08 | September | 2014 | Micheline's Blog

Tags

Arthur Rackham, Æsop, e-texts, Internet Archives, La Fontaine, Milo Winter, The Project Gutenberg, V. S. Vernon Jones., Walter Crane

Swan, Rush and Iris, by Walter Crane (Art Nouveau)

Swan, Rush and Iris, by Walter Crane (1845-1915)
Bodycolour and Watercolour, England, 1875
© V&A Images/Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Sources

Project Gutenberg

Internet Archives

Bestiaria Latina

Wikipedia – the free encyclopedia or Wikipedia

the Encyclopædia Britannica (online)

Internet Sources

I spent a lifetime in the classroom and wish to praise initiatives such as the Project Gutenberg and the Internet Archives. I didn’t have those precious tools. Æsop’s fables are available online, including lovely illustrations one can also use for to illustrate La Fontaine’s retelling of an Æsopic fable. As for Bestiaria Latina or mythfolklore.net, it is a rich and accurate source of information and also leads to texts. Needless to say, Wikipedia – the free encyclopedia is an excellent and exhaustive source of information as is the monumental Encyclopædia Britannica.

I had prepared a long and informative article that contained a list of illustrators. There was a Golden Age of Illustration (1880 – 1920) and a Golden Age of Children’s Literature (see also Artcyclopedia and Pinterest). However, my post disappeared, with the exception of the earliest draft which, fortunately, contained a list of the e-texts I use most frequently. Posting that information will suffice.

Peace

In fact, I also lost a second post, in its entirety. It was about the Middle East. I still feel that no single nation should fight terrorism. It is a global threat. The terrorist who killed James Foley and Steven Sotloff is a Londoner.

There have been too many lives lost or destroyed since 9/11 and a former administration accrued a huge debt. Such ideologies as Manifest Destiny and Exceptionalism are flawed and they have led to unjustifiable meddling. Terrorists are not a nation; they’re a scourge. Therefore, the wars waged in the 2000s were catastrophic.

I wonder if releasing the prisoners detained at Guantanamo would help put an end to this nightmare? The journalists held in captivity must be rescued or more will die. I feel so sorry for the families, friends and colleagues of these victims.

Having written the above, I trust President Obama and so do most world leaders. He has earned their respect and their admiration. I should add that Americans elected him to the presidency of their country, the United States of America.

This is a very short post, but I do wish all of you an excellent week.

—ooo—

The Project Gutenberg Collection

[EBook #11339] Æsop’s Fables, translated by V. S. Vernon Jones, intro. G. K. Chesterton, ill. Arthur Rackham, 1912
[EBook #19994] The Æsop for Children, illustrated by Milo Winter, 1919
[EBook #21] Æsop’s Fables by Aesop, translated by George Fyler Townsend (no date; no illustrations)

Illustrators

Arthur Rackham (19 September 1867 – 6 September 1939) [EBook #11339] Æsop
John Rae (Pinterest) La Fontaine [EBook #24108]
John Rae Neill (12 November 1877 – 19 September 1943)*
Milo Winter (7 August 1888 – 15 August 1956) [EBook #19994] Æsop for Children
Percy J. Billinghurst, ill. La Fontaine [EBook #25357]

* Could John Rae (ill.) be John Rae Neill (ill.) (12 November 1877 – 19 September 1943)?

La Fontaine, Jean de (1621 – 1695)

[EBook #24108] Fables in Rhyme for Little Folks, by Jean de La Fontaine, translated by John William Trowbridge Larned, ill. John Rae or John Rae Neill (1918) (Wikipedia)
[EBook #25357] A Hundred Fables of La Fontaine. Percy J. Billinghurst, ill.
Musée Jean de La Fontaine (FR & EN) all Fables (complete)
lafontaine.net.

For La Fontaine, my favourite site is the Musée Jean de La Fontaine. It is La Fontaine’s official and bilingual (French-English) internet site.

La Fontaine wrote many Æsopic fables, so illustrations inspired by Æsop’s fables may also be used to illustrate La Fontaine’s retelling of fable by Æsop.