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Pellerin 1890?

1890? Twenty-three printed sheets, 12½" x 16¼", each featuring either an individual fable of La Fontaine or a set of four fables. Each is numbered in an apparent set of 25. Now I have found the whole set of 25 gathered in a book, Fables de la Fontaine, for which I have guessed a date of the same year. Matted on white cardboard. Missing are #3, #7, and #20. There is one extra copy of #14. Each is marked "Série Supérieure aux Armes d'Épinal, Pellerin & Cie, imp. -édit." and "Fables de LA FONTAINE (Hors Groupes)." I bought 21 of them as a group from a Buchinist along the Seine, August, '99; individually they were priced between 70 and 120 Francs each, but we settled on a group price of 1150 Francs for the twenty-one. I found two others at another Buchinist stall just a few minutes later and paid 75 Francs each for them. Epinal 1895 Number 7 for 40 Euros from a bouquinist, June, 2025.  Click on any image to see it enlarged.

WL3mini2.jpg (15712 bytes)

4 Fablesmini2.jpg (16169 bytes)

THmini2.jpg (16560 bytes)

1. Le Loup & l'Agneau

2. 4 Fables: Le Chène & le Roseau & al

4. Le Lièvre & la Tortue

LEnfant et le maitre decole2mini2.jpg (16444 bytes)

Le Vieillard & ses Enfantsmini.jpg (17352 bytes)

5. L'Enfant & le Maitre d'École

6. Le Vieillard & ses Enfants

7. Quatre Fables: Labourer, GGE, 2P, LS

MSAmini.jpg (16865 bytes)

8. Le Meunier, son Fils & leur Ane

cm5mini.jpg (16253 bytes)

oeil du maitremini.jpg (16736 bytes)

La Vieille et les deux Servantes2mini.jpg (16826 bytes)

9. Le Coche & la Mouche

10. L'Oeil du Maitre

11. La Vieille & les deux Servantes

L'Ane & le petit Chienmini.jpg (14464 bytes)

Lours et les deux compagnons2mini.jpg (17323 bytes)

SLfinal2mini.jpg (18343 bytes)

12. L'Ane & le petit Chien

13. L'Ours & les deux Compagnons

14. Le Singe & le Léopard

4 Fables bmini.jpg (14961 bytes)

Lecolier le pedant & le maitre dun jardinmini.jpg (17639 bytes)

Le Vieillard et les troismini.jpg (16734 bytes)

15. 4 Fables: Le Berger & la Mer & al

16. L'Écolier, le Pédant & le Maitre d'un Jardin

17. Le Vieillard & les trois jeunes Hommes

Le Loup devenu Bergermini.jpg (16477 bytes)

L'Ours & l'Amateur des Jardinsmini.jpg (16028 bytes)

Le Loup, la Chevre et le Chevreaumini.jpg (14700 bytes)

18. Le Loup devenu berger

19. L'Ours & l'Amateur des Jardins

21. Le Loup, la Chèvre & le Chevreau

La Besacemini.jpg (16884 bytes)

Conseil tenu par les Ratsscanmini.jpg (17183 bytes)

L'Ane & ses Maitresmini.jpg (15658 bytes)

22. La Besace

23. Conseil tenu par les Rats

24. L'Ane & ses Maitres

La Cigale & la Fourmimini.jpg (15259 bytes)

25. La Cigale & la Fourmi

I had long thought that Pellerin, whose beautiful printing work I had seen elsewhere, must have done a set of fables. What a great surprise to find them! On almost all, the color work is still lively; on several it is brilliant, especially MSA (#8), "Le Coche et la Mouche" (#9), "L'Oeil du Maitre" (# 10), and "La Besace" (#22). Each page includes a title at the top. Somewhere on the page, the text of the fable appears. The first, WL, is bleached, perhaps from standing out at the front of the group too long under the Paris sun!