Les Fables de La Fontaine

Abstract

I have a nearly identical copy of this favorite, bought from Librairie de l'avenue Henry Veyrier in 2001. The present copy is marked by a red title printed on the cloth cover, as against the gold title embossed into the other copy's cover. The page facing the title-page has also changed. Among the great brands offering Tintin points -- with which the owner says this copy was purchased -- are now Tintin orange soda, Tarzan chewing gum, Le Chat soap, and rice and vegetables from Compagnie Franco-Indochinoise! The pages and binding in this copy are weak from use, but they are all there. There is yet a third copy from the same year with a different cover and binding and without acknowledgement of the book's printer. I will include comments I made earlier about the content of this favorite. This is one of the most playful books I have seen in a while. Sections of La Fontaine's text are numbered to correspond to cartoon pictures. There is lots of wit here. A steam kettle boiling in one picture (DW) is smelled in the next! Imagination stamps these illustrations. The lion has torn half his skin off in pursuing the mosquito; the dove carries off the fowler's pot, in which the fowler's imagination was already cooking him; the miller's son picks his nose. The Cat and the Old Rat is one of the best here, including the cat's attempt to disguise himself in a bag. Les Animals Malade de la Peste is a magnificent two-page sweep. The last story is also excellent: Le Savetier et le Financier. Twenty-three fables. T of C at the back.