GGE. This last remains a strong illustration, picturing frustration and disappointment. As in the two earlier volumes, both published in 1959, illustrations in the first half of the book occur on left-hand pages, and those in the second half occur on right-hand pages. As always with Pellerin, the colors are exquisite. There are various styles within Pellerin's approach to illustration.

This is an unusual series of four books within the larger series "Collection Tante Laura." Each book is about 7" square. The covers are stiff; at first I thought that each book was meant to house a 45 rpm record. In this fourth volume one finds five fables in twelve pages; they are listed on the front cover. The first fable, GA, is pictured in color on the cover and then given two black-and-white drawings inside the booklet. "Parole de Socrate" is mistakenly made into a plural in the listing of fables on the cover. After "The Worker and His Children," which features an insert on La Fontaine in the illustration, MSA is offered with a full-page colored illustration of the father and son carrying the beast on a pole. The back cover contains a second fine colored illustration of the two being criticized for both riding the ass. "The Animals Sick of the Plague" has another full page of colored illustration, as does "Death and the Dying Man." As in the earlier volumes, published in 1959 and 1960, colored illustrations in the first half of the book occur on left-hand pages, and those in the second half occur on right-hand pages. As always with Pellerin, the colors are exquisite. There are various styles within Pellerin's approach to illustration. There is a curious black-and-white illustration of a colporteur on the inside front-cover, with a wicker-basket on his back.

This is a duplicate copy of a book already in the collection.  I keep it in for a specific reason.  The coloring of individual images is not identical in its application.  The colors are the same, but in one image they will fit perfectly with the black-and-white foundation of the image, and in the parallel image in the other copy they will miss slightly.  I do not know what color process Pellerin was using back in the days of the original of this booklet or what Hachette was using in 1978, but the effect is surprising when one examines the images closely.  I will repeat what I wrote of the first copy.  This is a curious and engaging book.  It offers seventeen well-chosen fables of La Fontaine.  The first, GA, is illustrated with a black-and-white tableau; the last, "La Guenon, le Singe & la Noix," has an inky black-and-white illustration.  The fifteen in between have each a strong full-page colored illustration typical of Epinal work, with large areas of bright simple colors.  Among the best of these is "Le Cerf se voyant dans l'Eau" (23), in which the stag, dressed colorfully as a human gentleman, leans over the pool.  Another follows immediately: I have never seen a more active rat than the one leaping from the table here (25)!  The cover is unusual in that it shows La Fontaine not out with animals but seated at a table full of pages of texts and animal illustrations.  The name "Hachette" appears on the cover but not on the inside of the book; might this be a Hachette reprint of an earlier Epinal work?

This is a hardbound copy of a paperbound book brought into the collection in 2003.  It adds a title-page, and the over background is yellow-brown rather than whie.  As I wrote then, two black-and-white illustrations bracket fifteen full-page colored illustrations.  TH (14) is not only one of the liveliest illustrations.  It is also the same illustration found on a Pellerin table plate in the collection (https://www.creighton.edu/aesop/artifacts/tableware/specifickindsoftableware/plates/societefrancaisedeporcelaine).  I am also familiar with the Pellerin illustration used here for "Le Corbeau Voulant Imiter l'Aigle" (17).  The special attraction of Pellerin illustrations has something to do, I believe, with large areas of strong, bright, simple colors. The cover presents GA in the human fashion so frequent in the French tradition.

This beautiful paperbound booklet is nearly identical with another in the collection.  Its key difference is that Pellerin seems to update the copyright for every printing.  In any case, both the cover and the rear colophon page here give a date of 1985, whereas that other copy in both places has 1982.  This copy also rearranges the three elements on the two sides of that last page.  Again two black-and-white illustrations bracket fifteen full-page colored illustrations.  TH (14) is not only one of the liveliest illustrations.  It is also the same illustration found on a Pellerin table plate in the collection (https://www.creighton.edu/aesop/artifacts/tableware/specifickindsoftableware/plates/societefrancaisedeporcelaine/).  I am also familiar with the Pellerin illustration used here for "Le Corbeau Voulant Imiter l'Aigle" (17).  The special attraction of Pellerin illustrations has something to do, I believe, with large areas of strong, bright, simple colors. The cover presents GA in the human fashion so frequent in the French tradition, but I do not think I have seen this rendition before.